Highlights
- Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic 3 was canceled and rumors of its revival continue to circulate, but at this stage, the game probably wouldn't work.
- The history of development rumors for the game is confusing, with stories of BioWare's involvement and publisher interference surfacing over the years.
- KOTOR 2 and Star Wars: The Old Republic's MMORPG explored many story threads from KOTOR's narrative, making it unlikely that KOTOR 3 would have much more to offer.
A long time ago in what feels like a galaxy far, far away, Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic 3 was put into development. Unfortunately, due to reasons that have remained somewhat vague, LucasArts axed the game, possibly in favor of other projects. This has not stopped rumors and reports that say that Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic 3 is being put into development once again.
Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic 3's cancelation is one of many games in the franchise that got the axe despite there clearly being a demand for it. Everyone involved eventually moved on but whether it's wishful thinking or confused information, occasionally a new rumor of the game's revival hits the internet and spreads like wildfire. At this stage, however, Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic 3 probably wouldn't work.
Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic 3's History of Development Rumors
The history of these rumors is somewhat long and confusing. At first, there were rumors that BioWare might be working on Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic 3 in 2019. This was back when EA still held the exclusive rights to develop video games for the franchise. That same year, however, stories were also circulating that the publisher specifically was preventing the developer from working on the game for reasons that have never been revealed. Since the turn of the decade, even more stories of reported work on the sequel have popped up.
One of the latest rumors claims that Sony inadvertently stalled Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic 3's chances of ever being made. A third game was reportedly part of developer Aspyr's long-term plans following their work on the Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic remake. The remake has since been indefinitely delayed and may have taken any chances of a third game with it. At the same time, the third game remaining on ice might be for the best at this point.
Why Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic 3 Wouldn't Work at This Stage
In 2011, BioWare and EA did release a follow-up to Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic 2 in the form of an MMORPG. BioWare co-founder Greg Zeschuck described Star Wars: The Old Republic as the third to ninth installment of the franchise. Many of the story threads that were left hanging from KOTOR 2 were followed up on in the MMORPG. Players were able to battle the True Sith and even discovered what happened to Revan. There simply isn't much more of a story to tell in that setting that wasn't already covered in that game.
In addition, Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic 3 is a game that falls into a rather unfortunate category. Like other long-demanded sequels like Half-Life 3 and Beyond Good and Evil 2, there is an almost mythical aura to the game. They come off as these long-lost projects that are just dying to see the light of day if only the publishers would let them be released and have unreasonable expectations levied on them. As a result, it's very likely that the game would never meet such unreasonable expectations that a 20-year delay would undoubtedly generate. All of which contributes to why Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic 3 probably wouldn't work.
In the end, it's impossible to say if the game will ever be released. It currently appears that Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic 3 will never happen, but that's probably for the best. So much of what would likely have been covered in KOTOR 3 was explored in Star Wars: The Old Republic, which more or less closed the book on that particular storyline.
Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic is not confirmed to be in development.