Bungie and EA DICE are reportedly the two studios in contention to develop Star Wars Battlefront 3.
Star Wars could reportedly be getting the highly requested third instalment in its successful Battlefront video game franchise, with the project potentially landing at EA DICE or, more surprisingly, Bungie, the studio behind Halo, Destiny and Marathon.
The report comes from EGM (spotted by Polygon), a long-defunct gaming magazine that is set to return to print following a successful Kickstarter campaign. In the publication’s new rumour column, reporter and EGM contributor Jeff Grubb revealed the Star Wars tip, as noted through his Giant Bomb YouTube channel.
Jeff Grub unveiled details of the Star Wars Battlefront 3 rumour at minute 21:25, and with a colourful host of Star Wars references, no less. “Disney has big plans for the Star Wars Battlefront series. Recognising how EA Battlefront 2 has sustained popularity that other Star Wars media can only dream of, you’d think they’d greenlight Battlefront 3 toot sweet,” Grubb read.
“The suites at LucasFilm had been aggressively deploying probe droids for a development partner to take on the task of creating a follow-up. So far, no one has fully stepped up, but yours truly is hearing two major game studios are circling the project like a couple of snow speeders, led by the completely unsurprising EA DICE, who we can hope learn from their loot box lesson.
“There is another. [We] hear that if the Force is not entrusted to DICE, it could land at none other than Halo, Destiny, and Marathon developer Bungie.”
Watch the full episode below:
Who is making Star Wars Battlefront 3?
As per the EGM report, EA DICE and Bungie are the two studios that are in contention to develop Star Wars Battlefront 3.
EA DICE would be the more natural candidate, having developed both entries in the modern Star Wars Battlefront series, released in 2015 and 2017, respectively.
However, Bungie's reported involvement makes the rumour particularly interesting. After developing the iconic Halo series under Microsoft, Bungie went independent and shifted its focus towards original intellectual property.
The studio went on to create the popular Destiny franchise in 2014, and released its extraction shooter Marathon this year. Bungie being considered for Star Wars Battlefront 3 would therefore mark a potential departure from its focus on original IPs.
According to reporter Jeff Grubb, Star Wars Battlefront 3 does not appear to be in active development yet, although early planning may have already taken place.
The Star Wars Battlefront series is one of the most successful video game franchises in the Star Wars universe. The 2017 Battlefront II even experienced a resurgence in popularity last year, surpassing 35,000 concurrent players on Steam, and reigniting fans’ calls for a third instalment. It seems Disney may finally be listening, although it could still be a long time before Battlefront 3 becomes a reality.
