![]() ![]() In 2017, Liam Robertson (one of the researchers for the lost games blog Unseen64) reported that EA’s BioWare Austin branch was prototyping either a KOTOR remake or a proper revival of the series, and this news was picked up by a Star Wars fansite called Star Wars Game Outpost. But the call of a proper KOTOR sequel continued to echo through the halls of the legendary studio… While Obsidian’s threequel never came into fruition, BioWare and Electronic Arts did finally continue the story (from a certain point of view) when it released 2011’s The Old Republic, which is still receiving new story updates and expansions today. Projects being developed by outside studios, including a potential KOTOR 3, were canceled due to Ward’s plans for the company’s future. According to Game Informer, he shifted development to focus on internal projects and reduced the company’s workforce of 450 employees to roughly 190. So, Ward set out to restructure LucasArts. Most of LucasArt’s profits apparently came from externally-developed Star Wars titles, which resulted in many extra expenses and didn’t bode well for the company’s long-term viability. One of Ward’s first actions as president was to audit LucasArts, and he didn’t like what he found. of marketing, online, and global distributions Jim Ward was promoted to company president. ![]() So why didn’t this project happen? Apparently, LucasArts wanted to handle a threequel with its in-house development team instead of outsourcing it. What a way to make the likes of Darth Revan and Darth Malak look like chumps. ![]() Obsidian’s devs envisioned a game where players went up against ancient Sith lords who controlled entire galactic arms. The studio made a lot of headway on their KOTOR 3 pitch, including quests, characters, environments, and story beats. At the end of the day, the best laid plans of mouse droids and men often go awry, especially when corporate drama is to blame.Īccording to VG247 and the book Rogue Leaders: The Story of LucasArts, shortly after Obsidian finished work on KOTOR 2, the company immediately started working on a pitch for a third entry. And Obsidian had plans for a third game, too, one that would have seen a new player character following Revan on his search for the real Sith threat behind the events of the first two games, and face ancient Sith lords that would make villains like Nihilus, Traya, and Malak look like chumps.īut we never got this version of KOTOR 3. While BioWare developed the first game in 2003, it was Obsidian Entertainment who made the second a year later. Why have all of these projects met the same dark fate? Here’s what happened…Įven though Knights of the Old Republic 1 and 2 are self-contained stories, the games are also interconnected in some really big ways, as the Jedi of old worked to uncover a secret Sith empire growing in the Unknown Regions of space. Even attempts to recapture the original duology’s magic have crashed and burned multiple times, and Aspyr’s recently-announced remake seems poised to continue that trend, with reports pointing to the game being delayed indefinitely after years of development. Instead, it’s an MMORPG side story that takes place 300 years after the first two games.Ī proper sequel to the first two games has existed in a state of development hell limbo for almost 20 years, pitched around and canceled at different studios, only to be revived again several years later and subsequently canned again. But the third entry, despite existing within the same continuity, is not a sequel to the first two single-player RPGs. ![]() The KOTOR franchise currently consists of three titles: Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic, Knights of the Old Republic 2: The Sith Lords, and The Old Republic. To quote Thanos, “Reality is often disappointing.” Given the clout this franchise holds, one might expect greenlighting further entries would be an easy task. The Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic franchise is a legendary series that affected the course of gaming history and solidified their development studios as RPG juggernauts. ![]()
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