Rumors for Battlefront III Development Heat Up

This past year has certainly been a very busy time for Star Wars fans. Followers of the franchise have been able to enjoy both Star Wars: Zero Company and Star Wars: Galactic Racer, as well as view the newest Star Wars movie, The Mandalorian and Grogu, which was released May 22nd in theaters. However, all of these projects pale in comparison to the rumored Battlefront III that may be in the works by EA Games.

While the title has not yet been confirmed by a game publisher, rumors are circulating that EA Games (the publisher of the previous two Battlefront installments) is working on a new game in the series. The company has officially stated that they will be bringing in both DICE and Respawn in order to “collaborate on a future project”. DICE was the developer for the first and second Battlefront games, while Respawn developed both Jedi: Fallen Order and Jedi Survivor.

Reputable entertainment news sites such as Variety and Polygon reported that “multiple sources” confirmed the collaboration is Battlefront III for Lucasfilm Games. The fact that both DICE and Respawn have previous experience with very popular Star Wars games reinforces this rumor even further.

The first Battlefront game in the series produced by EA Games was Battlefront, published in 2015. The game focused heavily on George Lucasʼs original trilogy and was highly regarded by Star Wars fans. The title was praised for its stunning graphics and authentic Star Wars experience; however, many people were disappointed by the gameʼs lack of game modes and its use of only one Star Wars era. Furthermore, many fans viewed the prices for the gameʼs season pass as predatory due to how expensive and underwhelming it was. Nonetheless, the game had a fairly successful runtime, but its support was eventually suspended due to the sequel being published only two years later.

Star Wars: Battlefront II was launched in 2017, developed by DICE once again. The game was released with all three eras of Star Wars: the prequel era, the original trilogy, and the sequel trilogy. However, the game faced heavy backlash for its use of loot boxes that locked much of the game's content behind a paywall. As more and more content was released, such as the release of heroes like General Grievous, Obi-Wan Kenobi, Anakin Skywalker, etc., EA Games began to ease up on its “pay-to-win” practices. As of 2026, the game has been completely overhauled in terms of in-game purchases and has become much less dependent on microtransactions.

Before EA rebooted the franchise, there were two prior Battlefront games released in 2004 and 2005, developed by Pandemic Studios for LucasArts. These original games are seen as one of the most culturally significant games in their era, and are generally considered some of the all-time best Star Wars games by fans. These games had the previously mentioned features such as ground-to-space combat, but also included a wide variety of vehicles. Most notably, its "Galactic Conquest" game mode allowed players to fight for control over the galaxy in a large-scale, turn-based match. Fights over individual planets transitioned into the traditional conquest gameplay, where you had to fight for control over key points on the map. The resources you had to fight with would be dictated by your decisions on the galactic map, giving the original titles a grander feel and larger scope than the later two titles.

Although EA abandoned support for Battlefront I in 2016 and Battlefront II in 2020, the games have continued to have a very lively and dedicated player base that constantly revives the titles every few months. Due to these constant revivals, many fans have been very vocal about their desire for a third installment that is updated for years beyond its release.

Many fans are expecting this hopeful third installment to take what the previous two titles had and mesh them with elements from the original Battlefront games of the early 2000's. Re-adding large-scale battles (with turn-based combat) while also expanding the character roster to include newer figures like the Mandalorian (season one - 2019) and Ahsoka (first feature series - 2023) is the vision that many Star Wars enthusiasts have.

While still just rumors of a release, the rumblings have been hugely significant for longtime fans. Battlefront II has been abandoned for nearly six years now, and with the release of countless other Star Wars games, as well as the rumored leaks, the player base of Battlefront II now has hope for the future. Although rumors are all that fans have to work with for now, the possibility of a new chapter in the Battlefront franchise is certainly a realistic, and exciting, possibility.