2003 Knights of the Old Republic Choose Your Path advertisement showing split Light Side and Dark Side face representing Revan’s moral choice

That 2003 KOTOR Ad That Made Revan Look Almost Live-Action

Matt "ObiWaN" Hansen Gaming history, Knights of the Old Republic, Kotor

Long before cinematic game trailers were standard, Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic was already being marketed like a film.

One of the most striking examples is a 2003 print advertisement built around the phrase “Choose Your Path.” Instead of showing gameplay or ships, the ad centers on a hyper-realistic human face split down the middle — half heroic, half Sith.

And it still looks wild today.

A Face Between the Light and the Dark

The ad’s design is simple but powerful:

  • Left side — a clean, human Jedi-like figure bathed in cooler light
  • Right side — a scarred, mechanical, Sith-influenced visage echoing Darth Malak’s look
  • Faint script overlays reference Jedi calm and Dark Side ambition
  • The tagline below urges players to choose their path

This wasn’t just cool art. It was a visual summary of what made Knights of the Old Republic revolutionary in 2003: your choices shape who you become.

Is That Revan? Yes… and No

Fans often look at this ad and ask:

“Is that supposed to be Revan?”

Marketing-wise, yes. Literally, no.

Revan in KOTOR is a player-defined character, not a fixed face. The person shown in the ad resembles one of the game’s default male face presets, but it isn’t a canon depiction of the character. Instead, it represents the idea of Revan — a hero balanced on the edge of Light and Dark.

The Sith side isn’t exactly Darth Malak either. The mechanical jaw evokes Malak’s design, but the figure is more like a “what you could become” version of the player.

It’s metaphor, not portraiture.

Why It Looks So Real

What makes the ad fascinating is how photographic it feels.

This wasn’t in-game imagery. KOTOR’s 2003 engine couldn’t render faces anywhere near this realistic. The ad was almost certainly built using:

  • Studio photography of a hired model
  • Heavy digital compositing
  • Paintover effects and prosthetic-style enhancements on the Dark Side half

That hybrid of photo and digital art gave the campaign a cinematic, live-action-adjacent look years before game marketing leaned heavily into movie-style visuals.

Ahead of Its Time

Most RPG ads in the early 2000s focused on explosions, monsters, or environments. This one focused on:

  • Identity
  • Moral choice
  • Inner transformation

That’s pure BioWare storytelling. The ad wasn’t selling lightsabers — it was selling who you are.

Looking back, it almost feels like early proof that Revan’s story was always bigger than a typical game protagonist. Even before the character became a fan-favorite legend, the marketing framed him like a tragic, film-worthy figure.

A Snapshot of Star Wars Gaming History

This ad captures a moment when Star Wars games were evolving from licensed action titles into deep, narrative-driven RPGs. It also shows how LucasArts marketing was already pushing toward cinematic presentation, even in static print.

Two decades later, it still hits — not because of effects, but because of the idea at its core:

In this Star Wars story, you are the turning point.

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