There’s a disturbance in the Force, and it’s coming from Aspyr — the gaming studio that was, until recently, behind the upcoming remake of the legendary Star Wars: Knights Of The Old Republic.

This legendary flagship game that launched a beloved franchise was treasured by gaming fans and Star Wars devotees alike. The remake has been highly anticipated, with a teaser trailer revealed at Playstation’s Showcase in 2021 alongside the announcement that Jennifer Hale would be returning as Bastila Shan. This also gave credence to Asypr’s news about the game being released some time in 2022.

Now, it seems, this ground up remake that was set for an exclusive release on PC and the PS5 has come to a screeching halt. The reasons, which have been the subject of speculation and conjecture, are rather murky.

The announcement of the remake was made last year, and at that point had been in development with Aspyr Media for three years. Aspyr is known for their game ports, and on their end the progress on this Bioware original was promising. That is, however, how the development team saw it, as outlined by Bloomberg and Engadget. A demo (known as a vertical slice) shown to Lucasfilm and Sony had the two companies singing a different tune.

What information we have at this point comes from unnamed sources who can’t comment publicly. These murmurings say that meetings were held by Aspyr in July to discuss the fact that the demo didn’t measure up to what was expected of the upcoming release. Reports say that the studio poured too large an investment of time and money into the demo, which does not bode well for future development of the game. Studio heads are supposedly saying that Aspyr is looking towards other opportunities and contracts, and there is further speculation that the game’s timeline might be an issue. The original promised release for 2022, according to developers, is realistically more likely for 2025.

There are no official statements as of this writing to confirm a large portion of this. What we do know is that the game has been indefinitely postponed. The LinkedIn pages of both design director Brad Prince and art director Jason Minor seem to show that both of them have ended their time at Aspyr. Minor’s LinkedIn page confirms as much, listing the end of his employment at Aspyr as 2022, with a #OpenToWork frame on his profile picture.

The remake of Knights of the Old Republic was first announced in September last year. While Aspyr is the developer behind the game, the studio was bought last year by Embracer Group, a holding company with significant investments in several studios, including Saber Interactive, which is now aiding development of the new Knights of the Old Republic.

All we know for sure, as of now, is that we aren’t sure of anything. Not since Disney’s purchase of Lucasfilm in 2012 has the future of any Star Wars property been so uncertain.

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Elizabeth Carlie
Elizabeth Carlie

Liz Carlie (she/her/he/him) is a regular book, TV, and film reviewer for SCIFI.radio and has previously been a guest on ‘The Event Horizon’. In addition to being an active member of the traditional fandom community, she’s also an active participant in online fan culture, pro wrestling journalism, and spreading the gospel of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. She resides in Southern California with her aspiring superhero dog, Junior, enjoying life one hyperfixation at a time.