A Tale Left Unfinished: The Cancellation of Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic III

In the early 2000s, my Star Wars fandom was at its absolute peak. That doesn't mean I hate the current direction of Star Wars, as I in fact quite love it, but the level of obsession I devoted to it back in this era was impossible to match. Between the prequel films and mountain of amazing video games, I was in a state of bliss.

One ongoing saga within George Lucas' far, far away galaxy that I had a particular fondness for was Knights of the Old Republic. The first one is one of my favorite games of all time, and I believe Knights of the Old Republic II: The Sith Lords is an underrated masterpiece. One game I wish I could have an opinion on was a third KOTOR title, but due to a lot of baffling business decisions and shifting priorities, that would never come to pass.

I followed the ongoing rumors of the proposed Knights of the Old Republic III for years, waiting and hoping that it would finally get a showing at E3 or some other trade event. Those events came and went, with KOTOR III no-showing every single one, until LucasArts unofficially canceled it by showing off an MMO known as The Old Republic in 2008.

In the years since, what KOTOR III was going to be remains a sore spot. If things had gone according to plan, we were going to see what could have been one of the best Star Wars games ever made. Instead, we're left with a tale that will forever go unfinished, and a cliffhanger ending that will be forever unresolved.

A Console Generation Far, Far Away

Despite the current state of the Xbox brand, it was honestly one of the most exciting consoles in the world when it first launched back in 2001. Microsoft secured some pretty incredible exclusives when I look back, including multiple Star Wars games. Star Wars: Obi-Wan is an underrated OG Xbox exclusive, but one that still feels so insane to me today is Knights of the Old Republic.

Developed by BioWare, KOTOR was a straight-up Xbox exclusive with absolutely no chance of it appearing on other consoles. Early on in development, BioWare was told they had to make it a tie-in to 2002's Attack of the Clones or set it before the events of the entire Skywalker Saga. They chose the latter, smartly avoiding any ties to the films.

It allowed them to create a world that felt uniquely Star Wars, but also had its own sense of identity and place. It was familiar, but felt like it could be its own world. It was truly fascinating, and I have so many amazing memories of KOTOR. My dad was not a gamer, but he would watch me play the game almost like the Star Wars movie that never existed. He would make every narrative decision, leaving the gameplay to me.

Due to the strong, PC-centric architecture of the Xbox, BioWare's history of PC development made the console an easy choice. Though the PlayStation 2 and the GameCube were remarkably powerful, KOTOR's deep ties to the original Xbox helped make the console such a great go-to for anyone who was playing PC games at the time.

Knights of the Old Republic is always in the conversation for one of the best Xbox games of all time. The combination of its outstanding combat, complex story and epic scale helped elevate it to a timeless classic. No other Star Wars game at the time could compete, and even contemporary games based on the franchise are just now catching up to what it accomplished.

One Year Later

Knights of the Old Republic was an enormous success, shipping almost one million units within its first five months. A sequel was more than on the radar of LucasArts, who commissioned Obsidian to take on the project. BioWare felt like they'd said all they needed to on the subject of Star Wars, instead wanting to create their own scifi universe that would later become Mass Effect.

Another key element for BioWare's departure was LucasArts' strict deadline. They wanted the game in a year, no questions asked. Seeking more creative freedom, BioWare passed and Obsidian took control of the project. Against all odds, Knights of the Old Republic II: The Sith Lords would meet its proposed launch date, hitting the streets on December 6, 2004.

The debate about whether KOTOR II is better than the first will continue until the end of time. While I personally prefer The Sith Lords, it can't be understated how genuinely exceptional these two games are. The Sith Lords was brilliant in its exploration of the complex realities of the Force itself, musing on the hubris of trying to control something that powerful, marking the Jedi and the Sith as almost two sides of the same coin.

KOTOR's darker, more complicated view of Star Wars would be majorly influential on the current state of the franchise. The Sith Lords was one of the first Star Wars stories to really dive into the harsher, more sinister realities of the Jedi. It also ended on something of a cliffhanger, leaving an open-ended note that was just begging for a crescendo.

An Unfinished Finale

Following the completion of The Sith Lords, the team at Obsidian were looking to finish off the trilogy that started all the way back in 2003 with KOTOR I. The stage was honestly and truly set, as the game was poised to explore uncharted worlds that existed in the darkest corners of the Star Wars galaxy.

Revan's fate was in the hands of the Exile, as The Sith Lords spent quite a bit of time setting up their inevitable meeting in the third chapter. Obsidian was excited to explore the worlds that existed far beyond the Outer Rim, in what's known in Star Wars lore as Unknown Space. That was where Revan and the Exile were destined to meet.

The Sith were also planned to be the game's main antagonist, as KOTOR III was plotting to examine the darkest, most horrific forms of the longtime Star Wars villains. It was really planning to go to some pretty dark places, as Obsidian creative director Chris Avellone made clear. The goal was to finish the story, pitting Revan and the Exile against some of the most sinister Sith Lords the franchise had seen.

Party members from KOTOR I were also planned to return, including Bastilla and Carth. All in all, KOTOR III was meant to both wrap up the current trilogy while leaving room open for a lot more. It really seemed like KOTOR had everything going for it, and the sky was the limit.

Unfortunately, it was a story that we never got to see. Shifting priorities at LucasArts and multiple failed projects put KOTOR III in serious trouble, and it was ultimately shelved in favor of The Old Republic. Sadly, the studio just saw more money in an ongoing MMO as opposed to a one-off RPG.

It's likely we'll never see what KOTOR III was going to be. It's possible that Casey Hudson will use light elements of what KOTOR III was going to be for the upcoming Star Wars: Fate of the Old Republic, but its place in the timeline makes it unlikely to be any sort of direct continuation. Instead, all we will likely ever have to show for KOTOR III are the words of Obsidian and a few fans who continue to work on fan projects to this day. It's a story that never got a chance to be finished, and that's quite unfortunate.