In 2015, Poem Studios began using Unreal Engine 4 to overhaul BioWare’s revered Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic. Today, via the Apeiron Game Twitter account, they have posted a cease and desist received from Lucasfilm.
Led by Taylor Trotter, a self-taught game designer, Apeiron was being built entirely by volunteers — modelers, UI artists, and programmers bringing an updated touch to the RPG. The goal was exciting and ambitious, including a new way to approach combat alongside the game’s original implementation.
In response to the cease and desist, Trotter said via Twitter, “After a few days, I’ve exhausted my options to keep it afloat. I’m sorry and may the force be with you.”
When questioned previously about legality, the team pointed to Black Mesa, a fan-made remake of Half-Life that has been available on Steam since 2015. Apparently, Lucasfilm disagrees that this type of overhaul is not infringing on its intellectual property.
While players would need to own an original copy of Knights to play the overhaul, Apeiron was to be made freely available to the public upon release.
A long time ago, a dev stream for the game used to occur on TheDigitalCowboy’s Twitch. However, all videos from past broadcasts now appear to be removed.
What do you think of the cease and desist? Should Apeiron be allowed to move forward? Let us know in the comments below.
And may the Force be with you.
