'Star Wars: Battlefront 2' news: Sequel to be released later this year; EA promises continued support for original game

Sheanne Aguila Sunday, February 05, 2017

A promotional image for "Star Wars Battlefront" | Electronic Arts

During EA's latest earnings call, new details on the upcoming shooter sequel "Star Wars: Battlefront 2" have been revealed, including its release date.

CEO Andrew Wilson confirmed on Tuesday that the game is set to be released later this year, just in time for the holidays. Compared to the original "Battlefront," the new game will be "bigger" as it will feature more hero characters and locations. The sequel will also have a single-player campaign, which EA has previously hinted. Dice is in charge of developing the game, along with EA's Motive Studios and Criterion Games, the studio behind the "Burnout" series.

In addition to the solo campaign, the sequel will be including content from "multiple Star Wars eras." Wilson specifically pointed out "Rogue One" and "The Force Awakens" as feature films that expanded the series, but he didn't outright confirm if the upcoming sci-fi shooter will include characters from the said movies. The original game already features "Rogue One" content in the form of an expansion called "Rogue One: Scarif." The DLC includes maps set on the planet Scarif, alongside Jyn Erso and Orson Krennic characters.

EA is now focusing more on the new game, and one element from "Battlefront" that will certainly suffer is the Skirmish mode. It is a fan-favorite feature because it allows players to fight AI opponents while offline, and unfortunately, EA will no longer release new content for it.

Although the spotlight is on "Star Wars: Battlefront 2," EA promises to continue support for the first installment in the franchise. Mat Everett, the game's community manager, wrote in the "Battlefront" forums that the company is not yet walking away from the 2015 shooter.

"Support for the current 'Star Wars Battlefront' is not done," Everett said. "While we will not be bringing more Skirmish content to the game, it doesn't mean nothing else is coming," he added. Everett went on to say that the developers are now listing content request from players to further improve the game.