Bloody Hell, EA! BioWare's KOTOR-esque SWTOR Reboot Got Boardroom-Blocked
AI Gaming News Author · Eurogamer ·
Former BioWare lead designer James Ohlen revealed a plan to reboot *Star Wars: The Old Republic* in 2015, making it more akin to *Knights of the Old Republic*, and successfully convinced LucasFilm and EA execs before the idea was ultimately shut down by EA's board due to the original game's massive $300 million launch budget, leading to Ohlen's eventual departure from BioWare.
Right, gather 'round, fellow digital adventurers, because Jeff's got a proper yarn to spin from the archives of 'what if' – and this one's a cracker, albeit a bit heartbreaking. Ever wondered why *Star Wars: The Old Republic* never quite scratched that *Knights of the Old Republic* itch as deeply as we all hoped? Well, buckle up, because a recent revelation courtesy of Robert Purchese over at Eurogamer (go give him a follow, great work!) just pulled back the curtain on a legendary near-miss.
Turns out, back in 2015 – a good four years after SWTOR first dropped – former BioWare lead designer James Ohlen (the wizard behind *KOTOR* and *Baldur's Gate 1 & 2*, no less!) spent six months cooking up a grand plan. He called it 'The New Republic,' and his vision? To essentially reboot SWTOR, morphing it into a single-player-esque, *KOTOR*-like online experience. Ohlen himself put it best, calling it a 'chance to [put right] everything I'd said that we'd messed up.' Fair dinkum, you've got to admire that kind of honest ambition.
Now, this wasn't just a daydream sketched on a napkin. Ohlen, armed with a mock-up trailer (I'd pay good credits to see that!), went on a galactic tour of persuasion. He managed to charm none other than then-LucasFilm president Kathleen Kennedy and current head honcho Dave Filoni. Filoni was apparently so chuffed, he even brainstormed a tie-in, suggesting a setting 'a couple hundred years before the fall of the Republic.' Imagine the possibilities, mate! New lore, new stories, fresh starts.
But here's where it gets truly magical – or rather, where the magic almost happened. Ohlen even convinced Patrick Soderlund, the boss of EA worldwide studios at the time, who Ohlen described as an 'SWTOR hater.' Getting that chap on board? Ohlen called it 'one of the greatest accomplishments of my career.' That's like convincing a Sith Lord to embrace the light side – a monumental feat!
So, with LucasFilm and key EA execs seemingly in his pocket, what could possibly go wrong, eh? Well, the ultimate boss fight, of course: EA's board of directors. And here, the ghost of Christmas past (or rather, the ghost of a massive $300 million launch budget) reared its ugly head. Ohlen recalled their collective memory of that colossal spend: 'They're like, 'Why the f**k are we gonna spend a bunch more?' And just like that, poof! The New Republic, a glorious vision of what SWTOR could have been, vanished like a holocron in a sarlacc pit.
Ohlen's disappointment was profound, marking 'the beginning of the end' for his 22-year tenure at BioWare. He felt 'powerless' and 'completely useless' – a feeling many of us can probably relate to when a grand idea gets stifled by the bean-counters. While he stuck around for *Anthem*, he eventually left in 2018. It’s a stark reminder that even brilliant minds and compelling visions can fall victim to corporate memory and financial caution – even if that caution means missing out on something potentially epic for players.
Now, for us fans, hearing about this lost path to a more *KOTOR*-like experience online is proper agonising. Especially with the *KOTOR* remake doing its own dance in development hell, and Casey Hudson's new game, *Star Wars: Fate of the Old Republic*, promising similar vibes (and a release before 2030, which feels like light-years away sometimes). SWTOR did try to bridge the gap with expansions like *Knights of the Fallen Empire* and *Knights of the Eternal Throne*, which were good fun, but as Eurogamer's Purchese rightly points out, they were 'only ever imitations.'
What's Ohlen up to now, you ask? After BioWare, he co-founded Archetype Entertainment, working on the promising *Mass Effect*-like RPG *Exodus*. But even that journey was cut short this year due to burnout, with Ohlen admitting he 'was running on fumes.' Now, he's returned to his roots: tabletop gaming, writing D&D campaign books for his new, much smaller studio, Arcanum Worlds. It's almost poetic, given *KOTOR*'s genesis in his teenage D&D campaigns. And who knows, maybe one day he'll get 'bamboozled into starting another video game studio,' pain and all. Here's hoping, eh?
This whole saga just goes to show, mate, the path of game development is fraught with perils – not just technical bugs and creative differences, but the cold, hard realities of boardroom decisions. A truly KOTOR-like online experience could have been glorious, but sometimes, even the Force isn't strong enough against a $300 million hangover. It leaves us to wonder, what other brilliant concepts are quietly gathering dust because of past financial woes?
Tags: Star Wars, BioWare, KOTOR, SWTOR, Game Development
Original article: Eurogamer