‘Star Wars: Battlefront 2’ fans are hoping for a sequel after surprise resurgence

'Star Wars: Battlefront 2'

Star Wars: Battlefront 2 fans are hoping for a new entry in the franchise after a surprise resurgence took place over the weekend.

A sequel to the 2015 reboot, Star Wars: Battlefront 2 was originally released in 2017 but developers DICE were heavily criticised due to the huge number of microtransactions and the pay-to-win loot boxes that featured in the action shooter. A number of free updates were released in the years that followed, with the most recent coming in 2020.

Over the weekend, Star Wars: Battlefront 2 had a surprise resurgence on Steam, with the game smashing its previous concurrent player record by several thousand. The previous record for concurrent Battlefront 2 players was 10,345, which was recorded in January 2021. More recently, the game has seen highs of a couple of thousand players at any one time but yesterday (May 26), 18,523 people were playing Battlefront 2 at the same time (via SteamDB). That doesn’t include PlayStation, PC or Xbox players either.

Several members of the development team have commented on the renewed interest in Star Wars: Battlefront 2. Former creative director Dennis Brännvall wrote “I felt a great disturbance in the force.” In 2023, Brännvall said the reason he left DICE was because they turned down his pitch for a Battlefront 3.

“The Star Wars Battlefront 2 Community wall never makes me not smile as I walk past it. A great symbol of passion, creativity and in true Star Wars fashion…hope,” added DICE’s Ben Walke, alongside a picture of Battlefront 2 fan-art.

“Loving the renewed hype around Battlefront 2,” added Harvey Newman. “I was Lead Animator on the game—if Battlefront 3 ever happens, I’d love to return. The team was excellent, and the community feedback loop was the best I’ve seen in my career. So many ideas left on the table!”

“The replies and love this tweet is getting really remind me how incredible this community was — and still is! You guys are the absolute best. I genuinely hope we can find a way to make Battlefront 3 happen someday,” he continued.

Newman isn’t the only Battlefront developer who wants to return either. Taking to Reddit, Mats Helge said he’s been talking to some former colleagues and they all “want to get the gang back together”.

“The chance is ever so slight, so tiny. But I want this to happen so badly. I hope someone’s listening,” one fan wrote. “For the past few days we have continuously broken records and seen all time high players on Battlefront 2. Battlefront 3 will be built on hope, now do your part,” said another.

In other news Neil Druckmann, head of Naughty Dog and co-creator of The Last Of Us, has reignited the debate about a potential cure in the hit video game.

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