Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic (often abbreviated KOTOR or KotOR) is a role-playing video game developed by BioWare and published by LucasArts. The first installment of the Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic series, it was released for the Xbox on July 16, 2003 and Windows on November 19, 2003, and it was ported to Mac OS X, iOS, and Android by Aspyr. The game is also playable on the Xbox 360, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X and Series S via backward compatibility. A Nintendo Switch version was released on November 11, 2021.

The story takes place almost 4,000 years before the formation of the Galactic Empire, where Darth Malak, a Dark Lord of the Sith, has unleashed a Sith armada against the Galactic Republic. The player character, as a Jedi, must venture to different planets in the galaxy to defeat Malak. Players choose from three character classes (Scout, Soldier or Scoundrel) and customize their characters at the beginning of the game, and engage in round-based combat against enemies. Through interacting with other characters and making plot decisions, players earn Light Side and Dark Side Points, which determines whether their character aligns with the light or dark side of the Force; these choices affect which abilities are available to the character.

Knights of the Old Republic was directed by Casey Hudson, designed by James Ohlen, and written by Drew Karpyshyn. LucasArts proposed a game tied to the film Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones, or a game set thousands of years before the prequels. The team chose the latter as they thought that they would have more creative freedom. Ed Asner, Ethan Phillips, and Jennifer Hale voiced the characters, while Jeremy Soule composed the soundtrack. Announced in 2000, the game was delayed several times before its release.

Knights of the Old Republic received critical acclaim for its characters, story, and sound. It was nominated for numerous awards and is often cited as one of the greatest video games ever made. A sequel, Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic II: The Sith Lords, developed by Obsidian Entertainment at BioWare's suggestion, was released in 2004. The series' story continued with the 2011 release of Star Wars: The Old Republic, a massively multiplayer online role-playing game developed by BioWare. In September 2021, a remake was announced to be in development by Aspyr for Windows and PlayStation 5; Aspyr would later be replaced by Saber Interactive in August 2022. In December 2025, Casey Hudson would separately be announced to be directing Star Wars: Fate of the Old Republic, an upcoming action role-playing game and spiritual successor to Knights of the Old Republic.

Gameplay

Players choose from three basic character classes (Scout, Soldier or Scoundrel) at the beginning of the game and later choose from three Jedi subclasses (Guardian, Sentinel or Consular). Beyond class, a character has "skills" stats, tiered "feats," and later on, tiered Force powers, similar to magic spells in fantasy games. Feats and Force powers are generally unlocked upon level-up, while the player is given skill points to distribute among their skills every level.

Combat is round-based; time is divided into discrete rounds, and combatants attack and react simultaneously, although these actions are presented sequentially on-screen. The number of actions a combatant may perform each round is limited. While each round's duration is a fixed short interval of real time, the player can configure the combat system to pause at specific events or the end of each round, or set the combat system to never automatically pause, giving the illusion of real-time combat. Combat actions are calculated using Dungeons & Dragons rules, particularly the d20 System. the Twi'lek teenager Mission Vao and her Wookiee companion Zaalbar, the Jedi Bastila Shan, 'Gray' Jedi Jolee Bindo, utility droid T3-M4, Mandalorian mercenary Canderous Ordo, and assassin droid HK-47 if he is bought. Juhani, another Jedi, may also join the party if she is spared by the player. Republic soldier Trask Ulgo is also briefly playable during the game's opening sequence on the Endar Spire.

The game's main antagonist is Darth Malak, the Dark Lord of the Sith. Other antagonistic characters include Black Vulkar gang leader Brejik, crime boss Davik Kang, bounty hunter Calo Nord, Zaalbar's brother Chuundar, Sith apprentice Darth Bandon, Admiral Saul Karath, Sith Overseer Uthar Wynn, and Rakatan tribe leader The One. Czerka Corporation, an unscrupulous corporation operating on several planets, is an ally of Darth Malak's Sith forces. Supporting characters who assist the player's party in some capacity are Hidden Bek gang leader Gadon Thek, Jedi Masters Vandar Tokare and Zhar Lestin, game hunter Komad Fortuna, Zaalbar and Chuundar's father Freyyr, Uthar's Sith apprentice Yuthura Ban, Republic representative Roland Wann, the Rakatan tribe "The Elders," and Republic Admiral Forn Dodonna.

Plot

The game opens with the player character, whose background, gender, appearance, and name are player determined, Lucasfilm rejected proposals by Bioware to show the culture of the Tusken Raiders as the company did not want them developed further beyond their film appearances. In August 2002 it was announced on the game's forums that its release had been delayed: the Xbox version was to be released in spring 2003 and the PC version in summer 2003. It sold 250,000 copies in the first four days of its release, making Knights of the Old Republic the fastest-selling Xbox game at the time of its release. and re-released digitally on Steam on May 14, 2012, for Mac OS X and PC. The game was released for the iPad

Remake

In September 2021, Knights of the Old Republic — Remake, a remake, was announced to be in development by Aspyr for Windows and PlayStation 5. It will be a timed console exclusive for PlayStation 5 before releasing on other platforms. However, Tom Kane will not be returning due to his retirement for medical reasons. John Cygan and Ed Asner will also not return due to their deaths in 2017 and 2021 respectively. In August 2022, Saber Interactive's European studios officially took over as leading the development of the game from Aspyr.

Reception

Sales

After its release on July 16, 2003, and best computer game of November 2003.

During the 7th Annual Interactive Achievement Awards, the Academy of Interactive Arts and Sciences awarded Knights of the Old Republic with "Outstanding Achievement in Character or Story Development", "Console Role-Playing Game of the Year", and "Computer Role-Playing Game of the Year"; it was also nominated for seven other awards including "Console Game of the Year", "Computer Game of the Year", and "Game of the Year".

Knights of the Old Republic was named game of the year by several publications, including IGN, Computer Gaming World, PC Gamer, GMR, The Game Developers Choice Awards, Xbox Magazine, and G4. In early 2017, plot elements from the game were referenced by the animated television series Star Wars Rebels, including the Mandalorian Wars and the ancient Sith planet Malachor. In the official book guide to the 2019 film Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, one of the legions of Sith troopers of Palpatine's Final Order is named after Darth Revan. LEGO produced a Darth Revan minifigure, which was free with qualifying LEGO Star Wars purchases as a part of the company's 2014 "May the Fourth" promotion. In April 2019, Kathleen Kennedy was asked by MTV News about a potential adaptation of Knights of the Old Republic and stated, "Yes, we are developing something to look at. Right now, I have no idea where things might fall".

In December 2025, Star Wars: Fate of the Old Republic was announced as in development by Arcanaut Studios and will be published by Lucasfilm Games. The studio considers the action role-playing game a spiritual successor rather than a direct sequel or continuation of the Knights of the Old Republic series. The project is led by Arcanaut's game director Casey Hudson

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Further reading

  • at
  • Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic at BioWare