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I’ve come to realize that every gamer has a list of “franchises I wish they’d return.” At this point, the one at the top of everyone’s list might be Dino Crisis, but that’s a topic for another day. In more spacefaring matters that involve battle royales, Fortnite just launched its Star Wars mini-season, and oddly enough, it feels a lot like the Star Wars Battlefront 3 we never got and and will likely never get. Many people might complain about this battle royale, but in the end, it’s the only one making some of the best crossovers out there while also letting us mortgage-payer gamers relive the golden gaming days of yore on a smaller scale.
Fortnite’s Latest Season Feels Like a Star Wars Battlefront Game
Back when I was a kid, one of the games I played almost non-stop was Star Wars Battlefront 2 (the classic one). At the time, no other game let me be a cannon fodder soldier while also allowing me to become my favorite Sith or Jedi. Then, EA happened, and we all know the story. Loot boxes are the most downvoted Reddit post to date (it still holds a Guinness World Record, by the way), and it is just a Sarlacc Pit of disappointment. There were glimpses of hope, though. Contrary to some, I loved the Galactic Assault mode, which was one of the last I played, and it gave me some of those “classic” vibes. But that’s all the game wrote. Eventually, the game stopped receiving support, and we were left with a Battlefront-shaped hole. Well, kind of.
At the time of writing, you can still find around 2,000 players (according to Steam Charts) in Star Wars Battlefront 2, but that’s it. Its peak era was around four years ago when it reached 10,000 concurrent players. So yes, as gamers now say, at the slightest mishap, “the game is dead.” But then comes Epic Games pulling a mini-season that feels like the Battlefront 3 we’ll never get.
For the unaware, Fortnite launched its Chapter 6, Season 3, which features everything from Star Wars. All weapons are blasters; you can grab lightsabers, and a narrative behind it will bring weekly events and a story-driven event at the end. When I saw all that, I was surprised. How is it that a battle royale is delivering a Star Wars Battlefront-esque experience in a better way? Alright, better might be debatable, but it feels faithful and somehow fills that hole that’s been empty for years.
Is This the Perfect Time for a Battlefront Revival?
There might be a light at the end of the lightspeed tunnel, however. As you all know, EA isn’t the only Star Wars publisher anymore. This is certainly good news for all gamers. More studios get to develop Star Wars games, and we are happy. Look at Outlaws. Yes, many didn’t like it because of the “auto-hate if it’s Ubisoft” mentality. But it was a great Star Wars game. Furthermore, there are even more titles for this franchise coming soon. We already know there’s an XCOM-like Star Wars game in the making, and that just sounds like the perfect combination if there ever was one. Is this the perfect time to revive Battlefront? Definetely.
We know DICE is working on the next Battlefield game, so Battlefront is technically up for grabs. Who could take the mantle? That’s a question not even I have answers to. Yet, there are many studios pumping out some great shooters right now, and we all know that the Star Wars multiplayer landscape needs a revival. But that’s a dream that feels far, far away. Still, it doesn’t hurt to imagine what could happen. And in the meantime, Fortnite is there to give us that Star Wars fix, even if it’s for a few weeks.
