Star Wars Battlefront III surfaces
Former designer at bankrupt Free Radical posts, pulls renders from long-rumored third installment in LucasArts' series; status of project unclear.
As a sad footnote to a year strewn with the corpses of shuttered studios, Free Radical let go most of its 180-plus employees on December 17. Best known for the TimeSplitters series, the Nottingham, England-based shop had bet heavily on the success of its oft-delayed PlayStation 3 shooter, Haze. Unfortunately, the Ubisoft title was a critical and commercial disappointment, selling just over 128,000 units in the US.
Free Radical's closure raised doubts about the status of Star Wars Battlefront III, which many presumed to be the mystery LucasArts collaboration it unveiled in 2006. While the game remains officially unannounced, this week saw evidence surface that the Second Sight studio was hard at work on Battlefront III when its time ran out.
The proof came in the form of several character renders posted on the personal site of 3D Artist Richard J. Smith, whose resume lists him as still working at Free Radical. Though the shots have since been pulled, German fan site Swbf3.de managed to snag 10 of them, which are all dated 2007 and bear a Star Wars Battlefront III logo.
Familiar characters featured in Jenkins' portfolio include Han Solo, Senator Palpatine, the red Imperial Guards that protect Palpatine after he becomes Galactic Emperor, and one of the rebel soldiers that revolt shortly thereafter. The artist's site still displays several characters from TimeSplitters 4 (pictured), announced just over 1 year ago for the Wii, PlayStation 3, and Xbox 360.
With Free Radical's closure, the status of Star Wars Battlefront III is unclear. Unconfirmed reports have it being taken over by Rebellion Software, maker of Star Wars Battlefront: Renegade Squadron for the PSP. Prior Battlefront console games were developed by Pandemic Studios, now part of troubled megapublisher Electronic Arts. Via its BioWare studio, EA is currently partnering with LucasArts on the massively multiplayer project Star Wars: The Old Republic.
Content you might like…
-
Star Wars Battlefront III footage leaks online

One of the apparent casualties of Free Radical's abrupt implosion late last year was the studio's development deal with LucasArts, announced in August 2006. Though the game covered by that deal was never officially confirmed, it was widely speculated to be Star Wars Battlefront III. That...
- Jan 15, 2009
Users who looked at this article also looked at these content items.
Hot Stories
Newsmakers
-
EA and Disney team up for Star Wars games
As part of multiyear exclusive arrangement, DICE and Visceral will work on new "core" Star Wars games. Full Story
- Posted May 6, 2013 9:28 pm GMT
-
Assassin's Creed creator claims he was fired
[UPDATE] Patrice Desilets says Ubisoft terminated his position today and did not allow him to collect personal belongings. Full Story
- Posted May 7, 2013 6:44 pm GMT
Featured Stories
-
Study: Violent games can desensitize players
New research finds frequent exposure to violent games can have numbing effect on teenagers, though no cause-and-effect relationship proven. Full Story
- Posted May 10, 2013 2:17 pm GMT
-
World of Warcraft subs fall to 8.3 million
Subscriber base for aging MMO dips 1.3 million in three months; Activision Blizzard posts $456 million profit on $1.32 billion in revenue for Q1. Full Story
- Posted May 8, 2013 9:18 pm GMT
-
EA extends FIFA licensing agreement to 2022
"FIFA continues to be very strong," says EA, which has been making FIFA games since 1993. Full Story
- Posted May 8, 2013 10:19 am GMT
-
No multiplayer in new Wolfenstein
MachineGames' upcoming shooter will be single-player-only experience. Full Story
- Posted May 8, 2013 2:49 pm GMT
-
Ubisoft: PlayStation 4 like a 'perfect jewel'
Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag producer says Sony has created a compelling piece of technology and it is up to designers to make most of it. Full Story
- Posted May 9, 2013 5:37 pm GMT
Related Game
Star Wars: Battlefront II
- Publisher(s): LucasArts
- Developer(s): Pandemic Studios
- Genre: Action
- Release:






