Casey Hudson said Star Wars: Fate of the Old Republic will avoid generative AI, keep the team lean and aim to ship before 2030. The game is being developed by Arcanaut Studios and backed by GreaterThan Group, the holding company led by former NetEase executive Simon Zhu. [1, 2, 3]
GreaterThan Group has raised or secured up to $100 million in private investment, with about $40 million in the bank and roughly $60 million in funding commitments. Hudson said he does not want to build a studio with hundreds of in-house employees and instead plans to rely on contractors. He also said, "Money doesn’t make it good. People make it good." [1, 2, 3]
Hudson said he has no interest in using generative AI during development. He described AI as "creatively soulless" and said, "It’s hard to imagine where it’s actually helpful in the process. I’m just really unimpressed with it." [1]
He also said the game will not be a 200-hour RPG and that he wants players to be able to finish it. Using a 20-hour example, he said, "I wonder, if I put 20 hours in, will I even be out of act one?" Hudson said he wants to avoid five- to seven-year development cycles and has never spent more than four years on a game. [1, 2]
The project is framed as a spiritual successor to BioWare’s Knights of the Old Republic series. The game was announced at The Game Awards 2025, with the reveal described as a major surprise. Hudson said the target is still to release the game before 2030. [1, 2]
