Aspyr Media, the development studio best known for its video game ports and work on the upcoming Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic remake, is interested in bringing starfighter shooter Rogue Squadron to modern hardware.
The studio expressed its interest on Twitter, responding to a fan who asked whether Apsyr would ever consider porting the Star Wars: Rogue Squadron series.
“Here at Aspyr we're huge Star Wars fans and love bringing Star Wars games to new audiences,” it said in the Tweet. “For us, it’s all about the games we think players are most passionate about and would love to see brought to new platforms. If the demand is there, we’re on board.”
Here at Aspyr we're huge Star Wars fans and love bringing Star Wars games to new audiences. For us, it’s all about the games we think players are most passionate about and would love to see brought to new platforms. If the demand is there, we’re on boardApril 18, 2022
First released on Nintendo 64 and PC in 1998, Rogue Squadron is an arcade shooter that places you in the cockpit of iconic starfighters from the original Star Wars trilogy. You’re tasked with destroying Imperial targets and shooting the ships of the Empire out of the sky – or into the vacuum of space – across a series of missions, while collecting power-ups to boost the performance of your ship within levels.
It went on to spawn two sequels for the GameCube: 2001’s Star Wars Rogue Squadron II: Rogue Leader and 2003’s Star Wars Rogue Squadron III: Rebel Strike for the GameCube. That third title introduced ground battles and allowed you to leave your vehicle to explore on foot.
The series received something of a spiritual successor in 2020 with Star Wars: Squadrons. Developed by EA’s Motive Studios, it's more of a space flight sim than an arcade shooter, with a first-person perspective, intricate flight and power mechanics, and a class-based approach to ship combat.
Is a Rogue Squadron remake likely?
The Rogue Squadron series might have gained a cult following since its release, but there are plenty of other reasons to think a modern remaster could appear sometime down the line.
Plenty of older Star Wars titles have been re-released in recent years, many of them by Aspyr. The studio released a Nintendo Switch and PS4 remake of Jedi Knight – Jedi Academy in 2020, followed by a port of Republic Commando the year after. It also ported Episode 1 – Racer to Xbox One, Switch, and PS4 back in 2020, and most recently The Force Unleashed with a bumper collector's edition.
The success of Star Wars: Squadrons might further bolster Aspyr’s interest, and that of Lucasfilm Games, in returning to a starfighter shooter like Rogue Squadron. As its Tweet suggests, a port will be developed if the studio thinks there’s a large enough market waiting to lap it up.
Aspyr isn’t short on work, though. Its remake of BioWare’s acclaimed RPG Knights of the Old Republic is still underway, and it’s acting as publisher on Beamdog’s recently announced roguelike MythForce. That game draws inspiration from early morning children's cartoons from the ‘80s, like He-Man and the Dungeons and Dragons animation.
