EA's handling of the Star Wars brand ever since its exclusivity deal back in 2013 has been met with mixed response from fans of the galaxy far, far away. While EA's reboot of the Star Wars Battlefront series was praised on a technical level, its slow output of new content and controversial microtransactions in Star Wars Battlefront 2 specifically hurt the game's public image.
Even so, after years of improvements to the title, Star Wars Battlefront 2 has dedicated players who look forward to the future of the franchise. Although a third entry in the original series hasn't been officially announced by EA, Star Wars Battlefront 3 is sure to be on the company's time table for sometime in the future.
While this threequel is a likely possibility, there remains the lingering question of what EA and DICE could possibly do to change up the formula for the next installment. Of course, there is always the option to keep the status quo for business practices, but a far too similar approach may backfire and result in Star Wars Battlefront 3 just feeling like more of the same. While EA will naturally want to keep its financial income steady, there are ways to innovative and add fresh spins to the franchise.
Business as Usual
While many can appreciate video games for the innovation and creativity that can be brought to the entertainment world, the medium is unmistakably big business for many of the companies involved, business that is desired to always be maintained at a healthy flow. EA is home to many lucrative IPs such as the Battlefield series, Madden, Apex Legends, and the subject at hand, Star Wars Battlefront. Considering the strong sales figures EA IPs generate, it is understandable as to why the company would want new releases always delivered at a consistent enough pace.
Video games or not, Star Wars is among the most popular brands in the entire world. Although Ubisoft is developing its own Star Wars game, EA will surely want to continue to capitalize on its piece of the pie. The only other effort from EA with the franchise was Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order, so even with a few years separating it from the last release, Star Wars Battlefront 3 seems to be on the horizon as a guaranteed hot seller for the company.
War, Perfected.
Business jargon and analytics aside, the main reason that gamers will be interested in a game is certainly the gameplay itself. For any other faults tossed at the title, few could deny that the sensational space combat and spectacle of seeing iconic Star Wars heroes and villains clash on the battlefield (or rather, battlefront) was handled extremely well. Matches in Star Wars Battlefront 2 have 40 players online duking it out for either the triumph of the rebellion or glory of the empire, which is such a stunning sight to behold that its a wonder what could be done next.
Since its launch in 2017 and after an assortment of updates and DLC added to Star Wars Battlefront 2, the game has nailed the sensation of what it would like to be in the middle of a warzone set in this sci fi universe. Considering it has also drawn from practically all the content in the film series and it seems like a new game may just be recycling old material at this point, there remain other sources to draw inspiration from.
A Galaxy of Potential
For any who are possibly unaware, the Star Wars universe is comprised of far more than just the films and recent hit Disney+ series The Mandalorian. This vast universe is rich with diverse storylines, from comic books, novels and acclaimed video games such as Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic. In fact, Star Wars: Battlefront 3 would do well to swerve away from the material of the films and dive into the lore of these other narratives for ideas.
The tense political climate during the Knights of the Old Republic storyline makes it rife with possibilities for an engaging campaign while simultaneously providing new characters and locations for online battles. The gameplay itself and variety of game modes are already a solid foundation, meaning future adjustments to the game should be mostly focused on stylistic differences in order to differentiate the sights and stories players will experience. Also, since rumors of a Knights of the Old Republic remake have been swirling around recently, that storyline being brought back would make it all the more recognizable for Battlefront players.
Whatever stylistic decisions are made for Battlefront 3, EA needs to ensure that it differentiates this installment enough from the past two at the core of the experience. If it simply ends up feeling like Battlefront 2 again, then it will appear more as glorified DLC or just a re-skin, much like how past EA release Battlefield Hardline looked like a Battlefield 4 re-skin prior to its release.
Star Wars Battlefront 2 is now available for PC, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One.