The draft is from a week ahead of cancellation
- by Alana Hagues
After nearly a decade of research and online exploration, a valuable new draft of the Wii version of Radical Front’s Star Wars Battlefront 3 has been uncovered.
Visuals of the draft have been shared on YouTube by modder iamshaymin as well as on r/GamingLeaksAndRumours. According to the images, the draft is said to be dated just over a week ahead of Free Radical’s game being cancelled, and is “likely the last Wii version of the title”.
The images portray a recreation of the November 2008 trailer that Free Radical created. Made by the community Free Radical Archive, it aims to serve as a showcase of that “final” Wii draft.
iamshaymin — also known as LonelyDragonModding — is developing the Battlefront III Legacy mod, which is a conversion project for Battlefront 2 that utilizes the recovered assets from Battlefront 3.
While visuals and other drafts have previously come to light, this represents by far the most comprehensive material, with numerous details that have never been seen before. With this revelation, the mod, along with any possible recreation of the game, becomes much more feasible.
Free Radical had been engaged in the development of Battlefield 3 from 2006 to 2008, succeeding Pandemic Studios, who were responsible for the first two titles. The studio was reportedly 99% complete with the game when it was cancelled, which can be inferred just by looking at the images above.
The TimeSplitters developer declared bankruptcy in late 2008, and was subsequently acquired by German studio Crytek. Free Radical was later re-established under Deep Silver, a division of Plaion (and part of the Embracer Group) in 2021. Unfortunately, the studio shut down in late 2023.
What are your thoughts on this newly discovered draft? Do you wish Battlefront 3 had been released on the Wii? Let us know in the comments.
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Alana has been with Nintendo Life since 2022, and while RPGs are her foremost passion, Nintendo holds a close second. She relishes nothing more than analyzing combat strategies, character dynamics, and storylines. She also wishes she had lived during the Sega pirate era.