Mats Holm, a former producer at DICE, has expressed a desire to return to the Star Wars: Battlefront series and “get the gang back together” in the form of Battlefront II’s development team amidst a recent resurgence in the 2017 title’s popularity.
The Battlefront series of first and third-person shooters is one of many licensed video game spin-offs of the Star Wars franchise. The first game was released in 2004 with a sequel the following year, developed by the now-defunct Pandemic Studios and to much success and acclaim. While several attempts at a third game entered different stages of development, there would not be another entry into the series until a 2015 reboot by DICE.
The 2015 reboot was the first Battlefront game since the 2012 acquisition of Lucasfilm by Disney, and was followed up with a sequel in 2017. While Battlefront II was successful and praised for its gameplay and multiplayer in particular, the game was also heavily criticised for its heavy use of microtransactions and loot boxes, elements that were eventually removed from the game.
Despite its success, Battlefront II did not receive a sequel, though an open world spin-off was intended to release in 2020 before being cancelled the year prior. The game has remained popular, and in a recent resurgence in popularity following May 4 celebrations of the Star Wars franchise and the recent final season of the popular tv series Andor, broke its all-time peak players record on Steam.
In response to the outspoken desire for a third game, as well as Holm’s comments on the matter, Andor cast member Muhannad Ben Amor also called for a third game in the rebooted series on his Instagram story. While there are currently no known plans for a third game, demand from players and developers alike has been strong during the past month.
Star Wars: Battlefront II is still available to purchase and play on Steam, PlayStation 4, Xbox One and EA App (Formerly Origin) with online servers still active. All other games in the series are also available on various digital storefronts.
Words by Ash Douglas
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