It may not have been greeted with the same furore as the most recent trailer for The Force Awakens, but today’s international teaser for J.J. Abrams’ sci-fi follow-up reminded us all once again that, almost irrefutably, this holiday season belongs to Star Wars. While Disney has laid siege to one medium, DICE and publisher EA will be vying for the mind share in another in the form of Star Wars Battlefront, the pair’s high-profile licensed title that is setting out to render the beloved original trilogy like never before.
That striking authenticity not only encompasses the locations – of which include Hoth, Sullust, Endor and Taootine – but also the characters themselves, with previous sizzle reels spotlighting Luke Skywalker, Darth Vader, Han Solo, Leia Organa and Emperor Palpatine. Now, it’s left to famed bounty hunter Boba Fett to enter the fray, and one loyal YouTuber has stitched together the recent Battlefront featurette that recounted some of the fantastical environments included in the shooter.
If excitement was high prior for Star Wars Battlefront during the summer, it’s beginning to bubble over now that upwards of 9 million users partook in the recent beta test. Such a swell of support even lead to EA bumping its initial sales forecast for the game, now estimating it to ship close to 13 million units before March 31, 2016. Ambitious, sure, but there’s no question that the instal base is there based on the uptake of the beta.
“Anecdotally, what we have seen is that Star Wars Battlefront is bringing in two groups that are very important groups to us,” said CEO Andrew Wilson. “One are gamers that have lapsed, traditionally who have been big gamers in the past and maybe haven’t played for a while, and [Battlefront’s beta has] certainly been a catalyst for those people to come back into the gaming universe as it relates to console. And two, onboarding a new younger age demographic.”
Star Wars Battlefront touches down on PlayStation 4, Xbox One and PC on November 17. The Battle of Jakku, meanwhile, will help seed the events of The Force Awakens when it becomes available to those who pre-ordered on December 1, before opening up to all users the following week.