MakingStarWars.net is back with some juicy new rumors to get pumped about. Although for once, those rumors aren't spoilers for The Force Awakens. In fact, it's not even about the new movie.
This time, the site has some potentially major details about the (very) long-awaited new Star Wars: Battlefront coming later this year from DICE. Quick refresher: after multiple attempts to get a Battlefront III off the ground by LucasArts and various developers, a third Battlefront is finally happening. Why LucasArts couldn't get it done remains a mystery, but when Disney bought Lucasfilm, they handed the Star Wars video games over to EA Games, and EA gave Battlefront to DICE. Which makes perfect sense, since Battlefront was originally inspired by DICE's own Battlefield games.
According to MakingStarWars.net, the new Battlefront will closely resemble the overall structure of Battlefront II. There's a long campaign mode that takes you through all of the battles from the original trilogy, along with a few from The Clone Wars TV series and the big space battle that opens Revenge of the Sith. The huge multiplayer mode will allow for 32x32 player battles. You'll be able to play as both heroes and villains, including more powerful "hero" characters that you earn by playing well. And longtime fans will love the addition of battles that allow you to hop in a ship on the ground, fly into space and then back again.
EA Games would be foolish not to want its shiny new Battlefront game to launch around the same time as The Force Awakens and feature content from it. But how do you release a game that includes details from the new movie a month before said movie comes out, and avoid spoiling the film?
DICE's plan is to utilize downloadable content for The Force Awakens. It sounds like the final battle in the campaign mode will be set just before The Force Awakens begins, functioning as a brief prequel to introduce the new time period. Up to five DLC packs are being considered, with most of them featuring content taken from the new movie. That means playable characters from the film, battles from the film, vehicles, weapons and locations all coming to Battlefront. The report states that DICE was allowed to visit the film's set in London to scan props and sets to bring them into the game.
The report mentions one other little tidbit, which could be a small spoiler for the new movie. A character with the name "Tarkin" was seen by whoever leaked this info to MakingStarWars.net. Star Wars fans know that the main villain of the very first movie (aside from Darth Vader) was Grand Moff Tarkin. What's interesting about this report is that this Tarkin is from The Force Awakens.
Hmm.
DICE's new Star Wars: Battlefront is expected to be fully unveiled at this year's E3 in June.
