The $70 release day price for standard AAA titles is both unsustainable and on the way out, claims Saber Interactive CEO Matthew Karch, via an interview with IGN reporter Rebekah Valentine.
03.04.2024 - 07:31 / gadgets.ndtv.com / Lars Wingefors / Matthew Karch / Sony / Saber Interactive
Since its reveal at PlayStation Showcase in 2021, Star Wars: The Knights of the Old Republic Remake has had a tumultuous development history. The remake of the beloved RPG from 2003 was delayed indefinitely and changed developers in 2022, with Saber Interactive taking over from Aspyr. Last month, Saber along with other studios under its brand and its licensed IPs, was sold for $247 million by Embracer Group, creating further uncertainty around the remake project. Now, Saber has confirmed that the studio is still working on the game.
Speaking to IGN Wednesday, Saber Interactive CEO Matthew Karch confirmed that KOTOR remake was under active development, with the studio retaining the project following its split from Embracer Group.
Karch said it was “clear and obvious” that Saber was still at work on the game. “What I will say is that the game is alive and well, and we're dedicated to making sure we exceed consumer expectations,” he told IGN.
The Saber Interactive head did not divulge any other details about the game and did not mention a release timeline. It could, however, be a while before we see The Knights of the Old Republic Remake released. During Saber's Split from Embracer Group, Embracer CEO Lars Wingefors had suggested that the game would not be released in the next 12 months.
The remake project was first revealed with a teaser in 2021 as part of PlayStation Showcase. Announced for PlayStation 5 and PC, the game is yet to get a full trailer that reveals more details about the gameplay. Initially helmed by Aspyr Media, the game was planned for launch by end of 2022.
In July 2022, the game was delayed indefinitely after three years of development at Aspyr. According to reports at the time, an internal demo of the Star Wars game was not well-received by partners Sony and Lucasfilm.
Later that year, the project changed hands, with Saber Interactive taking over the reins. Bloomberg reported then that a more realistic release window for the remake would be 2025.
Released in 2003 for Xbox and PC, the original Knights of the Old Republic was developed by RPG veterans BioWare. The game was later ported to mobile platforms, and more recently to Nintendo Switch in 2021.
The $70 release day price for standard AAA titles is both unsustainable and on the way out, claims Saber Interactive CEO Matthew Karch, via an interview with IGN reporter Rebekah Valentine.
CEO of Saber Interactive, Matthew Karch, has said in an interview with IGN that he believes that games that cost $70 will eventually start disappearing. Karch spoke about various aspects of development, saying that studios and publishers will eventually start looking at ways to reduce costs for AAA projects.
Saber CEO Matthew Karch has entered a no-holds barred interview with IGN about his company’s experience with Embracer Group. But what he has to say is probably going to surprise you.
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They say that no news is good news, but in the case of the carbonite-encased Knights of the Old Republic remake, apparently languishing in development hell, we'll take whatever scraps we can get. Now an independent entity free from the imploding Embracer Group, developer Saber Interactive's CEO, Matthew Karch, has acknowledged the project, albeit briefly.
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Saber Interactive has provided a new update on the state of its Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic Remake, confirming that it's «alive and well.»
Presumably, the remake of Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic can’t hold up a newspaper with today’s date to prove that it is actually doing okay and hasn’t been quietly disposed of in a tax report somewhere, Warner Bros-style. As such, it falls to the head of current developers Saber Interactive to promise that the long-in-the-works Star Wars game is still “alive and well”.
Knights of the Old Republic Remake is still «alive and well», said Saber Interactive boss Matthew Karch, despite the company's split from Embracer.
Sony announced a remake of Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic three years ago during the 2021 PlayStation Showcase. Since then, the trailer was delisted, it was indefinitely delayed, and it changed developers. Fears of it being cancelled have been mounting as both Disney and Embracer remain quiet, but developer Saber Interactive insists that it's still in the works and only yesterday revealed that the project is "alive and well".
While some fans may be concerned about the remake, developer Saber Interactive has promised that the project is progressing smoothly. Following the surprise announcement that one of Bioware's most beloved RPGs was receiving a ground-up reimagining for modern hardware, the fandom struggled to contain its excitement. Despite a teaser trailer dropping in 2021, the studio has yet to share an official update on the game in nearly three years, leading to speculation that it had been canceled due to tumult behind the scenes.
After years of uncertainty, Saber Interactive's Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic remake is "alive and well," according to the company's CEO.