Bioware possibly rebooting/revamping Star Wars: KOTOR
#1
DVD Talk Legend
Thread Starter
Bioware possibly rebooting/revamping Star Wars: KOTOR
BioWare Austin is reportedly working on bringing back its beloved Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic role-playing series as part of EA's plans for the Star Wars license it acquired from Disney and LucasFilm in 2013.
BioWare is one of several EA studios working on Star Wars games, including EA DICE, which is currently working on Star Wars Battlefront 2, Visceral, which is working on a third person action game, and Respawn Entertainment.
The news comes from Liam Robertson, a journalist best known for his work with the excellent Unseen64 and Did You Know Gaming?
On his podcast, which is available to backers of his Patreon, he says (via SW Game Outpost): "I've learned now that [BioWare Austin is] pretty much now exclusively working on Star Wars games and they're going to be doing that for the indefinite future.
"What they're currently working on right now – and I have this on good authority – is a sort of remake/revival of Knights of the Old Republic. I don't know when this is set to come out, but it has been in development for a little while now."
Robertson goes on to say that this may not mean a game bearing the Knights of the Old Republic name, but instead something based on KOTOR's structure. Given BioWare's RPG expertise, this has always made sense.
"I don't really know how that game will end up," he says. "I've heard that it isn't exactly a remake anymore, but it started as a remake/revival. Now it's kind of going from that blueprint in sort of its own original thing. I guess we'll see what that turns out to be, but they are prototyping it right now.
"I think this is sort of like wiping the slate clean," he said. "I think this is going to embrace the new Star Wars universe lore because Knights of the Old Republic was sort of just pushed into the expanded universe, the Legends canon of Star Wars."
Knights of the Old Republic and its sequel were released in 2003 and 2004. They concerned the history of the galaxy roughly 4,000 years before when the original trilogy of films are set. The events of the KOTOR games were once considered canon, prior to Disney's purchase of LucasFilm, which lead to the new series of films and the resetting of the series' lore.
BioWare Austin is one of BioWare's three studios, all of which are working on different projects. Montreal recently released Mass Effect Andromeda, and will be continuing to support that release, while Edmonton – the main studio – is working on a brand new IP.
BioWare is one of several EA studios working on Star Wars games, including EA DICE, which is currently working on Star Wars Battlefront 2, Visceral, which is working on a third person action game, and Respawn Entertainment.
The news comes from Liam Robertson, a journalist best known for his work with the excellent Unseen64 and Did You Know Gaming?
On his podcast, which is available to backers of his Patreon, he says (via SW Game Outpost): "I've learned now that [BioWare Austin is] pretty much now exclusively working on Star Wars games and they're going to be doing that for the indefinite future.
"What they're currently working on right now – and I have this on good authority – is a sort of remake/revival of Knights of the Old Republic. I don't know when this is set to come out, but it has been in development for a little while now."
Robertson goes on to say that this may not mean a game bearing the Knights of the Old Republic name, but instead something based on KOTOR's structure. Given BioWare's RPG expertise, this has always made sense.
"I don't really know how that game will end up," he says. "I've heard that it isn't exactly a remake anymore, but it started as a remake/revival. Now it's kind of going from that blueprint in sort of its own original thing. I guess we'll see what that turns out to be, but they are prototyping it right now.
"I think this is sort of like wiping the slate clean," he said. "I think this is going to embrace the new Star Wars universe lore because Knights of the Old Republic was sort of just pushed into the expanded universe, the Legends canon of Star Wars."
Knights of the Old Republic and its sequel were released in 2003 and 2004. They concerned the history of the galaxy roughly 4,000 years before when the original trilogy of films are set. The events of the KOTOR games were once considered canon, prior to Disney's purchase of LucasFilm, which lead to the new series of films and the resetting of the series' lore.
BioWare Austin is one of BioWare's three studios, all of which are working on different projects. Montreal recently released Mass Effect Andromeda, and will be continuing to support that release, while Edmonton – the main studio – is working on a brand new IP.
#2
Re: Bioware possibly rebooting/revamping Star Wars: KOTOR
I'd be down for more games in the KOTOR series. I loved the original games. Especially the first one ... the second was a bit gimped due to development issues (but still good). I hope it's a brand new game and not just a remake of the old game (with improved graphics). With new Star Wars movies being huge hits, now is the perfect time to bring back this series.
#3
DVD Talk Legend
Thread Starter
Re: Bioware possibly rebooting/revamping Star Wars: KOTOR
The second game would have been legendary if not for Lucasarts rushing Obsidian to make a release date.
#6
DVD Talk God
Re: Bioware possibly rebooting/revamping Star Wars: KOTOR
Never played it but if it is like Mass Effect, I am in.
#7
DVD Talk Legend
#8
DVD Talk Legend
Re: Bioware possibly rebooting/revamping Star Wars: KOTOR
Never played these but I've always been tempted to pick them up during Steam sales. I wonder if they still hold up....
#9
DVD Talk Special Edition
Re: Bioware possibly rebooting/revamping Star Wars: KOTOR
I've been tempted to pick them up as well. It is just that I know the graphics will turn me off not matter if the story is top notch.
#11
DVD Talk Legend
#12
Re: Bioware possibly rebooting/revamping Star Wars: KOTOR
Yeah, originally the combat was the turn-based system that was used for the Dungeons & Dragons CRPGs of the time like Baldurs Gate and Icewind Dale. Though the underlying mechanics were mostly hidden so the gameplay gave the illusion of real-time action. I agree that a new game is likely to ditch that for something in the vein of ME.