Bungie's Star Wars Battlefront 3 Would Be Great but Wasteful

Star Wars Battlefront 3 Rumour Dispatch: Bungie and DICE Circling an Unannounced Sequel

Star Wars Battlefront 3 is not an announced game. As of 19 October 2026 it exists only as a rumour: Lucasfilm is reportedly shopping a follow-up to EA DICE's 2015 and 2017 Battlefront titles, with DICE and Bungie named as the two studios circling the project. No developer, publisher, platform, price, release window or physical SKU is confirmed. For Malaysian and Southeast Asian players, that means no regional storefront listing, no Asian English edition to import and no legitimate pre-order exists today. The franchise's core loop remains large-scale infantry-and-vehicle warfare across Star Wars eras, but no sequel mechanics have been detailed by any party. Any RM figure currently circulating online is speculation.

Key Facts

No Star Wars Battlefront 3 product page, platform certification, age rating or regional listing exists as of 19 October 2026, which means the project has not entered publicly verifiable production.

What Is the Star Wars Battlefront 3 Rumour and Who Is Behind It?

Star Wars Battlefront 3 is an unannounced sequel that Lucasfilm is reportedly shopping to outside studios, according to a revived Quartermann gossip column published in an Electronic Gaming Monthly compendium digital issue and read aloud on Jeff Grubb's Game Mess Morning podcast on 19 October 2026. Two studios are named as circling: EA DICE and Bungie.

The chain of custody matters for anyone assessing credibility. EGM released a compendium retrospective, and one of its Kickstarter backer rewards was a new digital issue that reportedly featured the return of the Quartermann gossip column. That column carried the Battlefront claim. Giant Bomb cohost Jeff Grubb then featured the column on his podcast for 19 October 2026, which is what pushed the rumour into wider circulation.

The suits at Lucasfilm have been aggressively deploying probe droids for a development partner to take on the task of creating a follow-up. So far, no one has fully stepped up, but yours truly is hearing two major game studios are circling the project like a couple of snowspeeders led by the completely unsurprising EA DICE who we can hope learned from their loot box lesson. If the Force is not entrusted to DICE, it could land at none other than Halo, Destiny, and Marathon developer Bungie.

— Quartermann gossip column, EGM compendium digital issue, read on Jeff Grubb's Game Mess Morning, 19 October 2026

Kotaku's Ethan Gach notes that other outlets have since claimed to hear similar rumblings, at minimum the portion about Disney wanting a new Battlefront. He also frames the timing: Star Wars games are commercially hot in the 2026 fall window, with Galactic Racer and Zero Company in the market. No studio has publicly confirmed negotiations, and neither Lucasfilm nor Sony nor EA has issued a statement.

The Star Wars Battlefront 3 rumour traces to a single Quartermann gossip column in an EGM compendium digital issue, amplified on Jeff Grubb's Game Mess Morning podcast on 19 October 2026, with no studio confirmation attached.

Why Would a Bungie-Made Battlefront 3 Be Both Great and a Waste?

Bungie would likely deliver a technically polished, lore-dense Battlefront 3, but the argument against it is opportunity cost: the studio's proven strength is original science-fiction world-building, not licensed Star Wars content. At the same time, Bungie's own position — Marathon winding down and Destiny 2 paused outside of restored older content — makes a licensed sure-thing commercially attractive.

The pedigree is not in dispute. Bungie built Halo, then Destiny, then Marathon, and the Kotaku piece argues those represent two of the best sci-fi franchises in gaming over the last decade-plus on world-building alone. The counter-argument is equally blunt: spending years adding to someone else's toybox is a poor use of a studio that has historically generated its own universes.

Bungie's internal situation is the complicating factor. Kotaku's 21 September 2026 coverage of the studio's reset carried the studio's own framing:

We lost trust, we lost incredible colleagues, and we lost sight of what we should be prioritising most.

— Bungie, as reported by Kotaku on the studio's redemption tour, 21 September 2026

Context matters here. Marathon is being positioned as a much bigger game going into 2027, with a teased new zone, social space and deathmatch mode reported on 24 September 2026, and Destiny 2 is restoring vaulted content such as the Red War more than six years after removal. A studio mid-recovery, owned by Sony since 2022, is exactly the profile that would take a licensed contract over years of new-IP prototyping.

Bungie has shipped Halo, Destiny and Marathon as original franchises, and its Sony ownership since 2022 makes a licensed Lucasfilm contract a faster revenue route than new-IP prototyping.

Would EA DICE Be the Safer Choice to Build Battlefront 3?

On paper, yes. EA DICE has already shipped two Star Wars Battlefront titles, in 2015 and 2017, giving it the only proven Battlefront production pipeline in the industry. The counterweight is reputational: Battlefront II's loot box progression system triggered one of the most publicised monetisation controversies of the last decade.

The Quartermann column itself acknowledges that history directly, describing DICE as "the completely unsurprising EA DICE who we can hope learned from their loot box lesson." That single line is the whole risk assessment in miniature — institutional knowledge on one side, monetisation baggage on the other.

Kotaku's commentary leans the same way, arguing that if a Battlefront 3 were to happen, returning to DICE seems obvious given two prior successes, rather than handing a licensed shooter to a studio with no Battlefront history. For Southeast Asian players, DICE also carries a practical advantage: its prior Battlefront titles shipped with established Asian regional distribution and server infrastructure across the region.

EA DICE has shipped two Star Wars Battlefront titles, in 2015 and 2017, making it the only studio with a proven Battlefront production pipeline.

When Could Battlefront 3 Realistically Launch, and on Which Consoles?

No date exists, and the source is explicit about the scale of the wait. Kotaku's assessment is that given current AAA production timelines, any Battlefront 3 reveal would likely arrive deep into the PlayStation 6 and Xbox Project Helix console cycle — not during the present PS5 and Xbox Series generation.

That framing is consistent with the franchise's own cadence. Battlefront shipped in 2015, Battlefront II in 2017, and the gap to the 19 October 2026 rumour is already almost a decade. Even in a best-case scenario where a partner signs immediately, pre-production, full production, certification and marketing would place any launch well beyond the current hardware cycle.

Practical consequence for buyers: there is no hardware target to plan around. Nothing suggests a Switch 2 version, a PS5 Pro enhancement patch, a Steam Deck verification tier or an ROG Ally performance profile, because no build exists. Malaysian players considering hardware purchases specifically for this game should not factor an unannounced sequel into that decision.

The source projects that any Star Wars Battlefront 3 reveal would arrive deep into the PlayStation 6 and Xbox Project Helix cycle, not during the current PS5 and Xbox Series generation.

Southeast Asia & Malaysian Collector Verdict

There is nothing to buy, import or preserve. Star Wars Battlefront 3 has no physical edition, no regional SKU, no verified language configuration and no Malaysian price, so any local pre-order deposit or grey-import listing currently on offer is speculative and should be treated as unauthorised. Malaysian buyers should wait for an official announcement before committing ringgit.

When a real SKU does appear, the standard Malaysian import checklist applies. First, confirm whether an Asian English edition exists — for licensed Star Wars titles, English subtitles and voice are typically present on Asian-region SKUs, but that must be verified per release, not assumed. Second, compare the local PlayStation Store Malaysia or Microsoft Store Malaysia digital price against an imported disc, since landed cost on a single disc from Play-Asia or a Japanese retailer will include shipping and, in some cases, duties. Third, check whether the disc requires a mandatory day-one download, which undermines the preservation argument for going physical.

On pricing methodology, no conversion can be applied today because no official price exists. For future dispatches in this format, reference pricing would be expressed as follows: a USD 69.99 standard edition converts to roughly RM315, and a JPY 8,800 Japanese release converts to roughly RM265 — both clearly labelled as estimated import conversions at approximate market rates, not official Malaysian pricing.

Distribution advice is simple. Buy locally through authorised retailers or the regional digital storefronts once a Malaysian listing exists. Use Play-Asia only for confirmed Asian English physical SKUs where the disc is fully playable without a regional download. Do not place deposits against a rumour.

No physical edition, regional SKU, language configuration or Malaysian price exists for Star Wars Battlefront 3, so any local pre-order or import listing currently on offer is speculative.

Common Questions

Is Star Wars Battlefront 3 officially announced?

No. As of 19 October 2026 the project exists only as a rumour, sourced to an EGM Quartermann gossip column read on Jeff Grubb's Game Mess Morning. Neither Lucasfilm, EA, DICE nor Bungie has confirmed development, and no platform, date or price has been issued.

Will Battlefront 3 get a Malaysian or Asian physical release?

Unknowable at this stage. No publisher has been attached and no SKU has been rated or listed, so physical disc availability, Asian English language support and local pricing cannot be confirmed. Malaysian buyers should wait for an official announcement before placing any deposit.

Which studio is more likely to make Battlefront 3 — DICE or Bungie?

DICE is the more logical fit on paper, having shipped Battlefront in 2015 and Battlefront II in 2017. Bungie is the more intriguing rumour given its Sony ownership, its in-between project status and its Halo, Destiny and Marathon pedigree. Neither has confirmed anything.

Sources and Methodology

Primary source: Kotaku article "A Star Wars Battlefront 3 Made By Bungie Would Probably Be Great But Also A Waste" by Ethan Gach, published 19 October 2026, source URL https://kotaku.com/a-star-wars-battlefront-3-made-by-bungie-would-probably-be-great-but-also-a-waste-2000747640. Secondary sourcing within that article: the Quartermann gossip column in the Electronic Gaming Monthly compendium digital issue, and Jeff Grubb's Game Mess Morning podcast episode of 19 October 2026.

Verification date: 19 October 2026, matching source publication. Every factual claim in this dispatch — the 2015 and 2017 Battlefront release years, the Quartermann column attribution, Bungie's project status around Marathon and Destiny 2, and the PlayStation 6 / Xbox Project Helix timing projection — is drawn from that article and its quoted sources. No studio, publisher or platform holder has issued a public statement on Star Wars Battlefront 3.

Pricing methodology: no official retail price, regional SKU or currency conversion exists for this title, so no RM, USD or JPY figure is attributed to the game in this dispatch. Where conversion examples appear in the collector section, they are illustrative of the standard estimate format — USD and JPY converted at approximate market rates and explicitly labelled as estimated import conversions rather than official Malaysian pricing. No sales figures, file sizes, frame rates or resolution targets are stated because none have been disclosed by any party.