The original Star Wars Battlefront games had single player modes that were integral to the enjoyment of the game, and DICE made a big mistake omitting a campaign from its revival of the franchise. Normally video game trailers don’t come on the site until launch, but we are all Star Wars geeks, and Star Wars video games are canon now (the first Battlefront is how the brought back Boba Fett post ROTJ). This campaign reveal looks amazingly epic, spanning the destruction of the second Death Star to the rise of The First Order. I was not pleased with the multiplayer-only first installment, but this trailer has me changing my mind. Read more below from Coming Soon for all the details.
Today at Star Wars Celebration, EA and Lucasfilm announced that Star Wars Battlefront II will release on November 17, 2017 worldwide. Building upon the foundation of groundbreaking visuals and authenticity of EA’s Star Wars Battlefront, DICE, Motive and Criterion are teaming up to deliver one of the most expansive Star Wars games to date. Star Wars Battlefront II will allow players to experience the untold story of an Imperial elite special forces soldier in an all-new single player campaign. In epic multiplayer battles, players will be able to pilot a First Order TIE fighter through intense dogfights in space, and play as ground troopers or iconic heroes and villains, such as Yoda and Darth Maul, across all three Star Wars eras.
“In Star Wars Battlefront II, we all wanted to really capture the essence of being heroic and how in Star Wars, anyone can become a hero,” says Matt Webster, Executive Producer at Criterion. “Whether that’s playing as an iconic character like Rey or Luke, as a front-line trooper or fighter pilot in epic multiplayer battles, or playing through a new Star Wars story that bridges the gap between Star Wars: Return of the Jedi and Star Wars: The Force Awakens, you will become a hero in Star Wars Battlefront II.”
Featuring new characters created by Motive in close partnership with the story group at Lucasfilm, the Star Wars Battlefront II single player campaign will deliver a new exciting story to the Star Wars universe. Taking place in the 30 years between the destruction of Death Star II and through the rise of the First Order, the single player story introduces Iden Versio, the leader of Inferno Squad, an elite special forces unit of the Galactic Empire, who are equally lethal on the ground and in space. In addition to Iden, players will also encounter and play as other iconic Star Wars heroes and villains like Luke Skywalker and Kylo Ren during the campaign.
“EA has assembled an incredible set of developers to create a Star Wars gaming experience unlike anything fans have ever experienced,” said Douglas Reilly, Senior Director, Digital & Franchise Management. “Star Wars Battlefront II will offer everything players loved about the last installment, and adds new modes that we know the fans want, including an entirely new story developed in partnership with Lucasfilm.”
“We wanted to create a campaign that told a story we haven’t seen before in Star Wars,” says Mark Thompson, Game Director at Motive Studios. “It was important for us to tell a new authentic story, one that gives players a brand-new perspective. By putting players in the boots of an elite member of the Imperial forces, we can show them what the battle was like from the other side.”
In addition to the all-new single player campaign, the team at DICE is evolving the game’s multiplayer to become the ultimate Star Wars battleground. With modes supporting up to 40 players, Star Wars Battlefront II takes fans through a wide range of iconic locations from all three eras: prequel, classic and new trilogy, including new in-game locations such as Yavin 4’s jungle canopies, the spaceport town of Mos Eisley, and Starkiller Base. Players can choose from an array of land and air vehicles and master their own hero’s journey, with customizable character progression across heroes, villains, troopers and starfighters.
As one of the most requested fan modes, galactic-scale space combat is also brought to life in Star Wars Battlefront II. Criterion, with a deep history of creating some of gaming’s fastest and intuitive vehicles, has built space combat from the ground up with refined handling, weapons, and customization options. Players can drop into the cockpit of the galaxy’s most iconic ships, weave between asteroid fields and fly through imperial dockyards in high stakes dogfights.
Fans who pre-order Star Wars Battlefront II can join the excitement of the theatrical release of Star Wars: The Last Jedi, with content inspired by the upcoming film including exclusive Kylo Ren and Rey themed looks. Players can also equip both characters with epic ability upgrades in multiplayer. Additionally, when taking the fight to space, players can upgrade to the Star Wars: The Last Jedi Millennium Falcon and a new First Order ship.
Players that order the Star Wars Battlefront II: Elite Trooper Deluxe Edition will not only have access to all the Star Wars: The Last Jedi-inspired pre-order content, found in Star Wars Battlefront II: The Last Jedi Heroes, but can also dominate the battlefront as the ultimate Star Wars elite trooper. Every trooper class will receive upgrades, delivering superior firepower, deadly weapon modifications and epic combat abilities. Deluxe Edition owners will also get a head start on the battlefront, being able to jump into the game up to three days early.
Star Wars Battlefront II will be available worldwide on November 17th, 2017 on PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and on Origin for PC. Players looking to get into the game earlier can do so with the Star Wars Battlefront II: Elite Trooper Deluxe Edition starting on November 14th, or through the Play First Trials on EA Access and Origin Access starting November 9th.
Damn, I didn’t know that the games are canon. I really think that they should be part of legends, because they now have to bend the game to to be able to fit in with the star wars canon.
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Well, so far only two games have come out since canon was reset: LEGO Star Wars The Force Awakens and Star Wars Battlefront. I don’t think you’ll ever see plot-heavy games set in an area where the films will tread, but Battlefront introduced Jakku before Episode VII and just by virtue of when it was set established Fett was still alive. They’ll do tiny things with them; nothing earth shaking to canon. The novels have gotten a lot less important than they were pre-Disney. The two media that ARE establishing and fleshing out canon are the animated series and Marvel’s comics, which have been fantastic and have been primarily looking at the time period between the destruction of the first Death Star and Empire Strikes Back. The best of these, if you want to try one, is the Vader series, which has him scrambling as the sole survivor to regain Imperial favor as other servants of the Emperor sense his weakness for the first time. One really poignant little moment is when Imperial intelligence learns the name of the pilot who destroyed the Death Star (Luke obviously becomes a Rebel celebrity and spies pass along his name). When Vader hears the pilot’s name was “Skywalker” and knows his child survived…it’s powerful stuff. Long story short, I don’t thing the video games are going to be a problem and the whole brand is being managed so closely and so long-term, I doubt there’s anything we could think of they’re not already at work on. Thanks for the comment; excellent point.
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Oh yeah, the MARVEL comics are great. I’ve read Vader Down quite recently. And either way, I think everyone will agree that 2015’s battlefront was one of the best star wars games so far. I’m just saying that I kind of hope they would just say that Battlefront 2 will be part of Star Wars Legends, so that they can tell the story they want to tell without worrying about the canon
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One of the reasons I think we haven’t seen more SW video games since Disney took over is that they’ve been figuring how to plan them in and around what they want to do, plus the development time on games even exceeds films, so this particular campaign is going to be set up by a novel called Inferno Squad this summer, which is a sequel of sorts to Rogue One, leading to the campaign of Battlefront II. So a movie, leading to a book, leading to a video game in terms of plotting. Somewhere there is a huge wall with a lot of cards and string…or they probably use computers since they’re Disney and print their own money lol.
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Well, fair enough. I just hope that they don’t end up having these canon story-based games too often.
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