A fourth and brand new Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic game is on the way, according to VGC and Bespin Bulletin who suggest it would also be created by a different company.
Following Disney’s announcement of their new Lucasfilm Games label for future Star Wars titles, a new pipeline was created for the 2020’s. This could also include the KOTOR sequel or re-imagining which would be open from an external developer besides EA. Of course, the development beyond BioWare and EA would also suggest it would be a completely different game. According to Bespin Bulletin over his podcast, he stated a few people and journalist Jason Schreirer were aware a KOTOR-style game was in the making beyond EA. There were also other plans for the Battlefront 2 studio around a “bounty hunter game” in a smaller scope.
The original acclaimed Knights of the Old Republic originally released in 2003 and was developed by Canadian studio BioWare. Its story was also set in the Expanded Universe/Legends timeline following Disney’s rebranding of the Star Wars IP and took place 4000 years before the Empire rose to power. It introduced cult favourite characters, including Malak and Darth Revan who was revealed to be the player character and throws them back into a Jedi path. High reviews and a strong fan base spawned Knights of the Old Republic II: The Sith Lords by Obsidian Entertainment which doubled-down on the original game’s mechanics and added a variety of minigames and real-time combat elements. Players could also use their old Jedi classes and prestige them. Rather than play as Revan, fans followed a new path as the “Jedi Exile” who reconnects with the force and encounters the famed sith lord later in the game. The first two games were ported to Android and iOS late last year.
The RPG also features some seed mechanics towards Bioware’s other popular Mass Effect series, which was born in 2007. From choosing character classes which shaped the game to tiered Force powers and turn-based combat, Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic would build on these features with a third sequel from Obsidian which saw its latest DLC from October 2019.
Word of a KOTOR remake or spiritual successor was heard as early as 2020 as a project was greenlit and linked to EA before it was reportedly shelved. Under the supervision of Disney and Lucasfilm Games, it’s still unknown whether the next KOTOR game could be placed within canon Star Wars lore. The IP recently introduced its High Republic era set centuries before The Phantom Menace and tells the Jedi’s origins at the height of their power. Early game elements were incorporated into VR with Tales From the Galaxy’s Edge through a special flashback level featuring a younger Master Yoda.