With all the recent talk since the announcement of Fate of The Old Republic, many are wondering what’s going on with the previously announced Knights of the Old Republic remake game. According to recent court documents, it appears Lucasfilm’s troubled KOTOR remake is still in active development despite its long silence. Records also reveal that a restoration for the game’s beloved sequel could be waiting in the wings as well.
These findings come from a recent Game File report which highlights court documents from a lawsuit filed by fans against Aspyr and Lucasfilm.
The Fans Strike Back
When KOTOR II was revealed to be coming to Switch, a restored content DLC was also promised to release alongside it. This DLC-which many view as absolutely necessary-was never released, however.
Buyers said they regretted their purchase, and never would have avoided the game entirely if the DLC were never promised. Some even said they wouldn’t even play the game, despite having already spent their money.
This bonus content wasn’t a simple addition, however, and had actually involved numerous individual creators and larger studios. Due to concerns around crediting these numerous parties, the report alleges that Disney’s legal team “killed” the project.
The court documents contain a massive bounty of internal Slack messages, emails, and Jira entries. The communications allegedly came from a wide range of sources. From independent modders ato Lucasfilm Games, it’s clear that this was a hefty undertaking, and Aspyr was stuck in the middle of it.
For Old Republic fans, though, this could reveal some slight payoffs after several years of tumult.
There is Another – Leaks Reveal KOTOR 2 Remake Could be in Production
Michael Cripe of IGN highlighted a portion of the deposition which pertains to the mysterious “project Juliet.” In this excerpt, attorney Ray Kim pressed Lucasfilm Games vice president Douglas Riley for details.
Cal Kestis in Star Wars Jedi: Survivor – YouTube, EA Star Wars
“Juliet was the code name for a project where we were going to do a full remake of KOTOR II with modern art, modern gameplay, you know,” Riley shared. “Keep the story and the characters and the general—the general content of KOTOR II, but remake it for modern hardware and modern machines with updated graphics and all those kind of things. It was something we were discussing with Aspyr.”
Later, the VP commented on the missing Restored Content Mod and how that impacts the remake. “The plan was we would remake the content that was in the RCM as it relates to Star Wars in that Juliet project.”
According to these same records, “Juliet” and the KOTOR remake are both under new management,
Mad Head Games: Our Only Hope?
These projects are being developed by the now-independent Saber Interactive, with its subsidiary studio Mad Head Games leading the project.
On top of being named directly in the court documents, Mad Head’s website features a banner that teases at an “unannounced AAA game.” This could potentially be referring to the Knights of the Old Republic remake, as Mad Head’s development role was never publicly revealed.
A screenshot from The Mandalorian and Grogu trailer – YouTube, Star Wars
Its description reads, “based on a famous and beloved IP that fans will eagerly anticipate. While we can’t reveal too much just yet, this is by far the biggest project we have ever developed, and we promise it will generate some serious hype!”
A surprise to be sure, but a welcome one.
Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic Remake
Thankfully for fans, there are currently no massive red flags regarding the contents of this remake’s story. Notably, neither Mad Head nor Saber Interactive are associated with Sweet Baby Inc.
What are your thoughts on the KOTOR remake still being in production? Could the shift over to Mad Head be a sign of hope? Start a conversation in the comments section below and share your thoughts!
