After years of speculation, Lucasfilm Games is reportedly collaborating with an unknown studio to developStar Wars: Knights of the Old Republic 3. This comes shortly after reports of an open-worldStar Warstitle in development at Ubisoft Massive saw EA lose its exclusive grip on the franchise’s games, with neither EA nor BioWare reportedly involved in developing the third game in the RPG saga.
Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic 3has an uphill battle ahead as a result. Not only were the first two games highly acclaimed, but without BioWare’s involvement, many fans will be worried for the future of the franchise. While it’s true that Obsidian Entertainment developedKnights of the Old Republic 2, it was BioWare that set the mold for the games. However, there may still be reasons to hope that the nextKOTORwill wow fans just like the first game did when it came out almost two decades ago.
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The Challenges Facing KOTOR 3
However, Lucasfilm games is reportedly tapping an all-new developer to work onKnights of the Old Republic3. While some fans may be anxious to see BioWare step away from the helm, the studio also took the backseat withKOTOR 2, which was developed byObsidian Entertainmentand is considered by many fans to be as good as, if not better than, the original game.
The success of the original twoKOTORs could pose one of the biggest challenges forKnights of the Old Republic 3:high expectations. The lastKOTORgame was released in 2004, but even for fans who haven’t played eitherKOTOR, it has had a clear influence on the mechanics of some of BioWare’s most successful franchiseslikeMass Effect. Expectations will be extremely high, and many fans will be keeping a close eye on the developer Lucasfilm picks.
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What Does KOTOR Look like in 2021?
Not only will the story of the nextKOTORhave to live up to the original two games, but there are also aspects of the franchise which haven’t aged as well.KOTOR’sDnD-based combat is unlikely to live up to the fast-paced lightsaber-swinging action players have enjoyed in games likeStar Wars Jedi: Fallen Order.Knights of the Old Republic 3will have to deliver a narrative as compelling as BioWare’s original story while also developing a robust combat system that the new team will have few references for in the original games.
Knights of the Old Republic 3’s biggest vulnerability, however, could also prove to be its biggest strength.KOTOR 3will likely face immense scrutiny, high expectations, and new challenges bringing aStar WarsRPG story to lifethat didn’t exist when the first two games were developed. However, even after all these years, the excitement that has already been generated by the possibility of a new game shows how strong fan affection for the series remains. Whichever company Lucasfilm taps to developKOTOR 3will have to balance expectations, but could also do very well on name recognition alone.
A newStar Wars: Knights of the Old Republicgame is rumored to be in development.
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