News broke recently that the just-released Battle of Scarif update for Star Wars Battlefront II would be the game's last, as the Dice's vision for the multiplayer is now complete.
The game released in late 2017, just in time to have a Christmas launch alongside The Last Jedi , and the reception was overwhelmingly negative, to put things mildly. Fans were dismayed to find that a loot box and microtransaction system was implemented to either require gamers to log long hours of play or spend money to gain access to characters like Darth Vader, and EA's response to the blowback became the most downvoted Reddit post of all time.
However, the game had a classic Star Wars style redemption, as the team at Dice worked diligently over the last two years to provide free updates to the game to enhance the experience, and Battlefront II is now regarded as one of the best Star Wars games of the modern era. Those disappointed by the news of the game's end held out hope that a sequel was on the horizon, but a new report indicates that fans will have to hang tight with Battlefront II for quite some time...
NEWS
An exclusive report by Bespin Bulletin on Instagram indicates that EA has no current plans to develop a Battlefront III Star Wars game. Dice is focusing its efforts on a new Battlefield title set to release in 2021, leaving the studio with little time to develop another Battlefront game. On the Star Wars front, EA is currently working on a flight simulator game named Project Maverick with Motive, which will also release in 2021, and a sequel to Jedi: Fallen Order with Respawn, expected to hit sometime in 2022.
WHAT THIS MEANS
For a lot of fans, this news is going to be disappointing. Battlefront II was really starting to ramp up, with its player base recently reaching an all-time high, and there is sure to be hunger for more new content beyond the Battle of Scarif update. Many Star Wars gamers were hoping for the likes of Ahsoka Tano, Asajj Ventress, and Mace Windu to find their ways into the game as playable heroes, as well as the addition of Coruscant and Mustafar as maps. While those entities just weren't in the cards for Battlefront II , it seemed reasonable to believe that they were being saved for a Battlefront III title, and that's sadly not the case - at the moment.
While there aren't any current plans for a third entry into Dice's Battlefront line, there's always the chance that it could be something in store for the future. Important to note is that EA's license with Lucasfilm expires in 2023, meaning they would no longer have exclusive rights to develop Star Wars video games.
Despite Battlefront II's redemption, many are hoping that Lucasfilm and Disney share the Star Wars title with other studios following the end of the contract or strip EA of the rights entirely. Battlefront II is a big game and will continue to have events to increase its longevity, so while a potential Battlefront III may be a long ways of off, if it ever happens, there's still plenty that the series has to offer.
