Arcanaut Studios has updated its website, introducing several staff members working on the new Star Wars: Fate Of The Old Republic video game. Although only a brief teaser was shown, the announcement of a brand new Star Wars action role-player was one of the biggest reveals at The Game Awards 2025. Billed as a spiritual successor to the beloved Knights Of The Old Republic (KOTOR) by BioWare, the project is helmed by Mass Effect director Casey Hudson at Arcanaut Studios. Hudson founded the developer last year, with this Star Wars game being its first project.
Details remain scarce, but for Star Wars Day (May 4), Hudson shared an update on the Arcanaut website to introduce other key staff involved with Fate Of The Old Republic. The news should delight long-time BioWare fans, as most of the team are former BioWare employees who worked on role-playing games like Mass Effect and Dragon Age, as well as KOTOR. This lends further legitimacy to the spiritual successor status.
Key Team Members and Their Credentials
Hudson himself was director on KOTOR and Mass Effect. He is joined by senior technical designer Dan Fessenden, who was a programmer on KOTOR and the ongoing The Old Republic MMO. His most recent credit was as a level designer for Dragon Age: The Veilguard.
Chief technical officer Ryan Hoyle worked as a programmer for KOTOR and BioWare's earliest games, including Neverwinter Nights and Jade Empire. Director of external development Melanie Faulknor never worked on KOTOR but was a project manager on The Old Republic, plus the Mass Effect and Dragon Age games. Interestingly, she also contributed to The Outer Worlds 2 by Obsidian Entertainment as a production director via support studio Beamdog (founded by former BioWare staff). Obsidian was responsible for the KOTOR sequel, The Sith Lords, but is now owned by Microsoft and unlikely to assist with the new game.
Director of production and performance Caroline Livingstone served as a voice director at BioWare since 2003, working on Mass Effect, Dragon Age, and Neverwinter Nights. Art director Pascal Blanché is the exception, with no prior BioWare experience. His previous credits include stints at Ubisoft, where he worked on the original Assassin's Creed and Far Cry: New Dawn, and at Behaviour Interactive, such as Dead By Daylight dating sim spin-off Hooked On You.
Development Timeline and Other Star Wars Games
Arcanaut has posted job openings for artists and designers, indicating that Fate Of The Old Republic will take time. Hudson has promised a release before 2030, but it may not be much earlier. Meanwhile, Star Wars fans have other exciting games to look forward to. The franchise approaches its 50th anniversary next year, with Star Wars: Galactic Racer and XCOM clone Star Wars: Zero Company launching this year. A full remake of KOTOR, announced in 2021, is still supposedly in development, but scepticism remains due to its scale. However, Lucasfilm appears to be pushing KOTOR into modern Star Wars canon, with references to the Rakatan Empire in Andor and a haulcraft seen in the Fate Of The Old Republic teaser.
