Some more rumors, i’ve dug up. According to GamesRadar.com “Ex-employee’s” of LucasArts have leaked a bunch of information about the rumored upcoming Knights of the Old Republic 3.

“An ex-employee of LucasArts has leaked details regarding a number of titles in development, including a BioWare-developed Knights of the Old Republic MMO.

The source has told Kotaku that he is one of 75-100 employees laid off in a massive shake-up yesterday, including the producer of the LEGO Star Wars and Indy titles.

As well as KotOR 3, the ex-staffer spilled the beans on production going ahead with Battlefront 3 (developed by Free Radical), a new (non-LEGO) Indy game we already knew about and a Wii lightsaber game.

Considering the leak comes from an ex-LucasArts employee, we’re not expecting confirmation of these titles any time soon. Still, we know that LucasArts and BioWare are working on something together. Just have to wait and see.”

Awhile back, a couple posts were made via IGN.com and TheForce.net that LucasArts were hiring staff as well as MMO testers, presumably for the new Knights of the Old Republic 3 – MMO. Of course, we don’t know whether this was actually what they were hiring for, but with a lot of wishful thinking, we can always hope that it was for Knights of the Old Republic 3.

Here are the excerps from both websites including the job posting from LucasFilm.

TheForce.net:

According to EUCantina.net, LucasArts is currently recruiting MMO testers. Hmmmm, for a KOTOR MMO? See the job description from the Lucasfilm site:

”Job Title QA Online Tester (Project)
Company LucasArts

Location: Letterman Digital Arts Center
State: California
City: San Francisco
Benefited/Non-Benefited: Non-Benefited
Salary/Hourly: Hourly

Description

To test MMO games for bugs by playing and running functionality tests. Support the QA effort by being productive each day and providing constructive feedback to improve the gaming experience.
Strive to help make a competitive MMO.

All testers are expected to be supportive of the Lead Testers efforts, build a strong working relationship within team, and increase the productivity of other testers on the project.
Help to keep the QA team organized, on task, professional, and focused on helping the game ship on time.

Maintain an open dialogue with the Assistant Leads/Lead Testers through email and database feedback.

Effectively support the qualitative effort by gathering solid MMO/gameplay feedback and submit constructive reports to the QA Lead team.

Effectively support the quantitative effort by consistently being productive in the database and completing all tasks in a timely manner.

Test the assigned LucasArts games for defects through executing test plans and thoroughly debugging all gameplay functionality prior to final submission.

Excel as a team player and strive to maximize team/department performance.
Support QA and Production during the final submission process to hit the company set ship date.
Be supportive of the QA review process. Gather useful gameplay data, competitive analysis and submit a justifiable QA review score.

Proactively seek a solution for all problems or project challenges.

Be the epitome of professionalism, flexibility, and understanding while representing the QA department, the game and the company.

Requirements

Strong knowledge with the top MMO games.
Database input experience required (Filemaker, Access, DevTrack).
Excellent verbal and written skills.
Solid time management skills required.
Online and wireless testing experience a plus.
Strong familiarity and experience with gaming consoles, and Windows based PC’s.
Ability to work well in a fast paced, high-pressure environment.
Ability to handle multiple assignments at a time.
Must be willing to work 50+ hours per week.”

And from IGN.com:

LucasArts has recently advertised for testers for an MMO, further stoking rumours that the much cherished Knights of the Old Republic is to be given the massively multiplayer treatment.

The posting, picked up by TheForce.net, unsurprisingly gives little away beyond the job basics – but it serves as an indication that there is an MMO currently being worked upon by LucasArts, and whether it’s the heavily rumoured Knights of the Old Republic remains to be seen.

Earlier this year, LucasArts revealed that it is working with the original game’s developer BioWare on an as yet undisclosed title, but it is nothing to do with Knights of the Old Republic. We’ll endeavour to get an answer out of LucasArts once the sun rises in America.

Again, there is no official word on the new Knights of The Old Republic. But according to Electronic Arts chief executive, John Riccitiello there most certainly will be! According to him as well, it will have a massively multiplayer online component to it. This would be amazing if it really happens, i’ve been waiting a long time for Knights of the Old Republic 3!!

“N. Evan Van Zelfden in Los Angeles warns, watch out World of Warcraft. In an interview at E3 this week, Electronic Arts chief executive John Riccitiello said that EA is working on the next version of Star Wars game Knights of the Old Republic, and it will most certainly have a massively multiplayer online component to it.

“We’ve got two of the most compelling MMOs in the industry in development,” said Riccitiello. The first title, based on the Warhammer property, will launch soon. “And the one that people are dying for us to talk to them about — in partnership with Lucas, coming out of BioWare, which is, I think, quite possibly the most anticipated game, full stop, for the industry at the point when we get closer to telling you about it.”

Does Riccitiello mean the oft rumored Knights of the Old Republic Online? “Yes,” he said.

Moving into MMOs is an essential component for any gaming company, and it’s a big part of the reason Vivendi merged with Activision, for that company’s World of Warcraft MMO.”

But EA is firmly on that path now, with a KOTOR MMO, which would sidestep the consoles owned by Sony, Microsoft, and Nintendo. “Increasingly, people are going to be talking about direct-to-customer in our business,” said Riccitiello. “I think we’ll be talking about it louder than most.”

Source: Portfolio.com

So, as we wait and wait for an official conformation for our most waited upcoming game, Knights of the Old Republic 3. There are tons of rumors floating around out there and none of them are for certain. The biggest rumor out there is the fact that knights of the Old Republic 3 is supposed to be a MMO (Massively Multiplayer Online ).

“A source close to BioWare confirmed to us today that the studio’s upcoming untitled massively-multiplayer online RPG will be centered around the Star Wars universe, specifically that of Knights of the Old Republic, which the developer released in 2003. The game garnered critical acclaim and spawned a less-popular sequel, released by Obsidian two years later.

The game is being developed by the company’s Austin studio, formed in 2006 and headed by BioWare Creative Director James Ohlen, whose past credits include the first KOTOR, Neverwinter Nights, and Baldur Gate’s I and II.

This is not the first Star Wars-related MMORPG: Star Wars Galaxies debuted in the summer of 2003, followed by several expansions. It was generally well-received by fans and critics, but subscriber numbers plunged and never recovered after a controversial gameplay update in 2005. It’s estimated that the game now has fewer than 100,000 subscribers and less than 20,000 active players.

It’s currently unknown whether or not EA, which acquired BioWare last week, will act as publisher for this title, or if the studio had a previous arrangement with another publisher.

Expect the game sometime in 2009.

Editor’s Note- As no media from the game has yet been made available, the screenshot above is from the first KOTOR title.

Editor’s Note 2- We’ve gotten several emails asking about the validity of this news. The only rumors we post here at Primotech will explicitly be stated as such.”

Source: Primo Technology