A notable industry insider claims that Star Wars: Battlefront 3 was pitched to Electronic Arts but was ultimately rejected.According to Tom Henderson, a reputable leaker who has predicted several large Electronic Arts projects, developer DICE was in talks to create another entry in the beloved Star Wars: Battlefront series. Henderson states that while the game was pitched to EA, the project never took off due to concerns surrounding costs. "Battlefront 3 was a pitched title from DICE, but ultimately, the title was shot down by EA due to licensing costs," tweeted Henderson. The insider went on to quote one of the developers working on the initial projecting, who claims that the pitch was rejected because "it takes 20% more sales to make the same money."
Henderson notes that development on Battlefront 3 will likely not see the light of day, at least not at DICE. Several key designers who worked on previous entries in the series have departed the studio since the conclusion of Battlefront II's support. Things can change but losing these developers indicates that DICE is not planning on returning to Star Wars.
While EA may not be developing another Star Wars: Battlefront game, the publisher is currently sitting on two other games set in the beloved sci-fi universe. Henderson notes that these projects are "more story-driven/single-player instead of multiplayer." It's possible that one of these games could be a sequel to Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order, which proved to be a massive success for EA and developer Respawn Entertainment.
While Star Wars fans may need to pour one out for Battlefront 3, there are plenty of other games to look forward to. Quantic Dream, the developer behind classic adventure games like Heavy Rain and Detroit: Become Human, is reportedly working on a Star Wars game set during the era of the High Republic. While multiple sources have corroborated the existence of this project, precious little else is known about the title. Beyond that, Ubisoft is also working on an open-world Star Wars game and LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga is set to launch in early 2022.
While Electronic Arts previously held the exclusive rights to develop games set in the expansive Star Wars universe, Disney recently opened the floodgates for other developers and publishers. It's currently unknown how many Star Wars games are actively in development.
Source: Twitter