The Outlook for the Upcoming 'Star Wars Battlefront' Developments
Gamers and Star Wars fanatics are hooting and hollering for another round of Star Wars Battlefront. The blast from the past, DICE's Battlefront II, has kicked up a dust storm of nostalgia lately, with its player count blowing up on PC, fueled by the community's determination to bank on the hype and highlight the resilient spirit of the Battlefront clan.
This Naboo-tion has been sparked by Star Wars day, May 4th, and Andor star, Muhannad Ben Amor, who played Wilmon, pleading for a new title: "Grew up with Battlefront II; been a veteran since day one, let's hope a Battlefront III happens."
Over the years, the multiplayer shooter series has experienced two life-support systems. The first spin-offs were born during the Star Wars prequel era and marvelously crafted by the late Pandemic Studios, while the more recent powers came from Battlefield developers DICE. Despite never making it to number three, a whopping Battlefront III was almost in the making, with Timesplitters creator Free Radical Design in the midst of development, but alas, EA swooped in and plucked the Star Wars license from LucasArts. In a futile attempt to restart the games, LucasArts tried to relaunch the series with an online-only entry, a scaled-back multiplayer game, and a fourth installment set in an alternate universe where Obi-Wan and Luke were Sith Lords. But alas, these efforts were to no avail. Once DICE stopped pumping oxygen into its Battlefront II project in 2020, the sub-series disappeared from the radar.
The questions of whether Star Wars Battlefront will boot back up and why it ought to be revived are sticky and tricky to answer. Cooking games for this galaxy far, far away has oftentimes been a tough gig throughout the years. Some of the most memorable Star Wars games are the ones that never came to fruition, like the Boba Fett-starring 1313 or third entries for Knights of the Old Republic and Force Unleashed, two sub-series that shared the screen with Battlefront. Even EA itself struggled; it scrapped a pirate-centric project from Visceral Games and Motive Studios, and more recently canned a first-person shooter centered on a Mandalorian that was in development at Respawn, the wizards behind the swell Star Wars Jedi games.
At the moment, DICE is full speed ahead on the next Battlefield game, with several other EA studios standing by to lend a hand. Consequently, another Battlefront manifold couldn't realistically spring from EA's space station, let alone anytime soon. Mats Holm, a former Battlefront II live producer, recently chimed in on Reddit, advising a Battlefront 2 remaster as a stepping stone toward developing a proper sequel, ideally helmed by members of the previous team. A remastered update would serve as the perfect opening act, but the problem lies with EA: while the Pandemic-made Battlefront games have been remastered, Electronic Arts tends to be more choosy than other publishers when it comes to deciding what to remaster or remake.
Since Fallen Order in 2019, Star Wars has mostly focused its peepers on single-player titles, including Ubisoft's Star Wars Outlaws and 2026's Zero Company from Bit Reactor. Apart from the space combat-centric Star Wars Squadrons, EA hasn't exactly recommitted to Star Wars multiplayer, possibly due to the intense controversy surrounding Battlefront II's initial monetization scheme. This criticism was so fierce and disastrous that it essentially barred EA from being the sole purveyor of Star Wars licensed games. Furthermore, Epic Games' Fortnite has become the cornerstone of the Star Wars multiplayer universe, thanks to its recent "Galactic Battle" tie-in event, numerous in-game skins for franchise characters, and the plot-pertinent audio log that suggests Palpatine has somehow returned for Rise of Skywalker.
The previous incarnations of Star Wars Battlefront existed at a time where they represented the solo deity of the Star Wars universe. Battlefront II was already marketed as a unification point for all three trilogies, and part of its rehabilitation efforts, DICE overshot the mark, pumping in everything they had and more into post-launch updates that incorporated maps, weapons, and characters from the sequels, prequels, Rogue One, and Solo. Since DICE pulled the plug on the project in 2019, the Star Wars universe hasn't found a consistent rhythm that would justify a true Battlefront III.
Come 2026, The Mandalorian & Grogu's bound to get a Fortnite cameo of some sort, as will the Disney+ series Maul: Shadow Lord and the 2027 Starfighter film. Like Andor's Lonni Jung, Star Wars has found itself ensnared in the web of Epic Games, and it's doubtful Disney will cut ties with this partnership anytime soon.
And yet, the flame of hope for a Star Wars Battlefront III persists, unquenchable in the face of the odds. However, as Star Wars moves forward in a new phase of its life, promising more movies and shows, and aiming to explore periods during and after the sequels, one has to ponder how this new title would slot into the Star Wars design, and who will be available for it at a time when online games, regardless of their scale, are easily discarded.
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The fan's enthusiasm for a potential Battlefront III, as expressed by Muhannad Ben Amor, has been reignited, mirroring the excitement surrounding Star Wars day. The narrow chances of seeing a third installment of the Battlefront series are apparent, considering EA's ongoing focus on other projects, such as the next Battlefield game and a Star Wars remaster as suggested by Mats Holm. Yet, amidst the ever-evolving universe of Star Wars, the hope for a Battlefront III endures, leaving fans to contemplate its potential place in the future of the franchise. Io9 offers insightful updates on the latest developments in Star Wars, Marvel, Star Trek, DC Universe, and Doctor Who.
