Star Wars: KOTOR Remake Reportedly Targeting 2028 Launch, Saber Executive Reveals

The Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic remake just got its biggest update in years, and for the first time ever we have what looks like an internal release window. This is not a leak and it is not a rumor. It came from one of the highest ranking people at Saber Interactive, for a project that has spent the last five years in what can only be described as development hell.

Saber Interactive recently brought on a new chief business officer who previously worked at Epic Games and Telltale. According to Eurogamer, that chief business officer posted a comment on the Warhammer Space Marine 2 subreddit responding to a fan worried that Space Marine 3 would be loaded with microtransactions. In that same comment came the single most important KOTOR remake update since the game was announced back in 2021.

A Saber Executive's Reddit Comment Revealed the First Real Release Window

The chief business officer's exact quote was: "We are preparing to do more self-publishing, and I'm here to organize the group in preparation of the lineup forming for 2028 that includes Space Marine, John Wick, and hopefully KOTOR Remake, and a few unannounced titles." So Saber's 2028 lineup seemingly includes Space Marine 3, the John Wick game, more unannounced titles, and hopefully the KOTOR remake. That is a company executive basically saying the remake could be happening in 2028.

The original Reddit post got deleted, and screenshots are really the only thing that spread. When press reached out to Saber Interactive for clarification, the company confirmed the post was real but was careful to say it was not an official statement on the game's release information. They did not deny it or walk it back. It is not official release information, but it came from an executive of the company, which I still think is a big deal.

KOTOR Remake's Chaotic Five Year Development History

If you have not been following the saga, it has had a tumultuous development cycle, to put it plainly it has just been pure chaos. The game was announced in September 2021 during a PlayStation showcase, and the footage of Revan igniting the red lightsaber shown that day is still the only footage we have. At the time, Aspyr Media was developing it.

By mid 2022, reports came out that development had been paused after an internal demo did not go well, which led to key leads being let go and the project being handed over to Saber Interactive. Then the entire Embracer Group implosion happened. Saber split out as an independent company and took the KOTOR remake with it, with other reports saying a Saber Interactive subsidiary studio is the team actually building it.

Throughout all of that, official communication has been almost non-existent. Every year or so we get a one line pulse check, just enough to hear that heartbeat once. Saber Interactive chief creative officer Tim Willits said back in March that the game is still in development, but that was it, no window, no platforms, no gameplay. So when the chief business officer, whose job is literally to organize the release lineup, mentions a hopeful KOTOR remake for 2028 without being asked about it, that is a different type of update entirely.

We do have to consider that he said "hopefully," and I am not going to pretend that word is not doing a lot of work in that sentence. But even hopefully attached to a specific year is more concrete than anything we have gotten in the last five years. It tells us the game is not dead, it survived the studio swap, it survived the Embracer implosion, and it is at least far enough along to have a place on an internal road map.

Why the Original PlayStation Exclusivity Deal Is Probably Dead

Here is an angle I have not really seen people talk about much, and I have been thinking about it for a while, especially since PlayStation announced it was moving away from physical copies. When the KOTOR remake was announced in 2021, it was revealed as a PlayStation console exclusive with PC alongside it, with other platforms presumably coming later. That deal was struck in a completely different era, right at the start of the PS5 life cycle, at a PlayStation showcase, when Sony had marketing and exclusivity arrangements in place and Aspyr was the developer under the Embracer umbrella.

Since then, almost none of that structure exists anymore. The developer changed, the parent company changed, Saber is now fully independent, and according to the chief business officer himself it is moving toward self-publishing its own lineup. Just listen to how he framed that 2028 slate: Space Marine 3, the John Wick game, KOTOR, and other unannounced titles. That is a stacked lineup, and Space Marine is a multiplatform franchise. Saber's entire business model is built on shipping games in as many places as possible.

So do I think this game is still going to be locked to PlayStation? I highly doubt it. Deals like this are typically tied to timing, marketing windows, and the original agreement, and PlayStation has since scrubbed the KOTOR remake from existence for the most part. After years of changes, whatever Sony locked down in 2021 has gone through the shredder. I do not think they were grandfathered in. I think the deal is pretty much dead. My expectation is a simultaneous or near simultaneous launch across PlayStation 5, Xbox, PC, or possibly next generation hardware.

What a 2028 Release Means for Consoles and Physical Copies

Let's be real about what 2028 actually means. The PlayStation 5 launched in November 2020, and by 2028 that console will be eight years old, one year older than the PS4 was when the PS5 replaced it. Every credible report suggests next generation hardware from both Sony and Microsoft is arriving in either 2027 or 2028. So the KOTOR remake, announced as a flagship PS5 exclusive, may realistically launch at the very end of the PS5's life cycle, or as a cross gen title, or primarily as a next gen game.

Here is the part that really stings for collectors. This is one of those games I would collect because I played the original KOTOR, I love that game, it is near and dear to my heart. A 2028 release window makes a proper physical PS5 edition feel really unlikely. I would say I would buy it for next gen consoles or Xbox, but I do not even think that is going to be a thing either. The only way I feel like I would be able to collect a physical edition is by buying it on Switch, and even then it might just be a Game Key card, we do not know.

If this game does release in 2028, publishers will likely be shifting to no more physical production for PlayStation unless things change. I do not think PlayStation is going to be changing their mindset. If you look at their communications, it sounds like they have already made their bed and are willing to lay on it. If you are a collector wanting a KOTOR remake steelbook for your shelf, I would temper those expectations pretty quickly. Saber might do something behind the scenes, and if the game is cross gen I am sure they would still print a physical copy for whatever platforms they can, but a physical PS5 copy at a 2028 launch is pretty much out the window.

The No Microtransactions Promise Gives Me Some Hope

I want to give credit where it is due, because the context of the Reddit post was actually pretty encouraging. The chief business officer was posting to shut down microtransaction fears. He flat out said his job was not to squeeze money out of Saber's products, that Saber has never pursued microtransactions, and that their model is selling the main game with a free DLC plan for the community plus paid DLC done with care.

For a single player story driven RPG like KOTOR, that philosophy is exactly the kind of thing I want to hear. This is a game that lives and dies by its writing, its choices, and its world, and the last thing anyone needs is a remake of one of the greatest RPGs ever made getting carved up for monetization. If that remains true, then KOTOR might have been handed to the right company, even if the road to get there was brutal.

My Take: This Is the Most Encouraging Update Since the Announcement

This is the most encouraging KOTOR remake news since the announcement trailer. I think people need to hold two ideas at once. The first is that the game is clearly real, it is not dead, it is progressing, and it happens to be on an internal road map. Executives do not put dead projects in their lineup planning, so if this chief business officer is putting this thing in his lineup, at least he thinks it is real.

The other thing is that hopefully that 2028 means exactly what it sounds like, the game is still years away, and the date is pretty soft, it could change. If there was any game on that 2028 lineup likely to slip to another year, it is probably going to be the KOTOR remake. I also think the seven year gap between the 2021 announcement and a realistic 2028 release is one of the worst marketing situations in a while, especially for a remake rather than a brand new entry.

I think that is another reason they have been so silent, they do not want to give people false hope or announce anything super early again, and they would probably rather have a shorter marketing run to launch. If the trade off is getting a game that is properly finished with no microtransactions and a remake worthy of the KOTOR name, I am fine with that deal every time. The remake is still alive, it is standing in 2026, it is moving along, and the release date is seemingly 2028.