Bungie May Bid on Star Wars Battlefront After EA Exit
EGM reports Disney has not greenlit the project but is weighing alternatives to DICE for the first time in a decade.
The next Star Wars Battlefront game may not come from Electronic Arts. Disney is evaluating development partners outside the publisher that held exclusive rights to the franchise for over a decade, according to rumors published in a tribute issue of Electronic Gaming Monthly.
Bungie has emerged as a potential bidder alongside DICE, the studio behind the 2015 and 2017 installments. The information surfaced when Giant Bomb journalist Jeff Grubb read from EGM’s Quartermann section during a recent episode of the Game Mess Mornings podcast. The magazine ceased regular publication in 2014 with issue 264; issue 265 was produced as a commemorative compendium.
Disney has not greenlit Star Wars Battlefront 3. No studio has formally committed to the project, according to EGM and Grubb. If the search extends beyond DICE, the resulting development timeline would push the release date years into the future.
For Bungie, securing a contract of this scale would represent a sharp pivot. The studio is currently restructuring after repeated layoffs under Sony Interactive Entertainment, which acquired the company in 2022. Its immediate roadmap involves reversing plans to sunset Destiny 2 and overhauling Marathon following what industry observers described as a lukewarm commercial reception. Adding a third major franchise to that workload would test operational limits the studio has struggled to maintain recently.
EA’s retreat from the property leaves a measurable gap. The 2017 shooter retains an active modding community, and its player count spiked last year to levels exceeding its 2020 Steam debut. Pandemic Studios released the original Battlefront II in 2005. DICE revived the series ten years later. A new entry developed by a different studio from scratch would likely exceed that decade-long drought.
The timing aligns with a broader shift in how Lucasfilm Games manages its portfolio. Rather than relying on a single publishing partner, Disney has distributed licenses across multiple studios in recent years. The strategy coincides with strong critical reception for newer releases. Star Wars Zero Company drew positive reviews this year, while Star Wars: Galactic Racer recorded the highest Metacritic score for a Star Wars title since Knights of the Old Republic launched 23 years ago. That momentum contrasts with theatrical struggles, including the box office performance of Star Wars: The Mandalorian and Grogu.
