Star Wars is notorious for not completing its game trilogies, but it may be reversing course on one fan-favorite franchise whose first two installments were hits. Over the years, LucasArts, before its acquisition by Disney, produced games that found success but never received a final chapter. Star Wars: The Force Unleashed is a prime example, with its two entries released in 2008 and 2010 before turmoil at LucasArts stopped a third from coming to fruition.
Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic was also a massive success, and while a third installment was being worked on, it never saw the light of day. Another Star Wars hit suffered the same fate, but Lucasfilm might finally salvage the situation. If it does, the company will officially complete its fourth video game trilogy.
According to a new report, Star Wars is searching for a new studio to develop the third installment of its Battlefront series. The rumor comes from Electronic Gaming Monthly's revived Quartermann gossip column.
It claims Lucasfilm has been "aggressively deploying probe droids" in search of a development partner, with two major studios circling the project: EA's DICE, the studio behind the two modern Battlefront games, and Bungie, the developer of Destiny and the original Halo trilogy.
Neither studio has confirmed anything, but it is the most promising update yet on a Battlefront follow-up. It also arrives on the back of 2017's Battlefront II enjoying massive player resurgence, whetting appetites for a third game.
The original Star Wars: Battlefront series began under LucasArts and developer Pandemic Studios, with entries arriving in 2004 and 2005. LucasArts then tapped Free Radical Design to build Star Wars: Battlefront III, a far more ambitious sequel promising seamless ground-to-space combat.
The game was never officially announced, and LucasArts pulled the plug in late 2008 amid a management overhaul and a breakdown in relations with the studio.
Over the years, plenty of drama has surrounded what transpired, with various parties telling different stories. Free Radical co-founder Steve Ellis claimed the game was essentially finished and needed only bug fixes. A former LucasArts employee fired back, calling it "a generous estimate... of a mediocre game."
Years later, developer Michael Barclay, who worked on the project, said it was canceled "2 yards from the finish line" and called the decision "an absolute crime" on X (formerly Twitter). Leaked footage and recovered builds have kept the legend alive ever since, including a nearly complete Wii version that preservationists recovered from an e-waste recycling center in 2024.
History repeated itself under EA. The publisher signed a ten-year exclusive Star Wars deal with Disney and rebooted Battlefront with DICE, releasing new entries in 2015 and 2017. The two games sold more than 33 million copies combined, even with the sequel's disastrous loot box launch taking years to repair. Yet when DICE pitched Battlefront 3, EA turned it down over licensing costs, with reporting indicating the game would have needed to sell 20% more copies than a Battlefield title just to earn the same money.
Battlefront 3 has a better chance now, given the very different circumstances surrounding the license. EA's exclusivity ended years ago, and Lucasfilm Games now licenses Star Wars out to multiple partners, which explains why the company can shop Battlefront around in the first place.
If these rumors prove true, Battlefront will join Star Wars' short list of completed game trilogies, marking the fourth one the franchise has ever finished.
Every Completed Star Wars Game Trilogy
Super Star Wars Series
The Super Star Wars trilogy adapted the original films on the Super Nintendo in 16-bit. Sculptured Software developed Super Star Wars, Super Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back, and Super Star Wars: Return of the Jedi between 1992 and 1994. The games earned a reputation for punishing difficulty, with standout Mode 7 vehicle sequences proving a tough nut to crack. They also featured some of the best renditions of John Williams' score ever put on a cartridge.
Star Wars: Rogue Squadron Series
Factor 5's flight combat series let players live out the dogfights the movies only teased. The original launched on Nintendo 64 and PC, Rogue Squadron II: Rogue Leader served as a GameCube launch showcase, and Rogue Squadron III: Rebel Strike closed the trilogy with a full co-op rework of its predecessor's campaign.
Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order Trilogy
Respawn Entertainment's action series began with Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order and continued with Star Wars Jedi: Survivor. The third and final chapter following Cal Kestis is confirmed and in development, and Disney recently doubled down on the character's future. As one representative put it, "We've got his lightsaber in the park. We've got more Cal stories coming."
Bonus: Star Wars Dark Forces / Jedi Knight Series
The Dark Forces/Jedi Knight series went beyond a trilogy, delivering five installments. The Kyle Katarn saga begins with Dark Forces through Jedi Knight: Dark Forces II, the Mysteries of the Sith expansion, Jedi Knight II: Jedi Outcast, and Jedi Knight: Jedi Academy. The series changed its name almost as often as its hero changed allegiances, and it gave players their first real taste of first-person lightsaber combat.
Geraldo Amartey is a writer at The Direct. He joined the team in 2025, bringing with him four years of experience covering entertainment news, pop culture, and fan-favorite franchises for sites like YEN, Briefly and Tuko.
