At one point in time Star Wars: Battlefront was one of the most highly respected multiplayer action games out there. Both the original and the sequel had a lot to offer in versus team excitement, especially with the introduction of the Jedis. We couldn’t get enough of them. We’ve been begging so long for a third chapter in the series… and at one point, we almost got it.
Free Radical Entertainment co-founder Steve Ellis explained to GamesIndustry.biz earlier today that the game was actually in development for some time and working its way through final QA before LucasArts stopped it from being completely finished for some inexplicable reason.
“Layoffs and change of focus” were to blame at LucasArts, according to Ellis. Friendly contacts departed the company shortly following, leading to a falling out between the teams and employees who delayed payments to the developer and wanted to go a completely different way in development. Battlefront 4 was also being considered at the time, as part of the initial deal with LucasArts, but obviously that went out the window.
“It was a change of direction for LucasArts as a company rather than for the games that we were working on,” said Ellis. “I think what had happened was the new management had been brought in to replace the old and given an impossible mandate. It was a financial decision basically and the only way they could achieve what they had been told was to can some games and get rid of a bunch of staff. So that’s what they did but it was quite a long, drawn out process.”
What could have been…
Published: Apr 26, 2012 11:00 pm