Star Wars Battlefront II released in 2017 for the PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC. A sequel to the similarly titled 2015 game which itself was based on the two classic Lucasfilm games developed by Pandemic Studios back in the early 2000s. The sequel received a less-than-kind but fair reception upon launch, however, DICE apparently managed to turn things around with continued support for the game — an inspirational tale akin to that of No Man's Sky.
The game's director has insisted that a third instalment isn't in the works — as you can see here. However, the reason as to why has now been revealed. According to insider Tom Henderson (@_Tom_Henderson), Electronic Arts shot down DICE's Star Wars Battlfront III pitch due to licensing costs. History is repeating itself; it seems that just like back in the early 2000s, a hopeful developer's idea of a third Star Wars Battlefront game has been cut down in its tracks.
"Battlefront 3 was a pitched title from DICE, but ultimately, the title was shot down by EA due to licensing costs. It got turned down because it takes 20% more sales to make the same money, said one past developer. "Although it currently seems that DICE is not working on Battlefront 3 (and instead another Battlefield), there are currently two Star Wars titles in development under EA – But it appears that those titles are more story-driven/single-player instead of multiplayer.
Henderson continued: "Since several key developers that worked on the Battlefront series have since left the DICE studio in the past year, including the likes of Battlefront II's creative director Dennis Bränvall, core gameplay designer Christian Johannese, and lead hero designer Guillaume Mroz, it would indicate a Battlefront 3 is very unlikely." You can read through Henderson's full thread of tweets below.
The insider states that Electronic Arts is working on two single-player, narrative-focused video games that make use of the Star Wars IP. One of those is likely a sequel to Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order. There is also apparently a new Star Wars video game in the works at Quantic Dream that's set during the High Republic era — find out more about that here.