EA has officially confirmed Star Wars: Battlefront II and announced that fans will get their first look at this year’s Star Wars Celebration.
The first trailer for the sequel from DICE will be shown to those in attendance at the convention and released online. Available at 4:30 AM April 16, 2017 AEDT, the trailer will be presented during the Battlefront panel.
On hand at the panel will be members from DICE, Criterion and Motive, all of who are working on the title.
What’s a Battlefront?
The first Battlefront (well technically third) was revealed at Star Wars Celebration 2015 in Anaheim. The title resurrected the dormant Battlefront franchise which had not had a new entry since 2005.
Focusing on multiplayer, much to the chagrin of fans and critics alike, Battlefront was well received for its visuals and sound design and adherence to Star Wars history. DICE visited Skywalker Ranch during production to photograph models of ships, weapons and the like.
Using the term ‘photogrammetry”, DICE explained how it had rendered in-game models directly from the images of the models used in the movies. This gave Battlefront part of its incredible authenticity.
Battlefront included both land and air based combat with players controlling either a Rebel or Stormtrooper on the ground and Rebel Ship or TIE Fighter in the air. Playing well enough would grant temporary access to a hero/villain character; Luke Skywalker, Darth Vader, Han Solo and so on.
The lack of any real solo or co-op gameplay was a disapointment, as was the pricey season pass. Despite misgivings, Battlefront managed to ship over 13 million copies, guaranteeing a sequel.
What can we expect in Battlefront II?
During an investor call in February, EA CEO Andrew Wilson gave some insight into what’s in store for Battlefront II;
Our next Star Wars Battlefront will be even bigger, taking players into more locations, and allowing them to play with more heroes and characters across multiple Star Wars eras.
There will be new ways to play, including an all-new single-player campaign, and much, much more that we are excited to share with our players in the months ahead.
While not revealing anything directly, it’s Wilson’s comment about “multiple Star Wars eras” that’s most exciting. This could mean that we’ll see settings from the prequel trilogy, classic trilogy and The Force Awakens.
However, Episode VIII: The Last Jedi is being released this year as is Battlefront II. There’s a very good chance that the game will include moments, locations and characters from the upcoming film sequel.
We know there will be a single player campaign in Battlefront II as DICE confirmed as much with Eurogamer. DICE producer Paul Keslin said, “As a Star Wars fan, I want story, I want narrative, I want something I can play that immerses me in that world but gives me something to follow and chase.”
Ex-Ubisoft employee Jade Raymond’s Motive studio will be working with DICE on the single player mode. Keslin said of the partnership;
That’s a lot of what we’ve talked about in terms of DICE’s identity and how we approach games. We’re partnering up with some folks from Motive – they have their own take on how things are – but we have a very close relationship with them, and we want everything to feel like a coherent experience.
We don’t want it where single player isn’t that great but multiplayer has this great thing and isn’t connected.
We’ll bring you more on Battlefront II as we have it.
Star Wars: Battlefront is available now.
