GIANT StarWars BattleFront NEWS!

Star Wars Celebration: Battlefront Release Date Officially Revealed

EA has officially announced a November 17, 2015 release date for Star Wars: Battlefront. The multiplayer shooter comes just one month ahead of Star Wars: The Force Awakens, and is coming to PC, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One in North America on November 17, 2015 and in the UK on November 20, 2015.

 

Earlier this week, Microsoft let slip that Star Wars: Battlefront will be playable first on Xbox One via EA Access, which is interesting considering DICE's gameplay demonstration at Star Wars Celebration was shown on PlayStation 4, and PlayStation branding appears on the debut trailer.

Star Wars Celebration: Free Battle of Jakku Battlefront DLC Revealed

The first add-on pack for Star Wars: Battlefront will arrive on December 8, and it will be free for anyone who owns the game. Set on the desert wasteland seen in Episode 7’s teasers, and taking place one year after the assault on Endor, Battle of Jakku bridges Return of the Jedi and The Force Awakens. The DLC includes two new maps.

“This really ties in what we’re doing with the Original Trilogy era with The Force Awakens,” Producer Craig Mcleod stated to press. “The Battle of Jakku takes place a year after the Battle of Endor, and the only way you can experience or see it is in our game. That battle essentially leads to that battle-scarred landscape you see in the trailers. What’s even better is we’re delivering it for free to every player who owns the game. I think Kathleen Kennedy summed it up best: Star Wars is all about the fans.”

Pre-ordering Star Wars: Battlefront unlocks the Jakku planet a week early, on December 1. Otherwise, it launches wide for everyone just a few weeks after Star Wars: Battlefront’s November release date.

“The only post-launch we’re talking about now is Battle of Jakku, the free-for-all expansion,” DICE General Manager Patrick Bach told Press. “It takes you beyond the Original Trilogy, but not far enough that you go into the Original Trilogy era.”

At Star Wars Celebration, Bach also told Press that Star Wars: Battlefront would not ship with any Prequel Trilogy content whatsoever, nor would it feature space combat.

Star Wars Celebration: Battlefront Does Not Have Space Battles, Prequel Era

Star Wars: Battlefront will not have space combat, nor will it launch with Prequel Trilogy era settings, vehicles, or characters.

“It’s not much about space,” Patrick Back, General Manager at DICE told Press. “Most battles are planetary battles, so our focus right now is to make sure we only get that right. The core of Star Wars battles — the Endors, the Hoths, et cetera — you want to take that to perfection. You want to do it right.”

Bach continued, “Space is hard, right? Not from a [development] perspective, but from a logistical perspective. Is that fun? For us it doesn’t make sense to create a battle above you if you’re fighting other players who are not there to fight. Our focus is to do planetary battles.”
Battlefront Producer Craig Mcleod added, “No space battles. It’s all about the epic planetary battles and getting that right. Fighting with X-Wings and TIE Fighters, we have that. It’s taken in the atmosphere. This is something we discussed with Lucasfilm and they were happy to be on board with that.”

DICE's Battlefront game is focused entirely on those kinds of battles — X-Wing vs. TIE Fighter, Rebel Alliance vs. Empire. To that end, Bach outright said “No,” when asked if Battlefront would release with Prequel era content. The team’s goal is to accomplish a sense of authenticity best representing the first three Star Wars films.

Mcleod also explained that Battlefront would not feature planets such as Mustafar and Naboo at launch, and added, "I can’t talk exactly about what the future holds for Battlefront, but I can say we’ll definitely be supporting Battlefront post-launch. We have a long history of add-on content.”