Electronic Arts told staff this week that it will bring its Respawn and DICE studios together on a “future project,” and KitGuru reports that Variety’s sources identify that project as Star Wars Battlefront 3. EA has not named the game. No release date, platform list, footage or gameplay detail exists on the record, so everything about the title itself rests on reporting from unnamed sources.
The timing is hard to ignore. The memo landed in the same week EA moved to shut BioWare, a decision we covered in our look at the three official statements behind the BioWare closure. For Star Wars fans, the story is simple: the most requested shooter revival of the last decade may finally have a home. For everyone else, it is a case study in how a publisher reshuffles its studios when margins matter.
This analysis separates what EA confirmed from what the press reported, traces how the story broke, and looks at what a DICE and Respawn pairing could mean for Battlefield, Lucasfilm and the shooter market. It also offers five predictions, clearly labeled as our own analysis.
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What EA Actually Said About DICE and Respawn
The only on-record material is a short passage from an internal memo. Electronic Arts, DICE and Respawn Entertainment said they would be “bringing together our Respawn and DICE studios to collaborate on a future project.” The memo went out under the names of Cam Weber and David Tinson, and The Game Post says it also covered the company’s plans for shooter franchises including Battlefield.
That wording confirms two things. First, EA wants two of its best-known shooter teams working side by side. Second, The Game Post describes the effort as a separate, unannounced project, which suggests it runs alongside future Battlefield titles rather than replacing them.
What the memo does not do is name a franchise, a publisher partner or a genre. EA did not say “Star Wars” anywhere in the passage that has been quoted publicly. Any outlet writing “EA confirms Battlefront 3” is stretching the facts. The accurate version is that EA confirmed a collaboration, and reporters then tied it to a specific game.
How the Battlefront 3 Report Reached Variety
The story did not appear overnight. It built over roughly a week through a rumor column, a developer’s social post and then a trade-press report that carried the weight of multiple sources.
The Quartermann claim: DICE and Bungie
According to KitGuru, Lucasfilm was said to be searching for a studio to bring back the Battlefront series, and two names surfaced at the time: DICE and Bungie. The Game Post traces that claim to the revived Quartermann rumor column at Electronic Gaming Monthly. A rumor column is a thin foundation, and nobody should treat the Bungie name as anything more than a data point that never panned out.
Joe Brammer’s October 19 post
On October 19, Joe Brammer, CEO of Bulkhead (the studio behind Wardogs), wrote that DICE and, from what he had heard, Respawn were working on Battlefront 3. The Game Post quoted him as saying: “DICE and from what I’ve heard Respawn are working on Battlefront 3. Not sure what that means for Battlefield.” Brammer framed it as hearsay, and The Game Post noted that no official information backed it at the time.
Two days later, EA’s memo gave the DICE and Respawn half of the claim an official footing. Variety then reported, citing multiple sources, that the unnamed project is Star Wars Battlefront 3. Outlets including TechRadar, Eurogamer, Push Square and IGN’s Nordic edition ran the story within two days.
Confirmed vs Unconfirmed: The Fact Table
Because this story mixes an official memo with anonymous sourcing, readers need a clean line between the two. The table below sorts every claim in circulation by its evidence level.
| Claim | Status | Evidence |
|---|---|---|
| EA is pairing Respawn and DICE on a “future project” | Confirmed | Internal EA memo, quoted by multiple outlets |
| The project is Star Wars Battlefront 3 | Unconfirmed | Variety, citing multiple unnamed sources |
| The game is being made for Lucasfilm | Unconfirmed | Variety via The Game Post |
| Release date or launch window | Not disclosed | None |
| Platforms, pricing, gameplay footage | Not disclosed | None |
| Bungie was considered as an alternative | Rumor only | EGM Quartermann column, per KitGuru |
| Lucasfilm and EA have announced the game | False | Neither company has named it |
Note the bottom row. As of October 25, 2026, neither EA nor Lucasfilm has announced Star Wars Battlefront 3 under that name or any other. Until one of them does, the title stays in the “reported” column.
Why DICE and Respawn Make Sense Together
On paper, the pairing is logical. DICE built the 2015 Star Wars Battlefront and its 2017 sequel, so it owns the template for large-scale Star Wars multiplayer. Respawn made the Titanfall and Apex Legends shooters, and it also created the Star Wars Jedi series.
The Game Post argues that the combination could marry DICE’s experience with large-scale multiplayer battles to Respawn’s background in fast-paced shooting. That is a reasonable reading, though neither studio’s specific responsibilities on the project have been disclosed. We do not know which team leads, where the work happens or how many people are involved.
There is also a practical thread. KitGuru notes that Respawn has helped DICE with Battlefield 2042 and Battlefield 6. The two teams have already worked together on shipped products, so a joint Star Wars project builds on an existing working relationship rather than forcing two strangers into one room.
Battlefront History: 2015, 2017 and a Loot-Box Hangover
The series carries baggage. KitGuru says the 2015 game earned a warm reception, though many players skipped it because it had no single-player campaign. Battlefront II fixed that gap with a campaign KitGuru calls excellent, but it launched with loot boxes. That choice drew heavy criticism, including from US politicians, and forced EA to reverse course.
Nearly a decade has passed since that sequel. The Game Post says fans have asked for another entry ever since, and KitGuru adds a dry warning that the series “doesn’t exactly have a good track record” with the number three. Whether that is superstition or a real concern about expectations, any new Battlefront will launch into a community that remembers 2017 well.
| Date | Event | Source |
|---|---|---|
| 2015 | DICE releases Star Wars Battlefront | The Game Post |
| 2017 | DICE releases Star Wars Battlefront II, loot-box backlash follows | The Game Post, KitGuru |
| 2023 | Star Wars Jedi: Survivor, from Respawn and Lucasfilm Games, arrives for Xbox Series X|S, PlayStation 5 and PC | EA, StarWars.com |
| Oct. 19, 2026 | Joe Brammer posts that DICE and Respawn are on Battlefront 3 | The Game Post |
| Oct. 21, 2026 | EA memo names the DICE and Respawn collaboration, Variety reports the Battlefront link | The Game Post, KitGuru |
The BioWare Shadow Over the Announcement
The Battlefront report cannot be read apart from the restructuring around it. Per The Game Post’s summary of Variety, EA is cutting roughly 3% of its workforce and closing BioWare. Our earlier coverage of EA shutting BioWare and cutting 400 jobs laid out the human cost, and the reaction pieces, including our roundup of six franchises left in limbo, show how raw the response was.
KitGuru frames the wider backdrop bluntly. EA is in a period of cost cutting aimed at improving profit margins following its move to private ownership, with layoffs, cancellations and studio closures ongoing. Seen that way, merging two shooter studios on a Star Wars game looks like a consolidation bet. EA backs a proven license with its strongest multiplayer talent and shrinks the number of risky, standalone projects.
That reading is our interpretation, not an EA statement. The company has not tied the DICE and Respawn project to the BioWare decision. Still, the sequence of events gives fans a hard trade to weigh: one beloved RPG studio closes while a long-requested shooter revival moves forward.
Jedi: Survivor Gives Respawn Real Star Wars Credentials
Respawn arrives at this project with a proven record inside Lucasfilm’s sandbox. Star Wars Jedi: Survivor is a Respawn game developed in collaboration with Lucasfilm Games, and EA announced it for a 2023 release on Xbox Series X|S, PlayStation 5 and PC. EA’s original press release shows how closely the two companies worked on that launch.
That matters because Lucasfilm holds the license. A studio that has already shipped a major Star Wars title on current hardware knows the approval process, the tone the brand demands and the pitfalls of the license. Respawn’s own site still promotes Jedi: Survivor as available now, which tells you the studio treats the franchise as a headline property.
We do not know whether the Battlefront project shares any technology or staff with the Jedi games. Reports have not said so, and we will not guess.
What Happens to Battlefield?
Brammer’s post raised the obvious worry, and he wrote that he was unsure what the news meant for Battlefield. The memo itself offers some reassurance. The Game Post says it covered the company’s plans for its shooter franchises, Battlefield included, and described the DICE and Respawn effort as a separate, unannounced project. DICE is not walking away from its flagship series on the record.
Still, studio capacity is finite. KitGuru points out that DICE has been entirely focused on Battlefield since Battlefront II, with Respawn helping on Battlefield 2042 and Battlefield 6. Pulling both teams toward a second large multiplayer game raises a staffing question that EA has not answered. Does the Battlefield pipeline slow, or does the collaboration draw on new hires and shared resources?
Until EA clarifies, the safest assumption is that Battlefield continues and Battlefront is a parallel effort. Players who care about both franchises should watch for any change in Battlefield update cadence over the coming months, since that would be the first practical sign of strain.
DICE vs Respawn: What Each Studio Brings
The next table compares the two teams using only facts from the reporting above. It is a qualitative snapshot, not a ranking.
| Area | DICE | Respawn Entertainment |
|---|---|---|
| Flagship series | Battlefield | Titanfall, Apex Legends |
| Star Wars shooters | Battlefront (2015), Battlefront II (2017) | None in the reporting reviewed |
| Star Wars action-adventure | None reported | Star Wars Jedi series, including Jedi: Survivor |
| Cross-team history | Received Respawn support on Battlefield 2042 and Battlefield 6 (KitGuru) | Supported DICE on those two Battlefield games |
| Strength cited by press | Large-scale multiplayer battles | Fast-paced shooting mechanics |
| Role in reported project | Not disclosed | Not disclosed |
The pattern is clear. DICE owns the large-battle Star Wars multiplayer pedigree, and Respawn owns the modern Star Wars brand relationship plus a record in fast shooters. Neither covers the other’s strengths fully, which is probably the whole logic of the merger.
Where a Battlefront Revival Would Land Competitively
Any new Battlefront would enter a crowded shooter field with no confirmed date, so direct comparisons stay speculative. The sector already features an annual powerhouse. Our guide to what Modern Warfare 4 needs to win fans back shows how hard the incumbent is fighting for attention, and that fight will not ease by the time EA is ready to show anything.
Battlefront’s edge is its license. Few shooters can offer lightsabers, starfighters and the original trilogy’s locations under one roof. The weakness is trust. After the 2017 loot-box fallout, players will scan any monetization detail the moment it appears. A premium price with fair progression would likely do more for goodwill than any trailer.
Lucasfilm’s role also deserves attention. The Quartermann rumor claimed that the license holder went looking for a developer to revive the series. If that is accurate, Lucasfilm is an active customer here, not a passive licensor, and that could shape scope, tone and release timing.
Market Impact: What It Means for EA, Lucasfilm and Players
We have no reported budget, no revenue forecast and no analyst estimate tied to this project, so we will not invent one. What the story does show is a strategic pattern. EA is putting its most marketable license behind its two most capable shooter teams while it trims elsewhere.
For the wider industry, the Battlefront report fits a theme we examined in our analysis of GTA VI’s budget and AAA gaming’s limits. Big-budget games are riskier to build, and publishers lean on proven brands and consolidated teams to manage that risk. A Star Wars shooter from DICE and Respawn is about as conservative a bet as the genre offers.
Players face a different calculation. Fans of single-player RPGs just lost a major studio. Fans of competitive shooters gain a potential revival. The two groups overlap less than publishers sometimes assume, and the BioWare closure left a lot of goodwill on the table that a Battlefront trailer alone will not repair.
What the Official Statement and the Rumor Mill Say
Only two on-record statements are worth quoting. The first comes from EA itself, as relayed by Beebom: “We’ll be bringing together our Respawn and DICE studios to collaborate on a future project that will help us achieve that ambition. We can’t wait to share more when the time comes.” EA did not name the game, and the phrase “when the time comes” signals that no announcement date is set.
The second is Brammer’s October 19 post, quoted earlier. He qualified it as something he had heard, so it works best as an early signal rather than evidence.
No developer at DICE, Respawn or Lucasfilm has gone on record naming Battlefront 3. That silence is normal for a project at this stage, and it means every detail you read in the next few weeks, from map ideas to era guesses, is speculation until a publisher says otherwise.
Five Predictions for Star Wars Battlefront 3
These are our own forecasts based on the reporting above, not leaks or insider information.
- EA will not confirm the title quickly. The memo talks about a “future project,” and the “when the time comes” language suggests a long runway. Expect a formal reveal to wait until the game has something playable to show.
- Monetization will be the first thing scrutinized. Given the 2017 reversal, EA and Lucasfilm have every incentive to state their progression model early, and players will punish vagueness.
- Battlefield will keep shipping, but quietly. EA will protect its flagship series publicly, and any resource strain would show up in update schedules before it shows up in statements.
- The game will lean on multiplayer first. Both DICE and Respawn built their reputations on multiplayer shooters, though a single-player component remains an open question after the 2015 criticism.
- More EA studio news will follow. KitGuru describes ongoing layoffs, cancellations and closures, so further restructuring headlines are likelier than not.
What to Watch Next
Several signals will tell us whether the report holds up. An EA investor call or earnings update could mention the collaboration. A Lucasfilm Games statement would settle the license question quickly. Job listings at DICE or Respawn often hint at project scope, and a Star Wars event stage is the most natural place for a first teaser.
Other studios across the industry are also under pressure, as our report on Arkane Lyon’s 217 jobs at risk shows, so more consolidation news is likely. We will keep tracking this story in our gaming coverage and update this analysis if EA or Lucasfilm says anything on the record.
Frequently Asked Questions
Has EA officially announced Star Wars Battlefront 3?
No. EA confirmed that its Respawn and DICE studios will collaborate on a future project. The link to Star Wars Battlefront 3 comes from Variety’s sources, as relayed by KitGuru, The Game Post and others.
Which studios are working on the project?
DICE and Respawn Entertainment. EA says it is bringing them together. The split of duties between the two teams has not been disclosed.
When will Star Wars Battlefront 3 release?
No release date, window or platform list has been announced. Treat any date you see online as a guess.
Is Lucasfilm involved?
Reports say the game is being made for Lucasfilm, but that remains unconfirmed. Respawn’s Star Wars Jedi: Survivor was developed with Lucasfilm Games, so the relationship itself is established.
What happened with Star Wars Battlefront II’s loot boxes?
KitGuru reports that the game launched with loot boxes, drew controversy including criticism from US politicians, and forced EA to reverse course.
Does this mean Battlefield is being cancelled?
Nothing in the reporting says so. The memo describes the new project as additional to future Battlefield titles, though EA has not explained how it will staff both.
Why is this news happening alongside the BioWare closure?
The Game Post says EA announced the studio changes, including layoffs of about 3% of its workforce and the BioWare closure, in the same period as the memo. KitGuru describes a wider cost-cutting push after EA’s shift to private ownership. EA has not publicly linked the two decisions.
