Source
Despite our infinite sadness that TimeSplitters 4 is not in development right now, at least we have some closure regarding developer Free Radical Design today. Steve Ellis, one of three individuals who left Rare after the completion of GoldenEye 007 on the N64 and founded Free Radical Design, has shed some light on what happened to the UK-based developer – and why we never got Star Wars Battlefront 3, even though Free Radical basically finished it in 2008.
"It was a big thing, we were very excited and for a long time it was going very well," Ellis told GI.biz in an interview that focuses on the rise of Free Radical and how it eventually became Crytek UK. "That was a big deal for us because it meant putting all our eggs in one basket. It was a critical decision – do we want to bet on LucasArts? And we chose to because things were going as well as they ever had. It was a project that looked like it would probably be the most successful thing we had ever done and they were asking us to make the sequel to it too. It seemed like a no-brainer." But then things got a bit rocky due to a shift in LucasArts management. Key individuals left the company and suddenly things were looking grim for Free Radical's Battlefront 3.
"LucasArts' opinion is that when you launch a game you have to spend big on the marketing and they're right. But at that time they were, for whatever reason, unable to commit to spending big. They effectively canned a game that was finished." As of March 2008, Free Radical had a competent working build. "It was pretty much done, it was in final QA. It had been in final QA for half of 2008, it was just being fixed for release," Ellis concluded.
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04-28-2012 #1Super Moderator







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This is what happened to Star Wars Battlefront 3
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04-28-2012 #2Super Elite







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i'm gonna rage all over the place. I LOOOOVED Battlefront II. They were great games. a ton of fun. III would have been great. Next gen and all. Would have had insane multiplayer. sigh...

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04-28-2012 #3Superior Member







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shut..up..LucasArts you just missed out on the mother load of paydays. *sigh maybe it'll get picked back up
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04-28-2012 #4
Yay for losing amazing games and getting more FPSs day by day. Bring em on!
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04-28-2012 #5
I heard of this news a couple days ago. Such disappointment... I spent countless hours playing Battlefront II. Had a blast. Good times.
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04-28-2012 #6
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04-28-2012 #7۩ Ɍ E Ɑ Я U M ۩







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Wow, what a shame, seems like some bean counter noob wanted to impress by saving some money without looking at the bigger picture.
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04-28-2012 #8El Presidente







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A new game for a fantastic series shall never see the light of day...*sigh*
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I also loved Battlefront series. Don't lose hope! It may show up someday!
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This game has been sitting for 4 years. At this point, the project would need an entirely new face lift or just scraped and done over. I am surprised they game was pretty much done and nothing came of it. The game must have really sucked lol.
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04-28-2012 #11
Release as a PSN/XBL game. Then no need to do a facelift or anything. Slap on a $15 price tag and least make some money.
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04-28-2012 #12Dedicated Member







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I wouldn't mind a cheap, downloadable Battlefront game as long as it was supported well.
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04-28-2012 #13
You know what would rock? Mods man. The modding community for BF2 was and still is HUGE. If only more developers took the Unreal Tournament III approach.
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04-28-2012 #14
going to say this right now.... There are A LOT of idiotic developers out there that don't have the slightest clue even on there own games. these developers just need to shut down completely and be forgotten. stupid move after stupid move, I hope they go broke and shut down. what a dumb fucking company o.O DERPS in action look at LucasArts
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04-28-2012 #16Super Elite







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One of the few PS2 sequals I was looking forward to and it gets cancelled.. great.
LucasArts, stupid as fuck you are.

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04-28-2012 #17
Yes sir! PC wise I meant, sorry.
http://starwarsbattlefront.filefront.com/
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04-29-2012 #18Dedicated Member







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LucasArts. The idiots they hired. Maybe, just maybe there is some hope since this news is out now.
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04-29-2012 #19PSU U.S. Editor







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Sadness.
Would have been a good time.SchaffinOSX
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04-29-2012 #20
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04-29-2012 #21
More and more developers need to become independent,if they can afford it i mean.
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04-29-2012 #22
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04-29-2012 #23
this sucks. The Battlefront games were amazing, a next gen one would have been the best thing ever.
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