{"id":1932917,"date":"2026-05-13T11:01:52","date_gmt":"2026-05-13T08:01:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=1932917"},"modified":"2026-05-13T11:01:52","modified_gmt":"2026-05-13T08:01:52","slug":"star-wars-fate-of-the-old-republic-secures-large-investment-as-director-casey-hudson-seems-to-reject-the-use-of-gen-ai","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=1932917","title":{"rendered":"Star Wars: Fate of the Old Republic secures large investment as director Casey Hudson seems to reject the use of gen-AI"},"content":{"rendered":"<article class=\"article \" data-ads=\"true\" data-article-type=\"news\" data-article-group=\"news\" data-paywalled=\"false\" data-premium=\"false\" data-sponsored=\"false\" data-type=\"article\">\n<header class=\"article_header\" data-component=\"article-header\">\n<div class=\"breadcrumbs\">\n<nav class=\"nav_breadcrumbs\" data-component=\"nav-breadcrumbs\" aria-label=\"Breadcrumb\">\n<ul class=\"nav-links\">\n<li>\n                <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/\" data-active=\"false\"><br \/>\n                      Home<br \/>\n                <\/a>\n            <\/li>\n<li>\n                <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/news\" data-active=\"false\"><br \/>\n                      News<br \/>\n                <\/a>\n            <\/li>\n<li>\n                <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/games\/star-wars-fate-of-the-old-republic\" data-active=\"false\"><br \/>\n                      Star Wars: Fate Of The Old Republic<br \/>\n                <\/a>\n            <\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/nav><\/div>\n<div class=\"headline_details\" id=\"main-content\">\n<h1 class=\"title\">Star Wars: Fate of the Old Republic secures large investment as director Casey Hudson seems to reject the use of gen-AI<\/h1>\n<p class=\"strapline\">Not Forcing it.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"headline_asset\">\n<figure class=\"headline_image_wrapper\">\n<p>        <img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"headline_image\" src=\"https:\/\/assetsio.gnwcdn.com\/Star-Wars-FOTOR-planet.jpg?width=570&amp;quality=85&amp;format=jpg&amp;dpr=3&amp;auto=webp\" alt=\"An unknown planet in Star Wars: Fate of the Old Republic\" loading=\"eager\" data-uri=\"Star-Wars-FOTOR-planet.jpg\" data-lightbox width=\"570\" height=\"321\"><figcaption>\n          <span class=\"attribution\">Image credit: <cite>Arcanaut Studios<\/cite><\/span><br \/>\n        <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"metadata\">\n<div class=\"avatar\">\n<p>    <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Fran Ruiz avatar\" src=\"https:\/\/assetsio.gnwcdn.com\/fran-j-ruiz-author.png?width=2048&amp;height=2048&amp;fit=bounds&amp;quality=85&amp;format=jpg&amp;auto=webp\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 1\" width=\"180\" height=\"180\"><\/p>\n<p>  <img alt=\"Fran Ruiz avatar\" data-autosize=\"crop_lossy\" data-uri=\"fran-j-ruiz-author.png\" loading=\"lazy\" style=\"aspect-ratio: 1\" width=\"180\" height=\"180\">\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"text\">\n<div class=\"byline\">\n                  <span class=\"article_type\" data-slug=\"news\"><br \/>\n                    News<br \/>\n                  <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span class=\"by\">by<\/span> <span class=\"author\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/authors\/fran-ruiz\">Fran Ruiz<\/a><\/span>                    <span class=\"job_title\"><br \/>\n                      Contributor<br \/>\n                    <\/span>\n            <\/div>\n<div class=\"published_at\">\nPublished on <time datetime=\"2026-05-13T11:01:52+00:00\">May 13, 2026<\/time>              <\/div>\n<div class=\"comments\">\n      <a class=\"comments__link comments-bubble\" href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/star-wars-fate-of-the-old-republic-gen-ai-investment?view=comments\" rel=\"nofollow\"><br \/>\n          3 comments<br \/>\n      <\/a>\n    <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"mypop-header-wrapper\">\n<p><button class=\"mypop-button button wide\" data-state=\"follow\" data-type=\"tag\" data-uuid=\"0905dcc8-4109-40b5-9c46-ed9195baf9d6\" data-name=\"Star Wars: Fate Of The Old Republic\" data-follow-text=\"Follow Star Wars: Fate Of The Old Republic\" data-unfollow-text=\"Following Star Wars: Fate Of The Old Republic\" data-aria-follow-text=\"Follow Star Wars: Fate Of The Old Republic\" data-aria-unfollow-text=\"Following Star Wars: Fate Of The Old Republic\" data-popup=\"true\" data-force-login=\"true\" aria-label=\"Follow Star Wars: Fate Of The Old Republic\" title=\"Follow Star Wars: Fate Of The Old Republic\"><br \/>\n  Follow Star Wars: Fate Of The Old Republic<br \/>\n<\/button>          <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/header>\n<div class=\"article_body\" data-component=\"article-content\">\n<div class=\"article_body_content article-styling\">\n<p>There&#8217;s been a flurry of activity around <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/games\/star-wars-fate-of-the-old-republic\">Star Wars: Fate of the Old Republic<\/a>, the spiritual successor to the original <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/games\/star-wars-knights-of-the-old-republic\">Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic<\/a> games. After hearing that former <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/star-wars-fate-of-the-old-republic-recruits-bioware-kotor-devs\">BioWare veterans are joining developer Arcanaut Studios<\/a>, it&#8217;s been revealed NetEase&#8217;s ex-president of global investments is investing in former <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/games\/mass-effect\">Mass Effect<\/a> director Casey Hudson&#8217;s new role-playing game.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.bloomberg.com\/news\/articles\/2026-05-12\/netease-veteran-raises-100-million-for-star-wars-led-comeback\">Bloomberg reported the news<\/a> that Simon Zhu, the former president of global investments and partnerships at NetEase, has formed holding company GreaterThan Group, &#8220;to invest in and operate studios and video games around the world, including the new Star Wars title&#8221;. While Fate of the Old Republic isn&#8217;t the only game being backed, it&#8217;s the one Zhu was ready to talk about.<\/p>\n<figure>\n<div class=\"video_wrapper youtube\">\n<a aria-label=\"Star Wars: Fate of the Old Republic - Official Announcement Teaser Trailer | The Game Awards 2025\" class=\"video-facade full-size\" data-platform=\"youtube\" href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/y-r3-kr92jY?autoplay=1\" title=\"Click to play video from YouTube\"><br \/>\n<img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Cover image for YouTube video\" class=\"video-facade__image\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/i.ytimg.com\/vi\/y-r3-kr92jY\/hqdefault.jpg\"><span class=\"video-facade__title\">Star Wars: Fate of the Old Republic &#8211; Official Announcement Teaser Trailer | The Game Awards 2025<\/span><\/p>\n<p><\/a>\n<\/div><figcaption>Star Wars: Fate of the Old Republic &#8211; Official Announcement Teaser Trailer<a class=\"video\" href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=y-r3-kr92jY\" rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Watch on YouTube<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>GreaterThan Group has already raised $100m, with $40m already in the bank and &#8220;funding commitments for roughly $60 million&#8221;. When asked about the names of investors, Zhu declined to comment, stating &#8220;they&#8217;re all very successful individuals &#8211; gaming and tech entrepreneurs&#8221;.<\/p>\n<p><span class=\"injection_placeholder\" data-position=\"1\"><\/span><\/p>\n<p>Casey Hudson said he &#8220;really [wanted] to avoid having hundreds and hundreds of people&#8221; at Arcanaut, in order to avoid &#8220;how large and cumbersome the production staff got during his time at BioWare&#8221;. Hudson added the studio will use contractors instead, and it doesn&#8217;t sound like he wants to use gen-AI at all. &#8220;I just find AI to be creatively soulless,&#8221; he said. &#8220;It\u2019s hard to imagine where it\u2019s actually helpful in the process. I\u2019m just really unimpressed with it.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Meanwhile, on the topic of Fate of the Old Republic&#8217;s scope and length, Hudson said he wasn&#8217;t keen on it being a 200-hour game. &#8220;I wonder, if I put 20 hours in, will I even be out of act one? A lot of players just want to play something and finish it.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>This approach might help Arcanaut get through development more quickly. &#8220;Making games that take five or seven years &#8211; none of us want to do that,&#8221; Hudson revealed. He has already stated elsewhere that <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/no-we-dont-have-to-wait-until-2030-for-star-wars-fate-of-the-old-republic\">he was aiming to finish Fate of the Old Republic well before 2030<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Star Wars: Fate of the Old Republic was <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/star-wars-fate-of-the-old-republic-revealed-from-knights-of-the-old-republic-and-mass-effect-director-casey-hudson\">one of the biggest surprises at The Game Awards 2025<\/a> last December. Plot details are being kept under wraps, and as far as we know, its existence isn&#8217;t affecting <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/saber-pops-up-to-once-again-remind-us-that-star-wars-knights-of-the-old-republic-remake-is-still-in-development\">the ongoing development of Saber Interactive&#8217;s KOTOR remake<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"preferred-source\" data-component=\"preferred-source\">\nLove Eurogamer.net? Make us a <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/preferences\/source?q=https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\">Preferred Source on Google<\/a> and catch more of our coverage in your feeds.  <\/div>\n<\/article>\n<div class=\"article_body\" data-component=\"article-content\">\n<div class=\"article_body_content article-styling\">\n<p>There&#8217;s been a flurry of activity around <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/games\/star-wars-fate-of-the-old-republic\">Star Wars: Fate of the Old Republic<\/a>, the spiritual successor to the original <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/games\/star-wars-knights-of-the-old-republic\">Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic<\/a> games. After hearing that former <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/star-wars-fate-of-the-old-republic-recruits-bioware-kotor-devs\">BioWare veterans are joining developer Arcanaut Studios<\/a>, it&#8217;s been revealed NetEase&#8217;s ex-president of global investments is investing in former <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/games\/mass-effect\">Mass Effect<\/a> director Casey Hudson&#8217;s new role-playing game.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.bloomberg.com\/news\/articles\/2026-05-12\/netease-veteran-raises-100-million-for-star-wars-led-comeback\">Bloomberg reported the news<\/a> that Simon Zhu, the former president of global investments and partnerships at NetEase, has formed holding company GreaterThan Group, &#8220;to invest in and operate studios and video games around the world, including the new Star Wars title&#8221;. While Fate of the Old Republic isn&#8217;t the only game being backed, it&#8217;s the one Zhu was ready to talk about.<\/p>\n<figure>\n<div class=\"video_wrapper youtube\">\n<a aria-label=\"Star Wars: Fate of the Old Republic - Official Announcement Teaser Trailer | The Game Awards 2025\" class=\"video-facade full-size\" data-platform=\"youtube\" href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/y-r3-kr92jY?autoplay=1\" title=\"Click to play video from YouTube\"><br \/>\n<img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Cover image for YouTube video\" class=\"video-facade__image\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/i.ytimg.com\/vi\/y-r3-kr92jY\/hqdefault.jpg\"><span class=\"video-facade__title\">Star Wars: Fate of the Old Republic &#8211; Official Announcement Teaser Trailer | The Game Awards 2025<\/span><\/p>\n<p><\/a>\n<\/div><figcaption>Star Wars: Fate of the Old Republic &#8211; Official Announcement Teaser Trailer<a class=\"video\" href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=y-r3-kr92jY\" rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Watch on YouTube<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>GreaterThan Group has already raised $100m, with $40m already in the bank and &#8220;funding commitments for roughly $60 million&#8221;. When asked about the names of investors, Zhu declined to comment, stating &#8220;they&#8217;re all very successful individuals &#8211; gaming and tech entrepreneurs&#8221;.<\/p>\n<p><span class=\"injection_placeholder\" data-position=\"1\"><\/span><\/p>\n<p>Casey Hudson said he &#8220;really [wanted] to avoid having hundreds and hundreds of people&#8221; at Arcanaut, in order to avoid &#8220;how large and cumbersome the production staff got during his time at BioWare&#8221;. Hudson added the studio will use contractors instead, and it doesn&#8217;t sound like he wants to use gen-AI at all. &#8220;I just find AI to be creatively soulless,&#8221; he said. &#8220;It\u2019s hard to imagine where it\u2019s actually helpful in the process. I\u2019m just really unimpressed with it.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Meanwhile, on the topic of Fate of the Old Republic&#8217;s scope and length, Hudson said he wasn&#8217;t keen on it being a 200-hour game. &#8220;I wonder, if I put 20 hours in, will I even be out of act one? A lot of players just want to play something and finish it.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>This approach might help Arcanaut get through development more quickly. &#8220;Making games that take five or seven years &#8211; none of us want to do that,&#8221; Hudson revealed. He has already stated elsewhere that <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/no-we-dont-have-to-wait-until-2030-for-star-wars-fate-of-the-old-republic\">he was aiming to finish Fate of the Old Republic well before 2030<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Star Wars: Fate of the Old Republic was <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/star-wars-fate-of-the-old-republic-revealed-from-knights-of-the-old-republic-and-mass-effect-director-casey-hudson\">one of the biggest surprises at The Game Awards 2025<\/a> last December. Plot details are being kept under wraps, and as far as we know, its existence isn&#8217;t affecting <a href=\"https:\/\/www.eurogamer.net\/saber-pops-up-to-once-again-remind-us-that-star-wars-knights-of-the-old-republic-remake-is-still-in-development\">the ongoing development of Saber Interactive&#8217;s KOTOR remake<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Home News Star Wars: Fate Of The Old Republic Star Wars: Fate of the Old Republic secures large investment as director Casey Hudson seems to reject the use of gen-AI Not Forcing it. Image credit: Arcanaut Studios News by Fran Ruiz Contributor Published on May 13, 2026 3 comments Follow Star Wars: Fate Of The [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[226,253],"class_list":["post-1932917","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-crawlmanager","tag-eurogamer-net"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1932917","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1932917"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1932917\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1932917"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1932917"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1932917"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}