When EA announced Star Wars Battlefront wouldn't be getting any DLC from The Force Awakens, more than a few fans were disappointed. EA has since officially revealed its Battlefront DLC plans, and lo and behold, The Force Awakens is nowhere to be found.
The question is why? Money is obviously one factor, as EA no doubt plans to release future Star Wars Battlefront games that will pull from both the prequel trilogy and the new film trilogy. EA's CFO, Blake Jorgensen, recently gave another explanation during a recent earnings calls, saying the reason the game won't be receiving Force Awakens DLC is out of concern for the franchise's strict new canon policies.
"You can't make a game in 'Star Wars' that violates the canon of ‘Star Wars' ... meaning, you can't take something from the future and bring it back into the past unless it's a reference," Jorgensen says (via the Wall Street Journal).
An example of this is how Star Wars Battlefront treated the game's free Battle of Jakku DLC. As that battle takes place after the Battle of Endor, when many of the main characters are either preoccupied or dead, hero characters aren't playable in the mode.
That makes sense, of course, but it still feels like a bit of a cop-out, especially considering Star Wars Battlefront already constantly violates canon. I don't remember Boba Fett appearing during the Battle of Endor (remember the Sarlacc?), but he appears in the game nonetheless. Same goes with Darth Vader, Emperor Palpatine and Luke. They are all in space, on the Death Star, remember?
Having separate playlists and maps for content from The Force Awakens (so that Rey isn't fighting Darth Vader, for example) would be enough to prevent the original trilogy and new trilogy streams from crossing, but that seems like it would require more effort than EA is willing to put in.
Instead, fans will have to wait for the inevitable Star Wars Battlefront 2 and 3 before they can explore the other worlds, weapons and characters of the Star Wars universe from the new films and prequel trilogies. However, considering each game takes at least two or three years to make, the wait will be a long one.
