The Star Wars Battlefront series doesn’t have the best luck when it comes to third installments. Free Radical’s Star Wars Battlefront 3 was reportedly canceled by LucasArts close to the finish line all the way back in 2009. And around a decade later, EA reportedly denied DICE’s pitch for a Star Wars Battlefront 3, allegedly due to IP’s licensing costs.
Though EA’s Star Wars Battlefront 1 and 2 were met with their fair share of controversies when they initially released, many fans have come to remember them fondly. That’s especially true for 2017’s Star Wars Battlefront 2, which improved immensely in the years following launch thanks to consistent free updates and the removal of its infamously predatory loot box system. The lack of a Star Wars Battlefront 3 has become a bit of a tragic tale for fans, and given EA’s current strategy, it seems like a huge missed opportunity.
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Star Wars Battlefront 3 Could Have Been EA’s Perfect Live-Service Vehicle
EA Is Still Trying to Break Into The Live-Service Genre
For years now, EA has wanted its own slice of the live-service pie. 2021’s Battlefield 2042 is probably the most notorious example of EA attempting to adopt the live-service model and it not quite working out in its favor. Battlefield 2042 was panned by critics and fans alike for its severe lack of maps and modes, its removal of staple franchise features, and its litany of technical issues.
It was clear from the outset that EA was using the guise of live-service to deliver a half-finished product, hoping that fans would simply invest on day-one if it promised more content was on the way in the future. Though Battlefield 2042 did receive a lot of support from its developers, the damage was already done, and the Battlefield franchise is still trying to pick up the pieces almost four years later.
Despite Battlefield 2042‘s failure, EA still seems to be chasing that live-service golden goose. EA’s long-awaited Skate reboot already has microtransactions, and it’s not even in early access yet, let alone in a fully-released state. And in a recent earnings call, EA CEO Andrew Wilson said this when asked why Dragon Age: The Veilguard was a critical success but a commercial failure: “In order to break out beyond the core audience, games need to directly connect to the evolving demand of players who increasingly seek shared world features.”
Star Wars Battlefront 3 Could Have Been EA’s Live-Service Hit
Aside from The Sims 4, the vast majority of EA’s live-service ventures have not ended well. But a win could be sitting right under the publisher’s nose. Released the same year as Fortnite‘s Battle Royale mode, Star Wars Battlefront 2 was essentially a live-service game before the genre had been fully established (outside of MMOs), with it releasing new content every few months.
Star Wars Battlefront 3 could have taken BF2‘s groundwork and continued to build upon it gradually over time, releasing new maps, modes, classes, vehicles, and heroes at a consistent rate. The Star Wars franchise has no shortage of content to draw from for regular updates, and it has no shortage of possible cosmetics either, which is where the real money lies in a live-service multiplayer game.
- Released
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November 17, 2017
- ESRB
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T for Teen: Violence
- Publisher(s)
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Electronic Arts
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