According to Wccftech, the biggest surprise at The Game Awards 2025 was the announcement of Star Wars: Fate of the Old Republic, a new narrative-driven action RPG. The project is led by Casey Hudson, the director of the original Knights of the Old Republic and the Mass Effect trilogy, through his newly founded studio Arcanaut. That studio was only officially established in July 2025, which immediately led to fears of a very long wait, with Bloomberg’s Jason Schreier suggesting on Bluesky that 2030 was an “optimistic guess.” However, Casey Hudson later responded directly, telling fans to discard the 2030 rumors and promising the game will launch before that year. The game is described as a spiritual successor to KOTOR, not a direct sequel, and will focus on a “cinematic adventure driven by player agency.”
The 2030 Problem
Here’s the thing: the skepticism wasn’t unfounded. Schreier’s point about a five-year dev cycle for a AAA game is standard. And the track record for big Star Wars projects is… not great on this front. Look at the KOTOR remake, announced in 2021 and still in development hell. Or Quantic Dream’s Star Wars: Eclipse, revealed in 2021 with barely a whisper since. Fans have been burned by announcements that come a decade before a game is remotely ready. So when Hudson’s new studio, founded just months ago, gets a marquee license, it’s natural to think, “Oh, so we’ll see this on the PlayStation 6?” Hudson’s promise is a direct attempt to quell that exact fear.
How a 2029 Release Could Actually Work
So, is a pre-2030 launch even feasible? It might be. A lot hinges on scope. The official Star Wars.com announcement stresses “narrative-driven” action RPG. In today’s lingo, that usually means a tighter, more linear experience rather than a massive open-world slog. Think more God of War Ragnarök and less Starfield. And that’s key. The original KOTOR wasn’t a sprawling sandbox either. According to HowLongToBeat.com, it had maybe 7-8 hours of side content in a 35-hour story. If Arcanaut is aiming for that classic BioWare-style template—focused story, meaningful choices, curated worlds—it’s a more manageable production. They’re not building a galaxy simulator.
The other, more controversial, accelerator could be AI. Wccftech mentions it might cut dev times. And sure, for asset generation or voice cloning, maybe. But for a game selling itself on “narrative depth” and “player agency”? I think fans would revolt if AI was writing the dialogue for a KOTOR successor. The risk to the project’s credibility would be huge. So they’d have to be incredibly careful.
Meanwhile, in the Rest of the Galaxy
The good news is, we won’t be in a Star Wars game drought waiting for Hudson’s project. The KOTOR remake is reportedly still alive at Mad Head Games. The third Jedi game from Respawn is probably targeting 2027 or 2028. And hey, there are two smaller titles—Galactic Racer and Zero Company—coming next year. Basically, the pipeline is fuller than it’s been in ages. But it creates a weird dynamic. Can the KOTOR remake, which has struggled for years, possibly launch *after* this new spiritual successor? That would be… awkward.
A Promise to Keep
Casey Hudson has put his reputation on the line here. He’s directly countering a credible industry analyst’s prediction. That’s a bold move. It signals that Lucasfilm and Arcanaut have a specific, aggressive plan. Maybe they have a robust prototype already. Maybe the narrative design is locked. But the pressure is now immense. If this slips into 2030, it’ll be a major black eye. For now, though, fans of that classic RPG style have a genuine reason to be hopeful. A focused, story-rich Star Wars RPG from the mind that started it all? That’s the dream. We just have to see if a studio founded in 2025 can deliver it by 2029.
