Saber Interactive has confirmed that they are still working on the remake of Knights of the Old Republic.
Saber’s CEO, Matthew Karch, revealed this in a new interview with IGN. This interview was conducted after the studio had separated away from Embracer Group, to become an independent game company. Matthew said:
“It’s clear and it’s obvious that we’re working on this. It’s been in the press numerous times. What I will say is that the game is alive and well, and we’re dedicated to making sure we exceed consumer expectations.”
All things considered, it’s a pretty amazing new chapter in the production of this remake, seemingly resurfacing back from the dead, like some sort of mystic order, in a galaxy far, far away, a long time ago. Just for fun, let’s review how our own site has covered this game, which has literally been ongoing through the years.
Sony officially announced the Knights of the Old Republic remake in September 2021, but we did cover that Jason Schreier reported it as a rumor in April of that same year. The game was coming to PC and PlayStation 5 as a console exclusive.
At the time of the announcement, Aspyr was the announced developer of the game, and at the time, Aspyr was under Saber Interactive’s umbrella, with their parent company being Embracer. In May 2022, Matthew Karch declared in a financial call that Aspyr had gone ‘full in’ on making the Knights of the Old Republic remake.
In July 2022, the rumor had come out from Schreier that development of the title went on a halt, because Sony was not happy with the preview Aspyr shared them. None of this has ever been officially confirmed, but the rumor goes that Sony pulled funding for its development, putting it in limbo.
In August 2022, Schreier again reported new rumors that Saber had taken over development of the Knights of the Old Republic remake from Aspyr, assigning it to one of their European studios. On the side, 2022 would be one year after Saber had announced Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2.
Last year was a flurry of did they or didn’t they rumors about the Knights of the Old Republic remake. In September 2023, Sony deleted their tweets announcing the game. In November 17, Embracer CEO Lars Wingefor declined to talk about the project’s status in a financial call, as Jeff Grubb revealed his rumor that no one was currently working on it.
In November 22, Jason Schreier cited sources in Saber Interactive, who confirmed that the game was still in development after all. In December, Disney’s head of gaming, Sean Shoptaw, said he couldn’t say anything about the project’s status, but referred to it as “one that we are incredibly proud of and think that there’s still a lot of demand for.”
Last month, as Embracer finalized Saber’s buyout, their press release referred to a project Saber was taking with them as a “previously announced AAA game based on a major license.” In Embracer’s last financial call, Lars Wingefor was asked about this project, which he did not refer to by name. But Lars said this about it status:
“No, I think that kind of game needs some deep love and respect, so without giving full colour, I think it’s some time left until that is released.”
So, if you paid attention to all of that, you’ll notice that Saber’s press release is the very first time they have publicly and officially acknowledged that they have taken over the Knights of the Old Republic remake.
It’s remarkable that it took this long for us to get this official confirmation, but one can understand the Cold War-esque atmosphere around the project, of not wanting to embarrass or anger anyone involved. Saber may take a long time to make their games, but if they’re not a certified AAA, fans certainly see them as a reliable old hand.
So maybe there’s reason to be excited about the Knights of the Old Republic remake again. That depends on how much you care for Saber Interactive, but at the very least we know, there’s one Star Wars game to still look forward to.
