‘Star Wars: Battlefront’ DLC Won’t Include ‘Force Awakens’

The huge success of Star Wars: The Force Awakens won’t necessarily translate over to Star Wars: Battlefront for the PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC. DICE confirmed that upcoming DLC for the multiplayer shooter will stick to the original Star Wars trilogy.

In a Twitter response to a fan’s question about the possibility of future content from The Force Awakens or the Star Wars prequel trilogy, DICE revealed that Star Wars: Battlefront will keep a singular focus.

@WinslowForROY Our team is focusing on the original trilogy for this release of Star Wars Battlefront.

— EAStarWars (@EAStarWars) December 24, 2015

Some fans might point to the recently released free Battle of Jakku DLC, but that’s set in the original Star Wars trilogy time period. It takes place not long after the events of Return of the Jedi, and 29 years before Star Wars: The Force Awakens.

The Battle of Jakku features the remnants of the Empire fighting the New Republic in a massive battle on and above the desert planet. The crashed Star Destroyer, X-Wings, and Star Wars vehicles seen in the DLC’s new mode are the same seen in the beginning of The Force Awakens.

Those looking forward to playing characters and settings from The Force Awakens and Star Wars: Episode VIII will have to wait until the next Battlefront game. Electronic Arts has already confirmed Battlefield 5 will arrive in fall 2016, which means Star Wars: Battlefront 2 will not arrive until 2016 at the soonest. That date actually makes the most sense, as it will be around the same time the next mainline Star Wars film is released.

So now the question is what content from the original trilogy can be used for upcoming Star Wars: Battlefront DLC. Hoth, Endor, Sullust, and Tatooine are all covered. That leaves locations such as Cloud City, Coruscant, and the swamps of Dagobah as possible additions, along with new maps on existing planets.

Luke Skywalker, Princess Leia, Han Solo, Darth Vader, Emperor Palpatine, and Boba Fett are the current roster of Heroes and Villains. Obi-Wan Kenobi and Yoda are certainly possibilities for new Hero characters, even if they would not exactly fit Star Wars canon. New Villain characters will be tougher to pull off unless DICE decides to go with bounty hunters such as IG-88.

There’s plenty of content to draw from the original Star Wars trilogy, and DICE will have the opportunity to make the most of it. Plans for the Battlefront Season Pass have already been laid out, as previously covered. The $50 pass includes the following.

• 4 expansion packs
• 16 additional multiplayer maps featuring new locations
• 4 new game modes
• 4 more heroes and villains
• Over 20 new pieces of “galactic tech,” including weapons, vehicles, and Star Cards

There are also plans for more free content similar to Battle of Jakku. DICE hasn’t share the plans for any of the paid or free upcoming content, but EA Studios Executive Vice President Patrick Söderlund did confirm more free content is forthcoming, as reported by the Inquisitr.

“Of course, we are also planning to support Star Wars Battlefront with new content well into the future. We will be adding more of what you love about the game, like new maps and Star Cards, for free in the coming months, in addition to all of the content we have coming with Season Pass. We’ll have more to share soon,” Söderlund explained.

Four expansion DLCs plus however much free content means a busy 2016 for DICE. It will be interesting to see if the developer is able to get it all out over the next year, or if any will spill into the following year.

Did you hope to see content based on Star Wars: The Force Awakens in Battlefront? Sound off in the comments below.

[Image via Star Wars: Battlefront]