Aspyr Media developing KOTOR remake/reimagining?

Gaming
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I’m starting to believe Aspyr Media (yeah, the same studio that just got acquired by Embracer) is working on a KOTOR remake/reimagining or whatever due to several reasons.

First off, Jason Schreier has said several things regarding KOTOR. In the past he has said that a developer nobody would guess is working on KOTOR. Aspyr Media fits this nicely. Not too many people have heard about this studio, fitting in with what Jason Schreier said. In addition, they’ve also worked on Star Wars before, as they’ve ported the Jedi Knights games and updated KOTOR 2.

Today, on a ResetEra thread regarding Aspyr developing KOTOR, Jason Schreier said this, which seemingly hints that Aspyr is indeed the developer:

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On Embracer’s website, they published an article regarding the acquisition of Aspyr. In the article, they say the following pictured below:

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Link:

Now, I think this may be referring to KOTOR. First, it says it’s working on content based on licensed IPs, and well, Star Wars is one. Second, it has quite a high budget of 70 million, something that seems appropriate for a project like a KOTOR reimagining.

The Twitter thread I’ve linked near the very bottom of this post mentions how Aspyr has hired multiple BioWare developers and has job listing that seem to fit a potential KOTOR project:

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I think all of this means that there is a very good chance that Aspyr is working on some kind of KOTOR project.

A thread on Twitter giving more good points as to why Aspyr may be working on KOTOR:

So, thoughts? This is all very interesting to me since Aspyr hasn’t really done anything on this scale before, so I’ll definitely be keeping an eye out to see how this turns out.

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But who the hell is publishing it?

Somebody has to be putting up the $70 Million Price Tag.

It’s probably not EA since they typically make games with their own studios, and as we see here, Embracer is acquiring Aspyr during the production of the game.

Somebody is putting out the money, and it’s sure not THQ/Embracer

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Great post op. I agree with your thinking, it definitely appears that Aspyr are working on KOTOR. As ProgStopper mentioned, what is very interesting is who is publishing the game. Do we think Disney would be using their division to publish? It’s possible but doesn’t fit their MO. It could be a third party publisher but I can’t think of one who would throw that kind of money at the development and not use one of their own studios. It’s still possible it’s in conjuction with MS and they didn’t have a studio free at the time, but that seems strange. Maybe this is a remake and MS are also developing a sequel? Does anyone know if we’ve heard of multiple KOTOR game developments? I think the prior rumors have been a little unclear on if there was a remaster, remake, or sequel in the works.

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Aspyr most definitely is not self-funding or self-publishing it. A theory I have is that it will be published under the “Lucasfilm Games” label and Disney/Lucasfilm themselves are the ones providing the money for it. Don’t know anything about any other potential KOTOR projects.

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Yeah, it might Disney under Lucasfilm games, which would be pretty neat, as they would be getting back in the game, but I’m just not sure if they’re interested in publishing versus finding a partner to take on the costs and risks.

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Right. Disney saw what a hassle game development is and nope’d out after Disney Infinity cratered.

Disney’s MO recently seems to partner with publishers/developers for titles:

  • Sony/Insomniac for Spider-Man
  • Square-Enix/Crystal Dynamics for Avengers
  • Ubisoft / Massive for Star Wars
  • EA / Dice & Others for Star Wars
  • Bethesda/Machine Game for Indiana Jones

So WHO THE HELL IS PUBLISHING THIS?!

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This has been circling around for a week now at least.

Marty and Karigg even commented on this on Defining Duke last week. I think the secret is out.

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I’m thinking that Embracer Group is funding the game. Imagine the massive boost they would get once they publish the game.

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Kinda surprised Disney gave this game away to them but oh well hope for the best.

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I know nothing about Aspyr Media but a quick search shows that they’ve done a lot of ports & remasters, including more than one BioWare title & more than one Star Wars title. So they seem to have a history that would make them a good choice for this project.

I’ll just be stoked if it’s really, truly happening :grin::+1:

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I can see Embracer /THQ being the publishers and that leading to the acquisition after liking what they were seeing.

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Wouldn’t they have already announced a partnership though with the acquistion?

It’s weird that if KOTOR is being remade by Aspyr that don’t already know about it.

Ubisoft announced Massive Star Wars days after the Lucasfilm rebranding Bethesda announced Indiana Jones the same way.

Yet we have all this evidence of Aspyr making KOTOR-something, and we don’t know the publisher? Wouldn’t Embracer want to say the licensed title if they were publishing it?

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I could totally see this being The High Republic instead of actual KOTOR.

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This is so weird because its something you put out an announcement out for recruitment, exposure and MONEY.

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Great investigative thread! Props! I’m convinced! :slight_smile:

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Sony or Microsoft is my bet.

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The thing is, unless they planned from the beginning that it would be released after 2023, EA has to be the publisher. It is specifically referred to as “AAA”, which sets it apart from the LEGO, remaster, and port games that have been released since EA acquired the license. Of course, the EA deal might have been quietly cut short. But I find that unlikely.

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I wouldn’t be surprised if this is the remasters releasing this fall

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disney could have just said to ea that they would never make a star wars game after their current contract runs out unless they let other games come out

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70 million dollars sounds rather steep for a remaster. Unless it is a total face lift ala Demon Souls.

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