You don’t have to wait for Christmas to jump into the next generation of Star Wars entertainment. Sure, that’s when the next trilogy of movies kicks off, but you’ll get a chance to explore the universe in the new game from publisher Electronic Arts this November.
Star Wars: Battlefront (read our preview here) will debut Nov. 17 for PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC. Developer DICE is producing the game, and it is using its experience making the Battlefield shooters to bring an action-packed experience to the galaxy far, far away (including new planets). EA is making the announcement at the Star Wars Celebration event in Anaheim today, and it will also reveal the first gameplay trailer. We’ll update this post when that video goes live. For now, enjoy these screenshots:
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This release represents a new start for Star Wars video games. Just as Star Wars: The Force Awakens is a jumping-off point for the films without the guidance of George Lucas, Battlefront will act as the first entry in a new era of triple-A game adaptations of the beloved franchise under EA.
In May 2013, EA made a deal with Disney — which owns Star Wars, Lucasfilm, and LucasArts — to secure the exclusive rights to release big-budget Star Wars games on PC and console. While Disney is still making Star Wars games for mobile and social — like the popular Star Wars: Commander for iOS and Android — it’s up to EA to make the tentpole, narrative-driven games that live up to the LucasArts legacy.
While this is obviously an important Star Wars moment, it’s also key to EA’s gaming strategy. Battlefront is filling the holiday-shooter hole that Battlefield 4 filled for the company in 2013. By debuting in November, Battlefront is going up directly against the inevitable new Call of Duty, which is likely the third Black Ops game from publisher Activision’s developer Treyarch. EA has long tried to have a major shooter of its own at that time, and Star Wars could fill that role on the years where no new Battlefield is ready to go (despite Battlefield: Hardline debuting earlier this year).
Battlefront will definitely have the buzz to have a successful launch. Hype for the new Star Wars will likely start reaching its zenith in November, which is a month before The Force Awakens debuts on Dec. 18.
All EA needs to do now is to make a good game.