In a recent interview with gamesTM, Free Radical Design co-founder Steve Ellis spoke about the development process of what was certainly going to be one of the most exciting releases of the year. Coming off the hugely popular Timesplitters series, Free Radical’s jump to the next generation of consoles was met with middling to poor reviews:
Ellis firmly believed that Battlefront 3 would be a return to form for the company, continuing the legacy Pandemic Studios left behind as the franchise passed into Free Radical’s hands. Sadly, it just wasn’t meant to be, as a change in management at LucasArts led to the game’s eventual cancellation when the publisher decided to change its direction.
Here’s the worst part though; the game was nearly ready to ship when LucasArts did finally pull the plug:
After having dealt with the “growing pains” of Haze’s development, Free Radical was primed and ready to tackle the ambitious project that was Battlefront 3. In a final, heartrendingly frustrating description of the game, Ellis talks about how players “could start a battle on the ground, jump into a ship and fly into space, continuing on to dock in a capital ship and continue the battle there.” In other words, the limitations of the previous generation of consoles had been surpassed by leaps and bounds - and we will never see the fruits of their labor.
Throughout this whole ordeal, it has been fascinating to hear from the people who worked so hard on a game that will never see the light of day. All too often, these stories get buried by publishers and developers who would rather not deal with a disappointed fanbase. Star Wars: Battlefront 3 has received the postmortem it deserves. Let us know what you think in the comments below.
-
Follow me on Twitter @JacobSiegal.
Source: NowGamer
