Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic 3is finally reported to be in development, with Lucasfilm Games finding a new studio to take on the famous RPG franchise. It’s been reported that neither EA nor BioWare will be involved this time around, which will have some fans tentative about the prospect of a new team working on the IP.
The second game was notably worked on by a different developer, Obsidian Entertainment, and it’s very possible thatStar Wars: Knights of the Old Republic 3’s new development studio will be able to live up the series’ legacy. If that’s going to happen, the developers will need to avoid someStar Warssequel mistakes that have caused problems for the series over the course of its mainstream revival this past decade.
RELATED:Star Wars: Knights of the Republic 3 Has an Uphill Battle Ahead of Itself
Big Galaxy, Few Characters
One of the biggest criticisms of theStar Warssequel trilogy, as well as the franchise in general, is that the stories focused too solely onthe Skywalker familydespite taking place in a galaxy full of opportunity. Some of the more recent films likeRogue Onefound success focusing on side characters, as has Disney Plus’ hit tv showThe Mandalorian. Despite this,Rogue One still focused on an event tied directly toA New Hope, whileThe Mandalorian’s introduction of characters like Boba Fett and Ahsoka Tano still have it just one degree of removal away from Anakin Skywalker himself.
TheoriginalKnights ofthe Old Republictook place 4000 years before Luke Skywalker destroyed the Death Star at the Battle of Yavin, but that doesn’t mean thatKOTOR 3isn’t at risk of making the galaxy far far away feel similarly small. While it’s unlikely that the new studio will shift the events of the game too near to the movies–it’s stillthe Old Republic, after all–it is possible that the storytellers could still focus on characters from the previous games.
Darth Revan and other well-knownKOTORcharacters likeBastila Shanare among those at most risk of returning in some form or another, particularly with Force Ghosts a possibility. The new studio, however, will likely find more success investing in brand new characters and brand-new stories for players to throw themselves into, just as BioWare did when the studio created the first game.
RELATED:5 Developers That Would Be Perfect for Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic 3
Light, Dark, And Originality
TheStar Warssequel trilogy also reinforced the Light Side vs Dark Side binary from the original trilogy, while the originalKOTORgames also explored “Gray Jedi” who had learned the ways of the Force outside of the traditional teachings of the Jedi or the Sith.Knights of the Old Republic 3should explore more of the nuances in the galaxy just as the original two games did instead of following the lead of the movies.
The nextKnights of the Old Republicgame should be used to expand theStar Warsuniverse, not to retread old ground, take players to familiar locations, or show players familiar faces. Though it may seem like a bigger risk for a new studio to try and tell a completely originalStar Warsstory, the huge amount ofStar Warsmedia being produced at the moment – including a newStar Warsopen-world gamein development at Ubisoft Massive – should make originality a number one priority. Whether or not the new game will ever be able to live up to the hype after nearly 20 years, however, remains to be seen.
Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic 3is rumored to be in-development.
MORE:New Knights of the Old Republic Reportedly in Development, but Not at EA
