"Exploring the Potential of 'Star Wars Battlefront' in the Coming Days"
Gamers and Star Wars enthusiasts can't help but express their longing for another Star Wars Battlefront game. The recent buzz surrounding DICE's Battlefront II has rekindled the community's spirit, with a day-long global event to display their passion and showcase the unwavering resilience of the Battlefront community.
This revival comes after Star Wars' May 4 holiday and Andor actor Muhannad Ben Amor, who played Wilmon, publicly voiced his wish for another installment: "Grew up with Battlefront II; been a veteran since day one, let's hope a Battlefront III happens."
For over 20 years, this multiplayer shooter series has had a tumultuous journey. The first two games were birthed during the Star Wars prequel era and developed by the late Pandemic Studios. The second, more recent pair came from Battlefield developer DICE. Despite never reaching number three, there were attempts to create a Battlefront III, with Free Radical Design, known for its creation of Timesplitters, involved at one point. Unfortunately, EA never made it happen.
LucasArts experimented with various ideas, including an online-only entry, a smaller scale multiplayer entry, and a fourth game set in an alternate reality where Obi-Wan and Luke were Sith Lords. However, these efforts bore no fruit. Once DICE stopped supporting Battlefront II in 2020, the sub-series vanished once more.
The question of whether Star Wars Battlefront can return, and why it should, is complex and tricky to answer. Developing games for this property has often proven challenging. Some of the most famous Star Wars games are those 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 coexisted with Battlefront. EA itself has faced troubles, canceling projects like a pirate-focused one from Visceral Games and Motive Studios and a first-person shooter centered on a Mandalorian from Respawn.
Currently, DICE is completely dedicated to the next Battlefield game, and several other EA studios are offering support. Given this, it seems unlikely that another Battlefront game could originate from EA anytime soon. A former live producer on Battlefront II, Mats Holm, recently suggested a remaster of the previous game as a stepping stone before developing a sequel, ideally with members of the previous team who were interested in working on it. However, the challenge lies with EA - while the Pandemic-made Battlefront games have been remastered, Electronic Arts can be selective when choosing what to remaster or remake.
Since 2019's Fallen Order, Star Wars has predominantly focused on single-player titles, like Ubisoft's Star Wars Outlaws and 2026's Zero Company from Bit Reactor. Other than the space combat-focused Star Wars Squadrons, EA hasn't shown any signs of re-entering the Star Wars multiplayer realm, possibly due to the backlash against Battlefront II's initial monetization being so severe and widely criticized. EA no longer holds the exclusive rights to create Star Wars licensed games, and Fortnite has emerged as the most significant multiplayer shooter the franchise has, thanks to its recent "Galactic Battle" tie-in event, in-game skins for various franchise characters, and a plot-relevant audio log revealing Palpatine's unexpected return for Rise of Skywalker.
Rebooting the multiplayer Star Wars Battlefront may seem difficult at this juncture, given the series' rocky history and EA's focus on other projects. But the passion that the series incites among fans remains undeniable, offering a glimmer of hope for the future. Stay tuned for more updates on Marvel, Star Wars, Star Trek, DC Universe, and Doctor Who releases.
- The Battlefront community's unwavering resilience has been showcased in a day-long global event, demonstrating their longing for another Star Wars Battlefront game, like the cancelled Battlefront III.
- Given the complex and tricky nature of developing Star Wars games, a remaster of the previous Battlefront game, as suggested by former live producer Mats Holm, could be a stepping stone for a possible Battlefront sequel.
- The recent Galactic Battle tie-in event in Fortnite has emerged as the most significant Star Wars multiplayer shooter, hinting at potential opportunities for future Star Wars multiplayer games, even though rebooting the multiplayer Star Wars Battlefront still appears difficult given the series' rocky history and EA's focus on other projects.
