Steve Allison arrived at Saber Interactive this week with a clear mandate: position the studio for self-publishing and steer a major slate of releases toward 2028. The former Epic Games Store executive, now Chief Business Officer, wasted no time signaling what players can expect, though his casual Reddit comment has already sparked speculation about timelines and priorities across three marquee franchises.
The moment came when Allison responded directly to fan concerns on the Space Marine subreddit about monetization practices in future games. Saber confirmed the response to IGN as authentic. For players spooked by Allison's arrival, his message offered reassurance: the company has no plans to squeeze players with aggressive microtransactions or battle passes.
"My job isn't to squeeze money from sabers products through tactics like that," Allison wrote. "As a company saber has never pursued mtx it's not how we do our products. We sell the main game with a free dlc plan for the community."
Space Marine 2 fans have largely approved of that approach. The action title became a breakout success, though a single voice pack DLC sparked backlash that forced Saber to apologize and walk back the plan. Allison's public commitment suggests the studio learned from that misstep.
But buried deeper in his response was a line that caught wider attention. Allison outlined Saber's release strategy and mentioned the games he expects to launch in 2028: Space Marine 3, the John Wick game, and, notably, "hopefully kotor remake and a few unannounced titles."
The KOTOR remake reveal landed like a surprise in an otherwise defensive statement. The Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic reimagining has been in development purgatory since its announcement in 2021. Five years have passed with virtually no updates, no trailers, and minimal official comment.
In March, Tim Willits, Saber's Chief Creative Officer, offered only: "Yes, it is still in development. That's all I can say." Allison's reference to 2028 marks the first public window anyone at the studio has floated.
Saber moved to contain expectations after Allison's post gained traction. A company spokesperson told IGN that Allison was "speaking broadly, not officially, about the future slate of Saber games" and that "we have not announced any release dates or confirmed launch windows for Saber's upcoming titles."
That's a standard corporate dodge, but it doesn't erase what Allison said. The timeline matters because KOTOR has become something of a ghost project. A December report from Game File revealed that Aspyr, the studio originally tasked with the remake, is no longer leading development. Mad Head Games, the team behind the upcoming Hellraiser: Revival, has reportedly taken over.
The same report hinted at even larger ambitions: discussions were reportedly underway not just for a KOTOR remake, but for a remake of Knights of the Old Republic 2 as well. Whether that second project survives or reaches 2028 remains unclear.
Space Marine 3 expectations are building too. Fans anticipate a continuation of Captain Titus' story following his promotion to Captain of the Ultramarines Second Company and Master of the Watch at the end of Space Marine 2. Allison's assurance that the sequel will deliver "all the things you love about 2 plus more" suggests Saber plans to build rather than reinvent.
Allison's appointment itself raised eyebrows in the Space Marine community. His track record at Epic, managing the high-monetization Fortnite and Rocket League, led some players to assume he'd push Saber toward similar tactics. His Reddit comment was partly an attempt to defuse that worry. He emphasized his work on Alan Wake and Alan Wake 2, both released without aggressive monetization, as evidence of his philosophy.
The 2028 window is ambitious. It asks Saber to deliver Space Marine 3, a John Wick game, presumably a KOTOR remake, and multiple unannounced titles within the same calendar year. Whether that lineup holds or compresses remains to be seen, but Allison's public commitment signals confidence in the studio's capacity.
Author Emily Chen: "Allison just handed the fanbase a timeline he shouldn't have, and now Saber has to live up to it."
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