Battlefield 2042’s launch bordered on disaster. Though the game has since been supported and updated into a fairly good place, what might make the most sense for DICE’s next game is to give theBattlefieldfranchise a break and go for anotherBattlefront. With fanfare for theStar WarsIP at all-time highs, a newBattlefrontcould be a nice change of pace for DICE.
Despite being the second-biggest launch inBattlefieldhistory,Battlefield 2042is considered a disappointmentby many. A return to form from theBattlefield 3and4days was what DICE pitched to the public, but the results were left wanting. In fairness, the studio refused to abandon the title post-launch, ushering forth enough fresh content, bug fixes, and balance adjustments to get the game into a healthy place, but the damage from its release window was done. Its player count over the month of April 2023 on Steam was a mere 8,500 players, just barely above the active player count forBattlefield 5over the same timeframe.
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Right, The Time is, For Another Star Wars Battlefront
While EA’sBattlefieldfranchise languishes,Star Warscontinues to thrive. With a bevy of successful television shows andStar Wars Jedi Survivorbeing hailed as a triumph, the time is ripe for moreStar Warscontent. A new entry in theBattlefrontfranchise with all the lessons DICE has learned in the six years since the launch ofBattlefront 2could be the perfect hit for the studio.Battlefront 2was a great preview into what DICE learned worked and did not work from the first game, and the single-player campaign showed a studio right on the cusp of being able to deliver a quality narrative-driven experience.
Battlefieldfans have a list of unexplored or under-explored military conflicts they would love to be the focus of DICE’s next title, but there is a hint of staleness to the franchise left over from the sour reception toBattlefield 2042. That staleness would best be ailed by giving the franchise a rest. A brief hiatus, whileDICE dips back intoStar Wars,could be a cure-all for both series of games, and just what the studio needs to get back into the good graces of the gaming public.
DICE Could Show Off All it Has Learned Since Battlefront 2
Another aspect of the decision could boil down to the publisher. EA has been turning up the dial on itsStar Warstitles, withJedi Survivorbeing the most recent example.Motive Studio’sStar Wars Squadronswas a phenomenally well-put-together ship combat game that would be a fantastic resource for DICE if it decided to put a larger emphasis on the vehicles for a theoreticalBattlefront 3. WhileSquadronsdid not last long in prominence, facing a lack of content and post-launch support, it represented a vertical slice of what a more fleshed-out vehicle combat game in theStar Warsuniverse could look like.
Whatever DICE decides to do next, odds are it will have taken stock ofthe mistakes ofBattlefield 2042.Whether the next game from the studio is anotherBattlefield,a newBattlefront, or something entirely out of left field, there is an overriding sense of optimism that the studio can right its wrongs, especially given the laudable effort to fixBattlefield 2042, despite the fact that abandoning the game may have been in the studio’s better financial interest. Until an announcement is made,Battlefrontfans can speculate on what a new entry in the series may look like, given all the new contentStar Warshas delivered in video gaming and other mediums since 2017.
Star Wars Battlefront 2is available on PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X|S.
