The TRUTH behind The KOTOR Remake in 2023...

[@100StarWars]

Apologies for my lack of content over the past weeks. I lost my motivation after the poor performance of my Jedi: Survivor content. But alas, the world keeps turning... I'm hopefully going to be back on the horse in the coming weeks so bare with me! Also, come follow me on Twitter to keep up to date with everything KOTOR! - twitter.com/100PerStarWars

[@michaelandreipalon359]

Word of advice: try playing older games like Rebellion, Shadows of the Empire (particularly the GOG release), the Dark Forces Saga/Jedi Knight series, and Episode I: Racer and mayhaps do reviews on them. Might even give them the "Colbert Bump" treatment they deserve too.

[@LJ-qq8lx]

if it's any consolaltion i loved your Jedi survivor review. Was the best one I watched. Sorry KZbin didnt push it out.

[@nickwhite6249]

I haven’t seen your Jedi Survivor content yet cause I wanna play it blind. No disrespect to you

[@prodigalpriest]

I second the suggestion of playing those old games, especially Shadows of the Empire. The Force Unleashed too if OP hasn't played that one.

[@captainfordo258]

I have notifications on for your channel and had to find out about your survivor review by typing in your channel name in the search bar cause your content wasn’t being posted on my main landing page either. Loved the review. It’s a massive shame that the algorithm did you so dirty.

[@Steel-101]

After listening to your full breakdown of the situation, I really feel bad for Aspyr. They put their hearts into the game and it was taken away from them so quickly. Saber might do a good job but I think Aspyr should have finished the game. Plus the FF7 gameplay sounds amazing.

[@acidtwin]

To be honest I was thinking I'm glad they lost it. Sony has an eye for polish and quality, LucasArts movie division wouldn't know quality Star Wars if it ran over them. They hired new writers, why? it's a remaster - hire new writers for a new game. There's a reason people are still doing essay videos on the old game's story and characters, don't fix what's not broken. New voice actors rather than just remastering and honoring the work that came before? Sex and race swapping for no real reason in what is an already diverse game lol. Sounds like a shit show frankly and it's a shame the fan project was canceled as it would have likely been a labor of love project. They should have funded it like Black Mesa or something and would have ended up with a quality product that wouldn't have cost them 100mil lol.

[@gunnercollin]

@@acidtwinthat’s the thing, it wasn’t supposed to be a copy and a paste of the original kotor with todays graphics, that would be a remaster, this was a full blown remake, new lines, new dialogue, new quests were just some of the few things this game would have had to offer. And there’s no team I would’ve trusted more than aspyr to pull something like that off. They aren’t as big or known as other teams but they definitely have passion for whatever it is they are making, and that’s what Star Wars writers have been lacking in as of the last decade or so.

[@SchrodingerMil]

⁠@@gunnercollin A remake doesn’t mean all of those things. Demon’s Souls was a proper remake and all they added were some minor quality of life improvements and some formerly unobtainable weapons. A Remaster is a 1.0 patch for an already released game. A remake is if they make any substantial improvements to a game’s engine and code. Demon’s Souls is a remake, Dead Space is a remake, Nier Replicant is a remaster.

[@parsath_2584]

I wish no ill will to the hardworking Saber devs. But if they're taking over to make the game Sony wants, the final project will be a sham.

[@parsath_2584]

​@@acidtwin Sony under Jim Ryan want every game to be a cinematic action game. Their demands being met is NOT a positive thing if you're a KOTOR fan.

[@Fenix_816]

I personally believe aspyr should've been able to keep going with it. They got a bunch of the original devs to come back and you can't beat that. Also thank you for making KOTOR content. It's my favorite game and I appreciate it!

[@djcody492]

Exactly what I would have commented if you hadn’t already

[@Engine33Truck]

When I heard that Aspyr lost the remake, it makes me think that they wanted to keep it as true to the original as possible and the powers to be wanted to make a major departure

[@VeryWellSirSome]

@@Engine33Truck Or maybe, because they specialize in mobile games mainly and ports, they had no idea what they were doing and burned through the money without anything to show. This is just as likely, if not more. They should have given it to a better studio to begin with

[@bluewaternebula652]

idk. They were going remake the story into a "modern" experience which didn't sound good.

[@One.Zero.One101]

@@VeryWellSirSome Whether you like Aspyr or not, it's irrelevant now because they gave it to Saber Porto which has 100 times less experience. My mood just went from Very Hyped -> Extremely Cautious.

[@acbagel]

Personally, I 100% would've rather had Aspyr's vision that was such a product of love, even if it wasn't as "cinematic" or God of War esque in its presentation. Kotor games always relied on a bit of internal role playing and that's part of the charm and why we love it so much. Sounds like Sony was scared to have their "image ruined" by a different type of game and Aspyr was relying so much on their investment and caved on foolish demands. I think we will one day get the game, might be another 3-5 years, but it'll always be in the shadow of what Aspyr would've done with a trilogy. That vision is sadly dead forever. Still hoping for the best here, because hope is all we have.

[@Nikelaos_Khristianos]

It's sad, I actually reckon that this project would have been in better shape if Microsoft had come in to support Aspyr instead of Sony. It would have made sense given the PC integration and the fact that KOTOR was an original Xbox game. Plus, Microsoft also has a whole bunch of really talented RPG studios working under them including Obsidian, but also InXile, Bethesda and Arkane; Aspyr would have been right at home. Sony's involvement literally made no sense apart from money, but it feels like they just saw the "Star Wars" name without understanding how much the "KOTOR" name means to its fans; like they're THE Star Wars games that people who don't like Star Wars still enjoy playing because they are just great RPGs.

[@LJ-qq8lx]

Crazy that things go this way... seems like Aspyr really had a good thing going. Unsuprising that people up top eventually ruined things though

[@leandroescalante4540]

Just to add a bit of info: Mark Darrah (a former executive producer at Bioware) said in one of his AMAs in his KZbin channel Disney came to Bioware and asked them to do a KOTOR Remake, but it got rejected by EA/Bioware to prioritize other projects.

[@Cryptz]

damn, and here i thought bioware wanted to do more kotor stuff

[@BellXllebMusic]

​@@Cryptz Obsidian wanted to

[@nuancedhistory]

​@@Cryptz Bioware Austin did but it was EA who kept rejecting their pitches and moving them to Anthem.

[@PetrPss]

Do not confuse modern Bioware and KotOR-era Bioware. Two entirely different companies.

[@craserx6267]

@@PetrPss so true

[@merkbromerkington3215]

thanks for the breakdown, i feel 90% less doomed about the whole thing. Poor Aspyr, they were so active with fans on Twitter before that darn vertical slice meeting.

[@TheAzureGuardian]

I honestly think that Aspyr trying to cater to Sony was what did them in, seeing as that led to them firing two of their biggest team members and everything spiraled out of control from there. If they stuck to their guns, kept going with what they were doing that had Lucasarts impressed, things would have turned out much better. Sadly with the people they've lost since then, even if they were given the rights to work on the Remake again I doubt it'd go as well as it did before that fiasco.

[@theu-tuber1531]

Got to love that the Kotor Remake in 2023 video is 23 minutes long.

[@mrgumelo4067]

The fact that nothing aspyr made was scrapped makes me happier, on the other hand a quarter of the studio leaving is really sad.

[@NeroMattsss]

I am genuinely interested in their next game. We'll get the reverse Fallen Order situation! Respawn made a game, didn't know how to sell it and they branded it as Star Wars (huge success), now Aspyr made a Star Wars game, can't sell it as Star Wars so they have to brand it as something completely new!!

[@alistairgrey5089]

Aspyr was literally the dream team for anything KotOR related. I can't think of any studio that could even come close to being as good of a fit as them to do a remake.

[@joshl3916]

RIP the aeprion team. 8 years of dev work down the drain

[@georgiegirl7623]

After following them for years I was devastated when I heard Disney sent them a cease and desist. RIP Apeiron project. 😔

[@One.Zero.One101]

This reminds me of GTA 3 where the fans made a better remaster than the studio itself.

[@Italiangentleman2394]

The only news outlet i trust 100 percent star wars

[@michaelandreipalon359]

Sure beats FandomWire.

[@datdarnotaku001]

True especially for KOTOR related stuff

[@datdarnotaku001]

@@michaelandreipalon359 indeed

[@jeffreyaguilar8028]

Oh? Not even... Mike... Zeroh... 😅

[@darthdesidus4361]

First of all, I want it to be made clear that I am extremely happy for the existence of this channel. The respect and the admiration and the love you give for the knights of the old republic timeline is something truly spectacular and I hope you continue to make content. As for your question? Yes, they should’ve been allowed to finish what they started. They absolution live. That being said, they will lose any momentum that they have left. People are still wanting to play this game. They don’t want to release a game that is going to be cold because of years of inaction.

[@Icehead2.0]

Thanks for the breakdown Luke!

[@Pub2k4]

Here’s the thing about Sony: You HAVE to stick to your guns when it comes to your vision on a video game. For God of War 2018, Santa Monica Studio was convinced Sony would shut the studio down if the game failed, and the brass at Sony was not excited about what God of War was shaping up to be. But then, the game was released, and the reception by the fans was so epic that Sony nearly wrote a blank check for Ragnarok.

[@n-drewmodding8707]

2:55 The legality of the Aperion mod was difficult because it was never a mod, it was literally a video game that was developed by independent game developers without the rights to the Star Wars/Kotor assets. It was a threat to Aspyr's remake not because it was a fan mod, it was a direct competitor to Disney's approved Aspyr remake. An actual mod for Kotor requires you to buy the official copies of the Kotor games in order for you to play the mod, mods are free to download so if players choose to buy the Kotor games and install a bunch of mods it's Disney who profits... not the mod developer. Aperion was different in that it'd be free to download, just like a mod, but you'd essentially be downloading a whole new game... you would only need to have the Kotor game to transfer the audio files to Aperion, and if someone had uploaded all the audio files online you wouldn't even need to buy Kotor. Imagine this, would you buy Apsyr's Kotor Remake for $60 or more... or would you rather download Aperion for free and pay $10 for Kotor so you can copy the audio files to the Aperion game? That's why they ordered Aperion to cease development and to destroy their assets.

[@Nikelaos_Khristianos]

It was basic copyright infringement. I even remember the devs stating that they were just "gonna go with it until they were told to stop" and that they "didn't believe that they were breaking any laws"; belief is nice and all but if you're breaking copyright, that's theft of IP and you're breaking the law. So yeah, I really don't see how they thought that they were legal. Also, not to be too negative about Aperion, but that thing was never coming out. Given how they were just showing off rebuilt assets and static environments, without any gameplay, that thing was never coming out.

[@One.Zero.One101]

I believe Disney would have let them be if the project didn't coincide with the official remake. It was a non-profit project and those things sometimes just fly under the radar.

[@LunarLore]

Dont worry about it buddy! Your content is great. Didnt really watch any jedi survivor content (by anyone) because i wanna wait until bugs are gone and its better in price. And so i wont get any spoilers ;). I love your content and more specifically your lore videos. My favorite ever has to be the Exar Kun series you did. What im trying to say, your content is great! Keep up the great work

[@CuteGallifreyian]

The same reason why I am not watching Jedi Survivor. I got a bit spoiled on Jedi Fallen Order. I am trying to remain spoiler free this time around.

[@michaelandreipalon359]

Also, waiting for prospective DLC, especially if it's of the extra campaign kind.

[@KratosisGod]

If this game ever comes out it'll be out of a development hell and we all know how those games end up.

[@Thunderstrike10]

this story hurts, a lot. but thank you for compiling all this info in one video. at least we have the full picture of what exactly happened now.

[@landostar25]

Thank you for catching us up to speed. I hope I speak for us all when I say you are very appreciated.

[@iamnathanael2132]

All I wanted to know, is this thing still alive. Good to know and good video

[@sagenod440]

On my second modded KOTOR playthrough right now. Excited for the remake if it ever makes it through, but I’m not holding my breath. Modded KOTOR is a phenomenal game

[@srujan00]

which mods? I want to replay it again, it'll be the first time doing so in many years.

[@TheMemeRepository]

Something that jumps out to me about that snap decision to fire the lead designers is that it shows a potential level of emotional volatility amongst the leadership team that isn't conducive to long-term success.. That is to say, I wonder if something else would have gone wrong anyway, even if they had stuck to their guns, as it doesn't sound like the guys at the top had their shit together. I dunno, I think I might need a few perspectives on this before I decide what was ultimately best, though it sounds like a shitshow either way. KOTOR & especially KOTOR II are such high quality stories with quite nuanced, complex characters & themes, so I also worry about how the changes they were planning would affect the product overall. Way too many examples in modern day media of writers simply missing the point, so I fear what would happen to these games in the wrong hands. There's definitely room for improvement; you could easily expand the games to make them better, but you could also expand the games & make them worse. If the Star Wars brand had been more carefully handled the last decade, I might be more on the glass half full side there, but currently, there's been way more misses than hits. And with KOTOR II & the potential III, did they plan on rehiring the Obsidian alumni who crafted that story? Because I have my doubts over whether the Bioware veterans from the first game would cut it there, as Chris Avellone in particular was critical in making that game special. Sure, the original KOTOR is great, but I think there's a strong argument to be made about the second games' writing being so much richer & just whole level above what they did with the first game. So, the idea of only KOTOR I people working on a KOTOR II remake, and especially KOTOR III, well, it's troubling. Even if they did a copy-paste of KOTOR II's story, KOTOR III would still need those original writers back to cohesively continue on from II & live up to the extremely high bar it set (lest we forget the shitshow that was the Revan novel). So yeah, even this things went according to plan, it's easy to see how things could have fallen apart anyway. Whether it was during the development of this game, or any future games that would have come out. Also, voiced protagonist? No, thank you. I'd be happy to be proven wrong on any of this, it's just hard to be hopeful, even if development had been smooth sailing.

[@CrazyxEnigma]

If Kotor 2 hadn't been an unfinished buggy mess it would be regarded as the best Star Wars game and story told bar none imo.

[@TheMemeRepository]

@@CrazyxEnigma And the fact that it still had as much merit as it did at launch speaks volumes about the creative team & the story they created.

[@wolfdragox5563]

"we're mere days away from whats supposedly going to be one of PS biggest showcases in a long while" ...yeah that aged well.

[@100StarWars]

Tell me about it lmao

[@JeannieLove]

Thanks for sharing. I am hoping we see something today in a few hours, but if not, I do hope it's still coming out

[@Isaiasruizzz]

Let’s gooooooo my favorite Star Wars KZbinr I been bench watching your content. 🎉

[@ticy0001]

"We Were on the Verge of Greatness - We were THIS close" Absolutely gutted...

[@nicholasdelgado85]

Thank you so much for updating us. This series of games is my 100% absolute favorite. Sad news but good to know its, "progress." I absolutely think ASPYR should have stayed on this project. Sounds like they absolutely knew what they were doing.

[@lychen9707]

Thank you for your amazing work in the background and keeping us updated on this project. I do agree with you that the fall of Aspyr downfall is disheartening to hear as i have genuinely loved all of their remakes and with everything going on, it is even understandable that they are having issues on all their projects like the KOTOR 2 Swtich DLC, being absent. They should of just let Aspyr do their thing and let them create a fabulous game.

[@datdarnotaku001]

I do believe Aspyr should have been able to have the right to continue the game and I felt Sony should have Not really given much grief on what Aspyr had accomplished thus far (especially when Sony was new on the project at that time) Shame Aspyr had catered to them but it was also understandable

[@themonolith253]

Sony has proven over the last decade that they have an eye for quality. So the fact they were not happy doesn’t paint Aspyr in a very good light. I mean Redfall shows us exactly what happens when a major publisher/partner doesn’t step in and stop a bad game from being released. It seems that Aspyr leadership was the one who ultimately messed everything up because they took it way too far by firing the two lead designers on the project which basically brought the whole effort to a standstill. Then they desperately fumbled around looking for replacements which then caused Embracer to move development to Saber. Honestly, Aspyr overreacted to Sony’s critique and it cost them the remake.

[@Rucarlos]

Maybe Sony happens to know how to make quality AAA games better than Aspyr

[@datdarnotaku001]

@@Rucarlos well you don't know how Aspyr would have done either my friend and I mean they literally hired veteran guys for this game (even ones who worked on KOTOR to begin with) I felt that (in my pov) they might have done well have kept it into a True RPG and if you would have read my comment I was not saying anything bad about Sony I was just saying that Sony who was new on the project at that time (who in my POV did not have anything to really do with Aspyr's KOTOR remake as Aspy's was the lead guys in making it not sony) should not have really acted the way they have which they where kinda a catalyst for Aspy's "fall" which is pretty brutal in my opinion

[@Red-zh7vq]

What’s going on with the KOTOR II Switch DLC? Is that still coming out?

[@lukegill6908]

All of this AND we still have no idea what’s going on with the KoTOR 2 dlc on switch a year after the game launched

[@LeviathanOz]

I can't believe Embracer decided to port the development of the game from a studio that had essentially modelled them selves around this game, but had just made some bad decisions, to a studio that had no history with a game like this. Darth Schriber may have inadvertently destroyed KotOR Remake, allowing Emperor Wingefors to manipulate the Saber Porto midi-chlorians to create KotOR the Chosen-One, let's just hope that they are up to the task.

[@stannisthemannis8694]

thing is they didn't even make bad decisions they just didn't do the art style or realism sony wanted to show of ps5 hardware

[@majk173]

Thank you for this. I am really glad that someone (espacially you) gave us clear look, even if it is just based on your understanding of the situation and point of view. I hope despite all the problems the remake will come out one day and give us an amazing game whether it is from Aspyr or Saber. Thank you very much. And please... do not loose motivation and keep going. You are one of the best creators around!

[@eds1942]

“I have a baaad feeling about this.” Does it make sense to expand on the story when the remake alone is already such a monumental undertaking? Cause when you start doing that with key characters, you are going to want to fiddle around with the original just to make your new content feel more naturally integrated. And when start doing that, you’re opening it up for others to pitch in what they would like to see changed, and I mean at the corporate and investor level who probably already had their own wish list of changes, half of which from those who probably never even played the original game. And that means that they’ll have to start looking around for new writers and a lot of mixed feelings and perhaps conflict amongst those who are actually working on the project. And so by the time you all of that straightened out, what you’ll have is an adaptation rather than a remake which someone big at the studio might, Disney or Lucasfilm might not agree with.

[@PapitoQinn]

Man, great minds think alike. I started writing for a video to do this exact video. But then I discovered something... Something kinda small I guess, but no one has said anything about it.

[@fanmovie357]

Looking forward to it.

[@denimz01]

thank you for the all in depth info regarding the project, fingers still crossed that they would give an official update soon

[@SerathDarklands]

I have really mixed feelings about the remake. I mean, I'd love to play through a more polished, modern version of the game - Knights of the Old Republic I and II aren't just the best Star Wars games ever made, they are, in my opinion, the best Star Wars stories ever told - but another part of me is worried that Disney will just shit all over Revan and the story.

[@MrSwitchblade327]

So where exactly did you get all this in depth information

[@vine1313]

I dont have high hopes that this will ever come out. Until I see the product up for purchase, and I dont mean pre-order, I wont believe it.

[@meyertechrants3589]

Assuming all of this is true, it sounds like Aspyr lost it due to weak leadership. Aspyr should have addressed the Shrier article head on, confirmed what they could, and refuted what they could. Firing those team leads was a move of weakness too. They should have opened communication with Sony to make sure they understood what Sony liked and didn't and made a plan to go forward. While Aspyr had the development team, it sounds like their leadership was weak, internally reactionary, and externally paralyzed by fear and uncertainty. They couldn't fight to keep development with Embracer, they couldn't help Sony's confidence, nor Embracer's, nor the developer's, nor the fans. In every step it sounds like weak, incompetent leadership that was competent only in vision and team building. Vision and team building ARE critical, but and it's great that they had that, but they also need the strength to address concerns of all stakeholders in times of uncertainty which they could not.

[@EnclaveSoldier52]

Love your stuff ! I hope we still get a good game after all, but I do feel we were robbed of something special . Here’s hoping I’m wrong

[@GK_423]

Thanks, man, you actually saved my day. Sad info about Aspyr, but Sony have their high standarts, and Lucasfilm... not really. So it wasn't surprise for me that Lucasfilm was satisfied, and Sony wasn't. Sony wants absolute banger for everyone, not just collect money from loyal fans of KOTOR. And i really hope that these guys who developing KOTOR remake are huge fans of old game and do everything with huge respect to original. If not, well, we could have another Mass Effect Andromeda...

[@THESHADOW-x4t]

I wonder if the supposed cut content restoration dlc will be revealed or released then

[@koz874]

Thanks for the update

[@RageBoxMan]

Here's hoping for the best. I have some faith in Saber to get it done but everyone seems to be dragging their feet with this project.

[@Icehead2.0]

eeeeeeeeeey its the Box Man!!!

[@corie_1032]

Great video! I think it's so funny how you called out Jeff 😂

[@Thebroshow13]

I hope they also remake kotor 2 remake and add the stuff that wasn’t in the original base game .

[@alibaba1009]

Thanks for the breakdown. maybe an annoying question, but do you perhaps have any sources talking about the Kotor 2 DLC?

[@Regulus985]

Well done for making this video and collating things. Personally I don’t work in a creative industry, however the idea that I would actively take up a job at a company just so I could work on a huge project that would ultimately be taken away sounds heartbreaking. That’s just demoralising plus actively impacting your possible earnings and quality of life.

[@b-rad1170]

This truest.. deeply.. hurts my soul.. and before this project dies I want you to know 😭

[@drfitz462]

Glad to see you back. Do you think you'll ever cover the unreal cinema project? Rumor is that it's been delayed but they're very quite.

[@TSpoon823]

If you're talking about the show, It's been a long time since they've said anything. But I'd imagine it has something to do with all of this, even though Lucas gave them the go ahead from the beginning.

[@jeannemosser139]

Thank you for this KOTOR content, you’re the only one here on KZbin that I want to listen on this subject because you do it perfectly and with passion! Well done!

[@karlmueller1980]

I personally think inspire should’ve been allowed to continue on making the Kotor remake. It’s a real shame, though hopefully bracer up to the task. Because this game is really important to a lot of people are mini gamers and mini Star Wars fans fell in love with Kotor and Star Wars because of this.

[@ВасильСарчук]

To answer your question: Aspyr has done shitty ports and ruined the KOTOR II update with a shitty menu system, even though they were given a golden template to use for controller support from BioWare with the first KOTOR. So yes, I am not shocked Sony decided to drop them.

[@IceChillxen]

Personally, i just wish we could have gotten Aperion.

[@WiredLain_]

i’m gna be fukin pissed if there’s no updates, wtf r they even doing? why hasn’t there been anything about the game for over a year?

[@StormOS_Dev_Channel]

i agree

[@Xxbte96xX]

I was really upset with Aspyr over the Kotor 2 Switch DLC situation, but after hearing about how they lost the remake, I started to assume they were having a very tough time. I started to really ease up on them about it, but I'm glad they they finally officially announced that they stopped working on it. Honestly I'm sure that Aspyr would've been one of the best studios to work on the remake and while I would like to think whoever has it now will do well with it, I'm not very hopeful tbh.

[@Nowe62]

They should include the Star Wars Community more. Show us the same footage you showed the bosses and give it to a vote

[@tjweber9883]

Sadly unless we start contributing to the costs of development that will never happen as this isn't a small indie dev situation who need our approval

[@simondelavega1938]

What time is the showcase. I'm from the UK

[@mandawarian]

If they fuck with Calo Nord, I really hope it never comes out.

[@FSK69]

I knew better than to hope, yet i fell into that familiar trap once again, only to be slapped by reality once again.... And in the end, as the darkness takes me, I am nothing.

[@jordantorres2139]

Unrelated but anything on the KOTOR dlc for switch?

[@rubeniscool]

KOTOR remake is indeed in the latest interim report under announced games :)

[@superplaysminecraft3923]

Hopefully they will remake the second game and possibly make the third for the first time

[@TwitchyTango]

Man I’m so hopeful for that it’s like with the possible remakes of dead space 2 and 3 we get the eventual dead space 4 😊

[@ao8775]

@@TwitchyTango Hell yes to your comment and the OPs. That would be ideal 👍

[@TwitchyTango]

@@ao8775 a gamer can dream

[@Dylan-bd2qy]

Love the aboard the Ebon Hawk music

[@MichaelTheJones]

The truth hurts but I appreciate the information. You’re 100% the best!

[@Gyrannon]

Sounds like a perfectly good mod was killed for no reason. I've heard about remakes being done and later everyone is resigned to the fact it will never happen. This sounds like yet another good game tossed around in to development hell.

[@jacobmillenbach2561]

The only thing I want confirmed is if they planned on adding the full content that wasn’t added back in the old Xbox days

[@Rucarlos]

I get you're defensive of your friends at Aspyr, but I trust Sony's eye for quality way more than Aspyr. Turn based action already raises remaster red flags

[@ophbmystik]

aspyr should have just approached the apeiron guys. they were doing a bang up job. never was so disappointed as i was when that got canceled.

[@GameOverTimeOfficial]

I heard the interview with Paulo Gomes and from what he says it does not seem that Saber Porto is the studio helming the new KOTOR Remake. Here's my translation of the excerpt of the ComiCon interview of Paulo Gomes, CEO of Saber Porto, regarding the KOTOR Remake: Interviewer: From the public's reaction, I think people where not expecting to hear that Saber Porto was involved in the KOTOR Remake. Paulo Gomes: As I said, it is not our project, it is an original project that Sony brought (to Saber) and that ended up in the hands of the Saber group to be developed, a group which has several studios, a group where some of the people working on that project (KOTOR) are here in Vila Nova de Gaia (in Portugal) and so we are very proud of the project, as well as other projects we have. We currently have 4 projects in development, one of them being the DLC for Dakar (Dakar Desert Rally). But we also have two other new projects. One of them will be revealed soon and is a very strong IP, something that will surprise everyone, and that project will be done entirely in Portugal. The other projects, we, Saber (Porto), are very proud to have and to be able to participate in, whether being in programming or animation, sometimes maybe even doing renders or assisting with technical art. Therefore, all of this is a group effort from several studios with the aim to achieve a final product. It is more common these days for an ecosystem to be global, which is to say that it is common for several studios to unite to develop big projects. This is the case. And other projects are still being negotiated. So it is worth to underline again that it will be more common and standard that big projects will have a contribution from Saber Porto and, as such, from Portugal. He goes on to talk about the intention to expand Saber Porto, from the current 150 collaborators/workers (approximately) to 200 and to create another Saber studio in the capital Lisbon. I'm portuguese btw but take my translation as you will.

[@georgesuarez8325]

My friend whatever happens it shouldn't take away anything from your enjoyment of playing KOTOR 1 and 2 for so many years. I really don't know what to think anymore about the KOTOR remake and think they should have just made KOTOR 3 and Battlefront 3. Hopefully you continue to get more good news and the remake comes out soon

[@KazukiBatman]

I trust Sony on quality far more than I do Lucasfilm. Still not sure the right response to those issues was moving it from a studio built up for this one game to a smaller studio also with little experience.

[@captainrex9406]

I doubt this had anything to do with quality, more like Sony wanted something completely different.

[@ColtonT13]

I think that the best possible outcome would have been absorbing all the original KOTOR devs into saber and just recreate the combat systems to be more action-real time oriented over the FF7 Remake combat to attract the modern audience (I’d also love it if they developed it to where you can choose what combat system you wanted to use)

[@not-a-theist8251]

expanding on what was already there is exactly how I would hope the remake goes

[@WickedRaccoon16_61]

I recently bought KOTOR 1 and 2 on the OG xbox, i can play them on my xbox one with and udate. And man are these games good it's incredible. Im doing the second one these days and i just can't get enought of it. Shur it's long at first, but when you get you first lightsaber, then it gets really good. I do hope they put out a really good remake like they did with RE4, but it's disney and they always find a way to f*ck things up these days. But no mather what i'll always have the OG game to enjoye.

[@FlymanMS]

What a mess of a situation. I think people at Aspyr should be one making that remake but with a leadership like we've seen they probably just couldn't do it successfully. I still believe the remaster is going to be good. Thanks got your honest reporting.

[@Azemys]

Remake*

[@EmperorPhildrelous8]

Finally a Sith Lord game

[@nickwhite6249]

Have Calo and Saul *_seriously_* been fender swapped in the “remake”? I’m asking, dead serious. Has that happened?

[@metetural9140]

Nope but they did have spoilers added to them Sorry, terrible joke

[@chrisreilly1290]

I forgot this thing was even happening and I hope it's good. IDC who makes it per se but I want it to be good. There have been so many good remakes lately and I'm loving them, especially the dead space remaster/remake.

[@marcuswagner9604]

I certainly think Aspyr should have continued with it since it doesn't seem like saber could do the game justice but we shall see at least it is coming and for now that is better then not.

[@dkakito]

Sony should never have been allowed any influence on the project to begin with. Ive been afraid of this remake since they shut Aperion down. And everytime I hear a new update about it, the less convinced Im going to get anything LIKE the OG game...

[@davidmaclellan1175]

Sad to hear what happened to Aspyr. Glad that it looks like the game is still coming out though

[@DeathScythe1919]

I believe saber should’ve adopted the team from Aspyr. I just hope the game is amazing when it finally does release

[@Shanezkool]

Thank you so much for sharing this! Sounds like Aspyr had a great team that really cared about the game and knew what they were doing but top management handled things poorly under pressure.

[@KnotsOfWonders]

Sony should rehire the art and design director and fire the top management that made the braindead decision to fire the two employees for stupid reasons.

[@captainfordo258]

An absolute shame Aspyr got screwed out of finishing the KotoR remake. With the amount of passionate people working there for KotoR, just to have that opportunity taken from them. Smh.

[@arianchavez9140]

So sad that aspyr wasn’t allowed to finish the game. I hope it is still good and it sounds promising that they kept most of what they had made from aspyr

[@ReptileSam]

will this game eventually be released on xbox? I know it is a PS-exclusive at launch. thanks!

[@boodah_dump]

I don’t know why they didn’t allow aspyr to at least be a supporting studio. Feels short-ended when LucasFilm wanted them to do the remake

[@zk116]

Yeah, i feel like the shift in the design approach and philosophy to a more "God of War" and cinematic feel will probably hurt the game quite a bit.

[@Barbossa778]

Aspyr definitely deserved to have continued the game... as a business person, blind business interests often cripple/dramatically change projects based on factors that ultimately don't paint a full picture.

[@1992zorro]

One of the many sad stories within Star Wars. How things could have been , we can only "Hope"

[@mikeor-]

I heard a rumor that Jeff Bennett will voice Revan in the KotOR Remake. He voiced Revan in SWTOR, and he sounds so good, even better than Keanu Reeves. If the remake does come out this year, and I hope it does, then it should also lay the groundwork for a KotOR II remake, with all the cutscenes restored and some characters expanded upon. This may also lead to a KotOR III, which I heard will have Lord Scourge be the player character. I don't know if Saber or Aspyre were the right company, but for me, I don't care as long as they get the job done. And one thing I would like for them to add, even though it's unlikely, is a scene where Revan and Bastila kiss after Revan tells Bastila that he loves her, and just before Bastila says: "I love you too, with all my heart."

[@CrazyxEnigma]

Bennett is a great va. He voiced Kyle Katarn back in Jedi Outcast and Academy along with many many roles in other media over the years.

[@alexanderbirch4026]

Well thank you for the update and from my point of view the whole KOTOR remake project is a whole lot of WTF and I just hope that when this game is eventually released it is at least as good as the original and hopefully better

[@CrazyxEnigma]

I wouldn't get your hopes up. It's very rare a game goes through multiple developers and gets stuck in dev hell it turns out well.

[@TeryonTheHuman]

If Aspyr had gone and tried make it a 1 to 1 remake of the original with the same terrible combat system, then yes i would say take it from them because they clearly don’t have any common sense but they had done what they needed to do. Sony has a reputation for having the best critically acclaimed games for a reason, so they clearly know what they’re doing but if the combat was changed to be more like Final Fantasy 7 remake then I’m not sure what their issue would be since that isn’t much like GOW or Uncharted either but that was also sony exclusive. Only thing i can think of is maybe that the cutscene presentation itself was really bad in comparison to final fantasy 7 remake, or spiderman or something in which case, yeah a budget of 70+ million dollars? You better have the presentation in good condition. We’ll see what saber can do with it.

[@splashnskillz37]

Poor puppies at saber got no idea what they got thrown into

[@shiveringisles3509]

I wished there wasn't a remake.. a mediocre or worse remake will do more harm to KoToR's series than no remake because newer players are attracted to a modern/new version. A remaster would have been a better choice, just make it playable with widescreen out of the box and fix remaining bugs.

[@Arander92]

This is why I don’t share the sentiment of most people here. The fact that Aspyr was REMAKING KOTOR rather than REMASTERING the original shows that their head was not in the right place for this task. The story does not need to be changed. Period. The characters do not need to be gender swapped. Period. Why even have a team of writers when the dialogue and voice performances are ALREADY THERE waiting to be used??? The only thing that needs to be is the gameplay, and honestly, FF7 styl stuff that everyone here seems to love? It’s sounds awful. And it wouldn’t go over well with anyone other than Final Fantasy fans. What they should do is just copy TOR’s combat. It’s reminiscent of KOTOR’s, but you have more active control over the character’s attacks and powers. This seems very simple to me, whereas everyone else just seems to be making it more complicated than it needs to be because they’re being nostalgic about the wrong things. I just don’t understand why people think this needs a remake instead of a faithful remaster

[@shiveringisles3509]

@@Arander92 I agree mostly but nothing from Swtor is worth copying especially with what they did to the Exile lol. Copying from an MMO into a cRPG would be a downgrade..

[@ryanrushing3653]

Since I got the Jedi Knight bundle on my Switch I was on board with Aspyr. They did a great job bringing those classic games to the Switch. I personally would have liked to have played their version of KotOR, but in the end I'll play whatever I can get my hands on :D