The world of Star Wars gaming is in pretty rude health just about now. In the last couple of months alone, we've gotten two of the best-reviewed games to come out of that galaxy far, far away in ages in the form of XCOM style tactics joint Star Wars: Zero Company and high-octane podracing banger Star Wars: Galactic Racer. Now, after weeks of whispers and years of rumours, Variety is reporting that a long clamoured for new title — Star Wars: Battlefront 3 — is in active development at EA DICE and Respawn.
News of a third game in the modern era Battlefront revival — started with 2015's Star Wars: Battlefront, and continued with similarly ingeniously titled 2017 follow-up Star Wars: Battlefront II — will no doubt be music to the ears of Star Wars fans. Battlefront II, which overcame micro-transaction based controversy upon release to become a feature-rich and worthy sequel to DICE's 2015 resurrection of their own shooter franchise, received its last update six years ago, meaning virtually the entire Disney+ era of Star Wars — including Andor, The Mandalorian & Grogu, Ahsoka, Skeleton Crew, The Bad Batch, Maul: Shadow Lord, and more — has been left untouched and untapped in the non-Fortnite gaming world. Presumably, any new game would rectify that dearth of up-to-date content, and potentially feature maps and characters from new and upcoming projects too, like Star Wars: Starfighter (and, of course, Glup Shitto of the moment, Biddy Blas!)
News of Battlefront 3 being in active development comes on what has otherwise been another rough day in the gaming industry, one which has seen EA confirm that 3% of its current workforce (approximately 14,000 employees) are being laid off and that legendary studio BioWare — of Mass Effect, Knights Of The Old Republic, and Dragon Age fame — is being shut down. But hey, at least we're getting Battlefront 3, a new Jedi series game, and that Iron Man one, too, eh? Silver linings and all that...