Prospects Regarding the Continuation of 'Star Wars Battlefront' Series
Gamers and Star Wars enthusiasts are clamoring for a new addition to the Star Wars Battlefront series. The revival of interest in Battlefront II from 2017, with its growing player count on PC, has sparked the community to organize a day-long global event to boost its player base and demonstrate the enduring passion of the Battlefront community.
Recently, Andor actor Muhannad Ben Amor, who played Wilmon, expressed his desire for a Battlefront III: "I grew up with Battlefront II; been a veteran since day one, let's hope a Battlefront III happens."
Over the past two decades, the multiplayer shooter series has seen two lifetimes. The original pair, developed by the late Pandemic Studios during the Star Wars prequel era, and the more recent entries, created by DICE, have yet to reach number three. Although a Battlefront III was nearly in the works before EA acquired the Star Wars game license, a number of developers, including Timesplitters creator Free Radical Design, were involved.
LucasArts attempted to revitalize the series with an online-only entry, a smaller multiplayer title, and a fourth game featuring an alternate reality where Obi-Wan and Luke were Sith Lords. However, none of these endeavors came to fruition. Once DICE ceased support for Battlefront II in 2020, the series was once again absent.
Whether a new Star Wars Battlefront game will emerge and why it deserves a comeback are interconnected questions with complex answers. Developing games based on this property has posed challenges throughout the years. Some of the most iconic Star Wars games are those that never made it off the drawing board, like the Boba Fett-centered 1313 or third installments for Knights of the Old Republic and Force Unleashed, two series that coexisted with Battlefront. Even EA encountered difficulties, such as cancelling pirate-focused projects from Visceral Games and Motive Studios, and more recently, shelving a first-person shooter centered on a Mandalorian under development at Respawn, creators of the acclaimed Star Wars Jedi games.
Currently, DICE is fully dedicated to the next Battlefield game, with numerous other EA studios providing support. Given this, a new Battlefront title seems unlikely to emerge from EA, let alone in the near future. Mats Holm, a former live producer on Battlefront II, suggested a remaster of the previous game as a stepping stone before moving on to a proper sequel, ideally with involvement from the original team. However, the hurdle lies with EA— while the Pandemic-created Battlefront games have been remastered, Electronic Arts can be more selective than other publishers regarding what it chooses to remaster or remake.
Since the release of Fallen Order in 2019, Star Wars has primarily targeted single-player games, such as Star Wars Outlaws from Ubisoft and 2026's Zero Company from Bit Reactor. The exception has been Star Wars Squadrons, which is the only multiplayer shooter focused on Star Wars to date. EA might be hesitant to recommit to multiplayer Star Wars games due to the controversy surrounding Battlefront II's initial monetization, which was heavily criticized and significant in its impact, causing EA to lose the exclusive rights to create licensed Star Wars games. Additionally, Fortnite has become a crucial multiplayer shooter in the Star Wars franchise, with recent tie-in events, in-game skins for various characters, and plot-significant audio logs that revealed Palpatine's return in Rise of Skywalker.
In the past, Star Wars Battlefront served as a hub for all aspects of the franchise. Battlefront II was marketed as a unification point for the three trilogies, and in an effort to rehabilitate its image, DICE committed substantial resources to post-launch updates integrating maps, weapons, and characters from the sequels, prequels, Rogue One, and Solo. Since then, Star Wars hasn't maintained steady momentum that could justify a legitimate Battlefront III.
When 2026 arrives, The Mandalorian & Grogu will likely join Fortnite for a partnership of some kind, along with Maul: Shadow Lord and the 2027 Starfighter film. Star Wars appears to be deeply entangled in the web of Epic Games, with little indication that Disney will sever ties anytime soon.
While hope for a Star Wars Battlefront III persists despite the long odds, one wonders how it fits into the future of Star Wars and which teams will be behind it as online games, regardless of their scale, tend to fade quickly.
- Gizmodo and Io9 have reported on Muhannad Ben Amor's statement expressing his desire for a Battlefront III, suggesting a revival of the popular Star Wars Battlefront series.
- As DICE is focused on the next Battlefield game, a new Star Wars Battlefront might not be in the works from Electronic Arts, and any potential remaster of previous games would depend on the publisher's choices.
- In the future, multiplayer games like Star Wars Outlaws and Zero Company are expected to dominate the Star Wars franchise, with Fortnite and a potential Star Wars Battlefront III possibly finding a place as well.
- With Star Wars franchises like The Mandalorian and upcoming films aligning with Epic Games, there is uncertainty about which teams will develop a potential Star Wars Battlefront III if it ever comes into existence, considering the quick fade of online games.
