The frequently rumored remake of Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic may have already been in the works for far longer than people realize.
As pointed out by user u/mtol115 over on Reddit, Aspyr Media, the studio now heavily tipped to be in charge of modernizing the classic RPG, has been recruiting talent from a particularly renowned AAA developer since as far back as 2019. Mtol’s digging on professionally-focused social media site LinkedIn reveals that over 20 former BioWare employees have been hired by Aspyr over a 24-month period, including those that held senior positions such as art director, lead narrative designer, cinematics lead, environmental artists and several others.
That may seem relatively unremarkable news in and of itself, but it’s worth noting that BioWare was responsible for the original KotOR. The natural conclusion to make, then, is that the behind-the-scenes recruitment drive focused on ex-BioWare staff is far from just a coincidence.
If those suspicions are accurate, it means the Exile and Darth Revan’s return could come much, much sooner than some think. Depending on how extensive the remake ultimately proves to be, a two to three-year production cycle would be ample time to create something substantial, though fans are still very much in the dark in that regard. Only serving to make the situation more confusing are reports that both a remake as well as a remaster of the original are in the pipeline, though this could simply be a result of whistleblowers getting their wires crossed.
At the very least, we’ll be keeping an eye out on the usual dates (May the 4th is a big one) for even the slightest inkling of official Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic news, so stay tuned.