According to Jason Schreier at Kotaku, the BioWare Austin studio has worked on several projects over the last few years, some that were made known to the public or released and those that were not. There was Shadow Realms and Saga, and even an open world Star Wars game, but it was only in development for a few months.
However, there was apparently a belief at BioWare Austin that eventually it would be given the reigns to Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic. The report says that developers dreamed of getting a chance at the property and it was always dangled as a possibility, but it “never really came close to getting off the ground.”
After working on Star Wars The Old Republic, it seemed like BioWare’s Austin team would be the best suited to take on Knights of the Old Republic and even some of the developers agreed. But it’s never made clear why BioWare didn’t continue on with the series, even after parent company Electronic Arts earned the Star Wars game license. All we know is that apparently EA won’t let BioWare make a Knights of the Old Republic game.
Ultimately, Star Wars fans are still waiting for BioWare to revive the Knights of the Old Republic franchise, either in a reboot or as Knights of the Old Republic 3. But based on that new report about development at BioWare and the stress involved in Anthem, it might be best for the studio to re-evaluate its approach and practices. As for current and upcoming projects, BioWare Austin has taken over working on Anthem’s live service and working to improve its experience, while BioWare Edmonton (the main studio) is working on Dragon Age 4.
