10 Video Games That Were Cancelled (But Not Why You Think)
2. The Star Wars License Is Too Expensive - Star Wars Battlefront III
Why You Thought It Was Cancelled
Star Wars Battlefront II was a massive commercial success despite the fact that its release was irreversibly damaged by its egregious loot box and microtransactions controversies.
Given the game's strong sales no matter the fan outrage, it was reasonable to expect EA and DICE to quickly get to work on Battlefront III, probably just in time for the release of Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker in late 2019.
But alas, as time passed and no official announcement came, it became clear that Battlefront III had been quietly cancelled.
This was seemingly confirmed in September 2019 when the previous game's design director Dennis Brännvall said there "wasn't the same hunger" for a third game.
Once Brännvall and other key DICE members left the company last year, the writing seemed to be on the wall as to why Battlefront III never came to pass.
Why It Was Actually Cancelled
As we recently found out, there was actually one major motivating factor for Battlefront III never going into production - the massive additional costs required to work with the Star Wars license.
According to reputable leaker Tom Henderson, DICE pitched Battlefront III to EA, who turned it down because "it takes 20% more sales to make the same money" when dealing with Star Wars compared to Battlefield.
It's fascinating to consider EA being in a predicament where the costs of producing a Star Wars game are prohibitive enough that they'd rather not even bother.
It's quite possible the lasting backlash against Battlefront II had some degree of impact in the decision, but it evidently wasn't the driving factor.