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There is no doubt that Bioware's Knight of the Old Republic was one of the greatest Star Wars video games ever released, and new rumours are circulating that the franchise may be about to be resurrected. What is KOTOR? For those who missed out the first time around, Knights of the Old Republic was a single-player role-playing game set 4000 years before the Skywalker Saga, released on Xbox and PC in 2003. Although gameplay is clunky by today's standards, the story and the interactions that result in your character moving towards the light side or dark side of the Force mean that it is still worth a playthrough. A sequel, Knights of the Old Republic II - The Sith Lords, was released in 2004, and an MMO simply called Star Wars: The Old Republic which was set 300 years later expanded on this era of galactic history. Ultimately, though, all three games and spin-off materials are now considered part of Legends, rather than part of the canon timeline, since the 2015 shakeup of the Star Wars Expanded Universe. I won't spoil the plot of either game, because if you don't already know it you deserve to be able to play through the game without known the broader strokes of the plot. What do we know? Well, things are a bit murky to be honest. Rumours of a sequel have circulated for years, with a source close to Bioware leaking in 2017 that the developer was working on a sequel. Kotaku later confirmed the story, but clarified that the project was a prototype that was never greenlit by parent company EA who hold the licence for Star Wars games. In April last year, Kathleen Kennedy told reporters that they had several projects in the works, and that the idea of Knights of the Old Republic had been brought up. A month later, it was reported that Laeta Kalogridis was working on a Knights of the Old Republic movie screenplay. More recently still, the ambitious multi-media initiative Project Luminous was said to be set in a re-imagined Old Republic era called the "High Republic", while Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order features temples left behind by an ancient race of Force users that would be perfect for exploration via a Knights of the Old Republic style RPG. What could the new game be about? While we are taking these rumours with a pinch of salt, it's fun to speculate. The original plan for KOTOR3 would have apparently seen the player face up against an even greater enemy than the Sith we had seen so far in the series, but if there is going to be another Knights of the Old Republic I would think it would be more of a re-imagining rather than a straight sequel, as nothing has really been set in stone for the era since the games were decanonised. As the era is so far removed from established Star Wars canon they could opt for a remake, keeping the main characters (many of whom are beloved by fans), keeping the broad strokes of the story, but reworking the encounters and plot points to suit the new canon. Who would make it? Well, the first two games were developed by Bioware, so they would be the obvious choice. But Bioware has several projects already in the works, namely for the Dragon Age, Mass Effect, and Anthem franchises. Recently it was reported that EA were hiring for their Star Wars team at Respawn, so it's possible that the success of Jedi: Fallen Order has allowed them to claim this game, too. This wouldn't be a bad thing as Respawn did a terrific job, although it would mean that the new KOTOR would not have the same feel as it's predecessors. Of course, this new game could always be something else entirely, such is the nature of rumours. I've never played KOTOR, it sounds great! It really is! If you like RPGs and you're not afraid of older games with outdated graphics and clunky interfaces then you'll have a good time. KOTOR and KOTOR2 share some gameplay similarities with Bioware's Mass Effect series. I often see physical copies of both games in pre-owned sections of game stores, but you can also pick them up relatively cheaply on Steam: Knights of the Old Republic on Steam Knights of the Old Republic II - The Sith Lords on Steam As a fan of the Old Republic era I'll be keeping an eye out for more news on this.

According to a Buzzfeed News exclusive Laeta Kalogridis is currently writing a Knights of the Old Republic screenplay which would be the first part of a trilogy. This news comes, apparently, from three sources close to the project. Laeta Kalogridis has worked as screenwriter on several big projects, including Shutter Island and Terminator Genisys. More recently she was co-screenwriter for Alita: Battle Angel, and created the Netflix series Altered Carbon. Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic needs no introduction; the 2003 RPG from BioWare has long been a fan favourite, and is set in an era 4,000 years before the Battle of Yavin as seen in the original Star Wars movie. The game introduced many beloved characters such as Bastilla Shan, HK-47 (the original sassy droid that makes Rogue One's K-2SO look friendly), and of course Darth Revan. I won't spoil the plot, but if you haven't played it then you should give it a go if you're into that type of gameplay. According to Buzzfeed representatives from Lucasfilm, Disney, or of Kalogridis have not commented on this news, which comes just over a week after Disney CEO Bob Iger revealed that Star Wars 2022 was from Game of Thrones producers David Benioff and DB Weiss. At Celebration Chicago in April, Kathleen Kennedy confirmed that Old Republic content was in the works, but did not elaborate. However true this information is, we will be watching with great interest. After all, there were many beloved stories set in the post-Return of the Jedi era that were scrapped to make way for the new canon. The era in which Knights of the Old Republic is set was also wiped from canon, along with the Dawn of the Jedi series, and the Tales of the Jedi comics, but nothing has yet replaced them. Could the story of KotOR be adopted into the new canon, or will the writers build their own stories that re-imagine the era entirely? Let us know what you think.

Kathleen Kennedy has appeared to confirm during an interview with MTV that a project set in the Old Republic era is in development. When prompted by MTV that a lot of fans would like to see something related to Knights of the Old Republic, Kennedy smiled and confirmed that this was something had been spoken about a lot and that something was in development right now. Planning seems to be in early stages right now, as she was keen to avoid giving any sort of hints as to what the story might entail, and went on to reiterate the plans to have a longer gap between movies going forwards. Star Wars News Net has previously posted a rumour, that had apparently come from a reliable source, stating that the project being worked on by Game of Thrones TV adaptation creators David Benioff and DB Weiss was set in the distant past of the Star Wars canon. Rian Johnson has already denied that his Star Wars trilogy will be set during the Old Republic era, and it is widely thought that he would be picking up from threads he wove into The Last Jedi. On a personal level, I would hope that a Knights of the Old Republic project would draw inspiration from the Dark Horse Comics Tales of the Jedi series rather than the more recent video games that followed. As Darth Bane has already been confirmed as existing in the new canon, it is possible that we may see some of his story come into play. You can check out MTV's interview with Kathleen Kennedy via Twitter.

Star Wars: The Old Republic: Onslaught will be the MMO's first new expansion for three years, and is coming free to all subscribers in September 2019. The expansion see Darth Malgus return, and promises to reignite the war between the Galactic Republic and the Sith Empire and brings two new planets, as well as a new Flashpoint on Corellia and a new Operation on Dxun amongst other features. The new story sends players to the Republic world of Onderon and the smuggler's haven of Mek-Sha. The philosophy behind the expansion is said to be "play your way", with the development team introducing new tactical items that allow you to further customise your character and abilities to suit your gameplay style. You will also be able to choose to undermine your own faction or stay loyal their cause. Additionally the level cap will be raised to 75 (free accounts can play to level 50), and the Nautolan species will also become available to players creating a new character. Visit the official Star Wars: The Old Republic site for the full announcement.

Greetings Everyone, I got an email from Bioware announcing a new Star Wars MMO called Star Wars: The Old Republic, taking place several thousand years before the prequals and several thousand after the Sith Wars. Website Sounds good and looks fun but I honestly don't know what to make of it considering Empire Divided...

BioWare Community Manager Eric Musco teased players with a video showing what appeared to be player housing during a Twitch livestream yesterday. This confirmed what dataminers had recently posted on Reddit, showing that additions to the game code and assets pointed towards this feature being implemented. Today it was officially confirmed with this announcement trailer, captured from the development livestream: Player housing is a feature missing from many recent MMOs, and amongst fans who played Star Wars Galaxies especially this has been a much requested feature that is sure to prove popular. Player-owned structures in Star Wars Galaxies could be placed almost anywhere on a planet, with some player controlled cities becoming busier than areas built by the developers. Houses allowed players to sell merchandise and show off their possessions, as well as provide valuable storage space. It is currently not clear what kind of system The Old Republic will be using but more details are sure to emerge soon.

BioWare has released a video announcement of a new player housing feature for Star Wars: The Old Republic.BioWare Community Manager Eric Musco teased players with a video showing what appeared to be player housing during a Twitch livestream yesterday. This confirmed what dataminers had recently posted on Reddit, showing that additions to the game code and assets pointed towards this feature being implemented. Today it was officially confirmed with this announcement trailer, captured from the development livestream: Player housing is a feature missing from many recent MMOs, and amongst fans who played Star Wars Galaxies especially this has been a much requested feature that is sure to prove popular. Player-owned structures in Star Wars Galaxies could be placed almost anywhere on a planet, with some player controlled cities becoming busier than areas built by the developers. Houses allowed players to sell merchandise and show off their possessions, as well as provide valuable storage space. It is currently not clear what kind of system The Old Republic will be using but more details are sure to emerge soon. Click here to view the article

Games developer BioWare has revealed plans for two new expansions for it's massively multiplayer online RPG Star Wars: The Old Republic in 2014.Senior Producer Bruce Maclean told players that they can expect to see two digital expansions to be released in 2014, which will be similar to last years Galactic Starfighter and Rise of the Hutt Cartel expansions. Also confirmed was on-going maintenance and bug-fixing patches on a three-week basis, along with new many new features for PvP and PvE players alike. This is all part of plans to attract new players; The Old Republic, which reportedly cost $200 million to develop, moved to a free-to-play model with micropayments after failing to build a large enough player base to sustain a subscription model. More details can be found in the developers blog: http://www.swtor.com...rticle/20140203 Click here to view the article

Senior Producer Bruce Maclean told players that they can expect to see two digital expansions to be released in 2014, which will be similar to last years Galactic Starfighter and Rise of the Hutt Cartel expansions. Also confirmed was on-going maintenance and bug-fixing patches on a three-week basis, along with new many new features for PvP and PvE players alike. This is all part of plans to attract new players; The Old Republic, which reportedly cost $200 million to develop, moved to a free-to-play model with micropayments after failing to build a large enough player base to sustain a subscription model. More details can be found in the developers blog: http://www.swtor.com/info/news/news-article/20140203