BioWare veterans reunite to build new Star Wars RPG, Fate of the Old Republic

BioWare’s old guard has turned up again, and this time it is behind a new Star Wars RPG that wants to wear the Knights of the Old Republic legacy without pretending to be a sequel in name. Arcanaut Studios has said Star Wars: Fate of the Old Republic is a single-player, narrative-driven action RPG made with Lucasfilm Games, with Casey Hudson leading the project as CEO and game director. Hudson directed the original Knights of the Old Republic and the Mass Effect trilogy, which makes the staffing choice feel less like nostalgia bait and more like a deliberate creative signal.

Arcanaut’s updated leadership page shows how deep that connection runs. Dan Fessenden, Melanie Faulknor, Caroline Livingstone, and Ryan Hoyle are all on the team, alongside art director Pascal Blanché. Fessenden worked on Knights of the Old Republic and the first Mass Effect. Faulknor’s credits include Mass Effect 3, Dragon Age II, and Dragon Age: Inquisition. Livingstone worked on Neverwinter Nights, Knights of the Old Republic, Mass Effect, and Dragon Age. Hoyle also worked on Knights of the Old Republic and the Mass Effect trilogy. For Star Wars fans who still talk about party banter, morality choices, and the old BioWare rhythm of conversation and combat, that roster will read like a very specific promise.

The game itself is being built around player choices that shape a path toward light or darkness, which lines up neatly with the kind of Star Wars role-playing many fans still want from a prestige studio project. Arcanaut has described it as a spiritual successor to Knights of the Old Republic, and the company says it is in development for PC and consoles. No release date has been set, but Arcanaut has indicated the game should arrive before 2030, giving the project a long runway and a lot of room for expectations to harden.

That matters because Fate of the Old Republic was publicly revealed at The Game Awards 2025, and the early story around it has been as much about pedigree as premise. In a licensed-game landscape that often leans on brand recognition alone, this one is being built by people who already helped define the tone that players still associate with Star Wars RPGs. The result is a project with a clear identity from the start: not just another trip to a galaxy far, far away, but a reunion of the developers who once made that galaxy feel personal.