Holy crap, the Game Awards 2025 started off with a huge surprise: Star Wars: Fate of the Old Republic! A spiritual successor to KOTOR from Casey Hudson and set in the Expanded Universe! Wowza, that’s exciting stuff. Here’s everything we know right now about this upcoming Star Wars game.
What is Star Wars: Fate of the Old Republic?
Fate of the Old Republic, or as all the cool kids call it, “FOTOR,” is a newly announced single-player Star Wars action RPG that is set in the same era as the beloved Knights of the Old Republic games, the less-loved-but-still-good MMO spin-off, and all the various tie-in media. It was revealed during the Game Awards 2025. Here’s the awesome trailer:
OMG! Is this Knights of the Old Republic 3?
Nope! But Lucasfilm, Casey Hudson, and Arcanaut Studios have referred to FOTOR as a “spiritual successor” to those games that take place in the same era of the Star Wars franchise. It also isn’t a turn-based RPG, but it will feature many choices, and the people making it have hinted at players being able to play as either good or bad characters, something that was a big part of KOTOR.
Wait, who is Casey Hudson?
Hudson was the director behind BioWare’s original Knights of the Old Republic and would also help create and lead Mass Effect after KOTOR. His return to Star Wars and the Old Republic franchise is a big reason why people are super excited about this game, and also why so many people think it’s KOTOR 3. (It isn’t, as explained above.)
When does Fate of the Old Republic take place?
We don’t really know much about FOTOR’s setting and story yet. The trailer shows off some new characters who will likely be involved in the full game, but Hudson and Lucasfilm are being tight-lipped about any specific details. They did, however, confirm that this isn’t a direct sequel to KOTOR or KOTOR 2. Instead, it will feature a new story, new locations, new characters, and so on. But if I were a betting man, I’d wager some credits that elements, characters, and locations from those past games might show up in some form or another in FOTOR.
Is it canon? Or Legends?
Again, we’ve not been given a clear answer to this question, but I’d be shocked if FOTOR was canon with the films. The Old Republic games, books, and comics were all part of the old Expanded Universe, which was made non-canon after Disney bought Star Wars over a decade ago. While some elements of the Old Republic universe have been made canon, like the Rakatan species, the bulk of the Old Republic is no longer canon.
But who cares?! The Old Republic MMO has been going strong for years now, telling new Legends stories. I think it’s great, actually, that Lucasfilm seems willing to let more projects be made that aren’t canon, but instead are part of the old EU. That’s a win for everyone in my book. And it lets FOTOR do its own thing without having to twist itself in narrative knots and retcons in order to fit in the canon timeline.
Who is making FOTOR?
As mentioned, Casey Hudson is directing, and Fate of the Old Republic is being developed by Arcanaut Studios, a new company founded by Hudson earlier this year. That actually leads us perfectly into the next question…
This is Star Wars: Fate of the Old Republic, a single player narrative-driven action RPG and spiritual successor to Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic.
Working on KOTOR was a defining experience of my career. This is a dream come true for me and our team of incredible… pic.twitter.com/unx3HvoyUG
— Casey Hudson (@CaseyDHudson) December 12, 2025
When is it coming out?
Oh boy, I’ve got bad news for you: Probably not anytime soon. Remember, Arcanaut Studios was just created earlier this year. That means this game is likely still in pre-production or has just entered development. We are very, very early in the process here, and as pointed out by Bloomberg reporter Jason Schreier, FOTOR is almost certainly not a PS5 game and might not be released until 2030.
AAA games take a long time to make, and the time to create them is getting longer as games get more complicated and visually impressive. This is also a new studio that is still figuring out its culture, its tools, and learning how to work together. So yeah, the earliest I’d expect Fate of the Republic to launch is late 2028, and that is being extremely hopeful and would likely involve a ton of crunch and support studios. The more reasonable option is 2030 or later. Which, yeah, could mean FOTOR is a late PlayStation 6 game and/or an early PlayStation 7 launch.
What platforms is Fate of the Old Republic launching on?
PC almost for sure. Beyond that, no idea. Nothing confirmed, and based on how many years away it will be, likely not PS5, Xbox Series X/S, or Switch 2.
Will I get to use a lightsaber?
Yeah. The trailer basically confirmed that. You need to pay attention more.
