Lucasfilm Games has officially revealed Star Wars: Fate of the Old Republic, a new action RPG set thousands of years before the Skywalker saga. The announcement came through a CGI teaser trailer showing atmospheric shots of spacecraft, silhouetted characters, and the wreckage of what appears to be a massive Leviathan-class capital ship.
The game is being developed by Arcanaut Studios, a newly founded Canadian developer based in Edmonton, Alberta. The studio was established in July 2025 and is led by Casey Hudson, who directed the original Knights of the Old Republic in 2003 and the entire Mass Effect trilogy at BioWare.
Hudson’s involvement is the headline here. He shaped two of the most beloved RPG franchises in gaming history before leaving BioWare. His most recent venture, a NetEase-backed studio, shut down about a year ago without releasing a game.
Fate of the Old Republic is not a direct sequel to KOTOR or KOTOR II. It’s also separate from the ongoing Star Wars: The Old Republic MMO. According to an interview on StarWars.com, the game tells a completely new story in the Old Republic timeline. The protagonist is a Force user, but beyond that, details remain scarce.
The shift to action RPG marks a departure from the classic turn-based combat of the original KOTOR games. This suggests more real-time combat similar to recent Star Wars titles like Jedi: Survivor or the Mass Effect series Hudson previously helmed.
Arcanaut Studios’ press release confirms the game is in early development for PC and consoles. No release date or window was provided. The studio’s recent founding and the CGI-only reveal point to a multi-year development timeline ahead.
This announcement adds to a crowded field of Star Wars projects in various stages of development. The KOTOR remake from Saber Interactive remains in production after development troubles at its original studio, Aspyr. Quantic Dream’s Star Wars Eclipse, announced years ago, has shown little progress since its reveal.
A long wait ahead
The game’s website shown in the trailer wasn’t even functional at reveal, redirecting visitors to Disney’s main site. Arcanaut Studios is building its team from scratch despite veteran leadership, with Casey Hudson joining after his own studio venture failed to secure funding last year.
The early-stage nature means fans face a years-long wait. But Hudson’s return to the Old Republic era after over two decades carries weight. Whether Arcanaut can deliver on that legacy remains to be seen.
