Fans are always hungry for more Star Wars, and they've been hungry for Star Wars Battlefront III for a long time. The long-cancelled game never saw the light of day, and unfortunately, EA's Star Wars Battlefront reboot failed to incorporate many of the elements that fans fell in love with in previous installments.
That's where the fan-made Galaxy in Turmoil came in, developed by a group of volunteers called Frontwire Studios. The in-the-works project is based on what Star Wars Battlefront III would have been, with massive 64-person multiplayer, space battles, iconic Star Wars vehicles and a single-player campaign mode. Frontwire Studios planned to release the title for free on Steam, with Valve's blessing.
It only seemed like a matter of time before the title ran into legal trouble with Disney or Lucasfilm, and that's indeed what has now happened. In a detailed post over the weekend, Tony Romanelli of Frontwire Studios explained the situation to fans. He says he met with two top executives from Lucasfilm, who helped explain that, while Lucasfilm was open to licensing the Star Wars IP to Frontwire Studios, it was unable to do so because of its contract with EA, which gives the publisher the sole rights to make Star Wars video games. EA had expressed no desire to see Galaxy in Turmoil continue, believing it would take attention away from its official Star Wars Battlefront franchise.
"I do not for a second hold any grudge against Electronic Arts and/or Lucasfilm, and neither should our community," Romanelli says. "The Star Wars brand is a highly valuable and lucrative brand. I would expect nothing less from Lucasfilm than to do everything they can to protect and preserve their intellectual property. As for EA they have an extremely expensive and profitable production contract with Lucasfilm. Likewise, EA has done what they felt they needed to do and if I were in the same position, I hope I would also do anything to protect my golden egg. While I do wish EA would realize that backing a free fan game would actually be an effective way to help and promote their brand, their decision is final, and we as both a business and as a community must respect that."
So, what's next for the project? Galaxy in Turmoil will continue development, though it will now shift away from being a Star Wars game and into an original property. The plan is for it to still be free and to include all the aspects of the Battlefront franchise that fans love, only minus the Star Wars part of the equation. Romanelli says there are plans to conduct a crowdfunding campaign in the future, though the team is seeking to release a playable demo of the game before letting fans donate. You can find more about the project on the game's official website.
