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Star Wars Battlefront 3 Reportedly in Development at DICE and Respawn

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Published
10/22/2026
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5 min

EA has confirmed DICE and Respawn are collaborating on a future shooter project, while multiple reports say that project is Star Wars Battlefront 3. Here is what is confirmed, what is reported, and what fans should wait to hear next.

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EA has confirmed the studio team-up, but not Battlefront 3

The strongest confirmed fact in the latest Star Wars Battlefront 3 reporting is that EA has publicly said DICE and Respawn are working together on a future project. The tension is that EA has not named that project, while Variety, cited by outlets including VGC, Eurogamer, IGN, GameSpot, and Push Square, reports through multiple sources that the collaboration is a new Star Wars Battlefront game for Lucasfilm.

According to IGN’s coverage of EA’s letter about its future, the publisher said that, alongside future Battlefield titles, it will bring together Respawn and DICE on “a future project” intended to help grow EA’s shooter portfolio. GameSpot also reported that EA framed the project inside a broader plan around shooters, including learnings from Battlefield 6’s launch and live service, plus new Apex Legends modes and experiences.

That leaves the story in two lanes. Confirmed: DICE and Respawn are collaborating on an unannounced future project at EA. Reported: Variety’s sources say the project is Star Wars Battlefront 3. Unannounced: the title, release window, platforms, pricing, engine, modes, perspective, monetization model, and how development responsibilities are split between the studios.

For fans searching for Star Wars Battlefront 3, that distinction is the whole game right now. This is not an official reveal. It is a heavily corroborated report attached to a real EA statement, which makes it stronger than a random rumor, but still short of confirmation from EA or Lucasfilm.

DICE and Respawn are the obvious EA pairing for a Battlefront revival

If the report is accurate, the DICE Respawn Battlefront pairing makes practical sense. DICE developed EA’s two modern Star Wars Battlefront games, released in 2015 and 2017, and remains EA’s flagship Battlefield studio. Its obvious value to a new Battlefront would be large-scale multiplayer structure: vehicle-heavy maps, infantry lanes, readable chaos, class pressure, objective flow, and the kind of spectacle that has to hold together when dozens of players are pushing the same point.

Respawn brings a different shooter résumé. Eurogamer and IGN identify the studio with Apex Legends, while VGC notes its Star Wars work on the Jedi games and the strategy title Star Wars Zero Company. IGN also reports that Respawn previously worked on a canceled Star Wars shooter, rumored to have been a Mandalorian game. None of the provided sources say Respawn is leading Battlefront 3, designing movement, building heroes, or handling campaign content, so those would be assumptions. The safe read is narrower: Respawn gives EA another senior shooter team with Star Wars experience at a time when the company says it wants growth in shooters.

From a competitive shooter standpoint, the fit is easy to see but hard to judge without footage. Battlefront lives or dies on time-to-kill readability, spawn logic, sightline discipline, hero balance, hit registration, and whether vehicles feel powerful without turning infantry into target practice. DICE knows the scale. Respawn knows fast combat feel and ability-driven multiplayer ecosystems through Apex. The unanswered question is whether collaboration means shared leadership, support staffing, technology sharing, or a true co-development structure.

Battlefront 2’s comeback gives EA a reason to listen, and a reason to be careful

The reported EA Star Wars shooter would arrive with a complicated inheritance. Star Wars Battlefront 2 launched in 2017 into intense backlash over microtransactions and loot boxes. VGC reports that EA removed the game’s microtransactions after that backlash. Eurogamer describes the original loot box system as assigning random chance to functional characters and powers, and says the wider fallout contributed to global scrutiny of loot boxes as gambling-like mechanics.

That history still matters because Battlefront 2’s reputation did not freeze at launch. VGC reports that EA ended support for the shooter in 2020 after years of added heroes, maps, and modes, and says community sentiment had turned positive by then. Eurogamer similarly notes that DICE overhauled the progression systems, removed loot boxes, and continued supporting the game for years before its final major update in 2020.

The audience did not disappear after support ended. VGC reports that in 2025, Battlefront 2 reached its highest Steam concurrent player figures after Reddit and TikTok communities encouraged lapsed fans to return. Push Square also reported renewed popularity on PS4. That resurgence is important context for why Lucasfilm and EA would look at the brand again. A dormant multiplayer shooter rarely gets a better free focus test than players organizing themselves back into the servers years later.

It also raises the bar. Fans are not asking for a logo. They want a launch that avoids the progression and monetization mistakes that defined Battlefront 2’s first impression, while preserving the later version’s maps, heroes, and broad Star Wars fantasy. EA and Lucasfilm have not announced how a new game would handle progression, cosmetics, unlocks, seasons, or paid content.

The Bungie rumor shows the reporting trail is still messy

The current report did not start with EA naming Star Wars Battlefront 3. Eurogamer says the latest wave began with a rumor from Electronic Gaming Monthly, discussed via Giant Bomb, that Disney or Lucasfilm was looking for a studio to develop Battlefront 3. That rumor named DICE as a possible candidate and also floated Bungie, the Sony-owned studio behind Destiny and Marathon, as another possible developer.

Wccftech’s timeline says Wardogs studio head Joe Brammer then posted on X that the choice had already been made and that DICE and Respawn were working on Battlefront 3. Eurogamer also references Brammer’s claim, saying the information now appears to be true in light of Variety’s reporting. Variety’s multiple-source report, as relayed by VGC, Eurogamer, IGN, GameSpot, and Push Square, is the part that moved the story from loose chatter to serious industry reporting.

Still, the reporting trail matters. The Bungie element remains unconfirmed in the provided sources. EA’s own public statement, as quoted by IGN and Push Square, only confirms a Respawn and DICE collaboration on a future project. Lucasfilm has not been quoted in the provided material announcing Battlefront 3. EA has not put out a title, trailer, press release, store page, or platform list.

So the clean read is this: the Bungie thread is rumor, the DICE and Respawn collaboration is confirmed, and the claim that their project is Star Wars Battlefront 3 is sourced reporting, not an official announcement.

The real test will be design details, not the studio logos

A new Star Wars Battlefront game can win headlines with DICE and Respawn attached, but it will win players by answering shooter questions that the current reporting cannot answer. Is it primarily first-person, third-person, or a hybrid like the prior modern Battlefront games? Are heroes battlefield power spikes, earned streak rewards, limited pickups, or loadout choices? Does the game return to huge cinematic modes, smaller competitive playlists, co-op, or all of them? How does matchmaking handle stacked squads, hero access, and late joins?

Netcode and pacing should be at the center of the reveal whenever it comes. Battlefront is a hard shooter to tune because its fantasy asks for blasters, Jedi, starfighters, walkers, grenades, abilities, and cinematic maps in the same ecosystem. If infantry combat feels sloppy, the whole game turns into wallpaper. If heroes are overtuned, objective modes become waiting rooms for one player’s power trip. If vehicles dominate too easily, map flow collapses. If progression touches gameplay power the wrong way, Battlefront 2’s launch controversy comes right back into the conversation.

EA’s confirmed language about a “shooter portfolio,” reported by IGN and GameSpot, suggests the company sees the DICE and Respawn project as part of a broader FPS push rather than a side experiment. That is encouraging only if it comes with time, staffing, and a clear identity. DICE already has future Battlefield work on its plate, according to EA’s statement as covered by IGN. Respawn is tied to Apex Legends updates and has recent Star Wars credits. The practical question is whether this collaboration has enough focus to ship polished multiplayer at scale.

What fans should wait for before treating Battlefront 3 as official

For now, the right stance is interested but disciplined. Star Wars Battlefront 3 is reportedly in development at DICE and Respawn, but EA has only confirmed that those studios are collaborating on an unnamed future project. That gap should shape expectations until EA or Lucasfilm speaks directly.

Before treating this as locked, fans should wait for an official title announcement, a named developer structure, and first gameplay. A cinematic teaser would confirm existence, but it would not answer the shooter questions that matter. The first real information to watch for is mode design, map scale, perspective, hero implementation, progression, monetization, crossplay, server structure, platforms, and whether the game is built as a premium release, a live service, or some hybrid EA has not yet described.

There is also no sourced release timing in the provided material. No outlet cited here reports a launch window, and none of the source text provides supported details on PlayStation, Xbox, PC, Switch 2, price, editions, early access, beta dates, or system requirements. Anyone claiming specifics beyond the DICE and Respawn collaboration and Variety’s Battlefront 3 sourcing is getting ahead of the record.

The encouraging part for Battlefront fans is that the report lines up with clear incentives: a revived community, a recognizable Star Wars multiplayer brand, DICE’s history with the series, and Respawn’s shooter and Star Wars experience. The caution is equally clear. This franchise already showed how fast excitement can turn when progression, balance, and monetization are wrong. Until EA names the project, shows the game, and explains how it plays, Star Wars Battlefront 3 remains a strong report rather than a confirmed product.

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