During the Star Wars celebration that also saw the reveal of a second teaser trailer for this December’s blockbuster movie, Star Wars: The Force Awakens, EA and subsidiary developer, DICE also dropped a ton of news about their upcoming Star Wars: Battlefront reboot game, including when we can expect it to release.
First and foremost, though it was leaked in advance, Star Wars: Battlefront will indeed launch on November 17th of this year in North America, and November 20th in the UK. The game will release for PC, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One, and as promised, it won’t come to the last-gen Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 at all. Despite the Star Wars celebration showing off the PlayStation 4 build and the footage running with liberal PlayStation branding, EA previously confirmed that Xbox One owners can play the game early, if they’ve subscribed to EA Access.
More interesting however is the fact that the game will completely lack a single-player campaign. Instead, a helping of co-op-centric missions will be available outside of the main online multiplayer suite, which can be played solo and offline, but are meant to be enjoyed with others in online sessions most of all, even if they will accommodate local split-screen multiplayer. This may not shock some people, given that DICE is a developer far better versed in multiplayer design than single-player design, but it may prove disappointing to those hoping for an epic new Star Wars campaign to enjoy, or those who just simply dislike online multiplayer. Regardless, we’ll be hearing more about how these missions work at E3 this year.
Fortunately, Star Wars fans who don’t mind the multiplayer focus will have plenty to look forward to. The game will have playable Jedi characters, and will also allow players to take control of Darth Vader and Boba Fett, among other recognizable Star Wars personalities, as well as pilot the Millennium Falcon. Each unique character has their own set of specializing traits, as demonstrated during a demo that had Darth Vader deflecting blaster fire. Sadly however, there will be no space combat, with Star Wars: Battlefront squarely focusing on large-scale warfare across good old terra firma. DICE also confirmed that the prequel era of Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace, Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones and Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith, will be entirely absent from Star Wars: Battlefront. Only Original Trilogy battles and lore will be featured in the game.
Despite that however, the game’s first DLC pack has already been confirmed, and it will feature the all-new planet, Jakku, which is set to be featured in Star Wars: The Force Awakens. The Battle of Jakku expansion will be free to download for all owners of Star Wars: Battlefront on December 8th, though anyone who pre-orders the game can unlock it early, on December 1st. Naturally, it will take place on Jakku, and will unfold a year after the Battle of Endor from Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi, helping to bridge the canonical gap between the Original Trilogy and Star Wars: The Force Awakens. It won’t be the only DLC expansion for the game, naturally, but it’s the only one that DICE is confirming at present.
Now that we know what kind of form Star Wars: Battlefront is taking, keep mobilizing Eggplante for all news and updates on EA and DICE’s new multiplayer shooter, and other projects in the Star Wars universe.