Star Wars Battlefront 3 Leak Reveals New Look At Cancelled Game

Free Radical Archive has uncovered a working build of the Nintendo Wii version of the game, dated just one week before its cancellation. In their reveal, FRA used the incomplete version to recreate the initial Battlefront 3 trailer released by LucasArts, painting a vivid picture of what could have been. There are still some big gaps left behind as a result of the game’s halted development—but the team intends to add as much polish as they can via mods before eventually releasing all builds and new content for free.

A quick overview of Free Radical Archive’s video shows off all of the same intergalactic combat fans loved back in the day. Aerial battles, boots-on-the-ground skirmishes with various troops from across the first six movies of the Star Wars saga, exotic locales from around the galaxy, lightsaber combat, and intense warfare on a scale rarely seen in that bygone era. All in all, it’s a thing of beauty for long time fans of the series.

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To this day, it’s still unclear why Battlefront 3 never made it out of production. All fans have ever been left with are hearsay claims. Some say the fault was with Free Radical missing developmental deadlines, while others say LucasFilm Games simply ran out of budget for the project and pulled the plug before incurring any more losses. Regardless, the cancellation left fans heartbroken. An earlier build for the Xbox 360 previously made it on to the internet, and even with far less polish, it was clear the game was nearing completion at its time of death.

The series had just come off of a major high with Star Wars Battlefront 2. Everything people loved about the first game was enhanced, improved, or totally reimagined in the sequel. Conversations about the game dominated online message boards and schoolyard exchanges, generating massive buzz for a prospective sequel. Yet, that wasn’t enough to get the game across the line. The games (now under the care of DICE) were revived back in 2014 shortly before the arrival of Star Wars Episode VII — The Force Awakens, but have once again been dormant since the release of Star Wars Battlefront 2 (2017).

A remaster of the original titles entitled Star Wars Battlefront Classic Collection was also released in March 2024, but infrastructural issues plaguing the online Multiplayer features disrupted all momentum on launch. Waves of updates have since improved the experience, fixing many of the overbearing problems that plagued both titles at launch, but many fans have opted to return to the originals rather than stick it out with the newer drops.

At the end of the day, this is a win for all Star Wars fans. A playable version of Battlefront 3 is a gift to us all. Anyone who grew up fighting for control of the shores of Kashyyyk, blasting through rain-soaked battle droids on Kamino, or vying for force supremacy in Mos Eisley Jedi battle will certainly appreciate getting a chance to experience an enhanced version of the series that shaped so many childhoods over the years.