'Star Wars: Battlefront II' reveals what happened after Endor this November
We already had a face thanks to the leaked trailer; now we have a name, a story, and -- most importantly -- a release date: Nov. 17.
As for the rest of it: the hero(?) of our new Star Wars adventure is Iden Versio, who leads the Imperial special forces unit known as Inferno Squad. This elite unit -- which specializes in both ground and space battles -- will also be the subject of a book in summer 2017.
The Battlefront II story picks up after the events of Return of the Jedi. The details remain hazy, but it sounds like Versio and her Inferno team manage to escape Rebel forces on Endor and re-connect with their Imperial brethren as the First Order -- the Imperial remnant forces at the center of The Force Awakens -- is born.
While Iden Versio is framed as the star of this story, players will also have opportunities during the campaign to step into the shoes of more familiar figures, including Luke Skywalker and Kylo Ren.
All of this represents a big change after Star Wars: Battlefront, which launched in 2015 as a multiplayer-only game. Battlefield developer DICE is back with an updated version for the 2017 sequel, but the story is in the hands of Motive Studios, another Electronic Arts team.
Multiplayer will hopefully build on the successes of the 2015 game -- which delivered an exceptionally authentic audiovisual dive into the Star Wars universe -- while correcting what didn't. The new PvP mode spans all three movie eras and features locations like Mos Eisley, Yavin IV, and Starkiller Base.
The announcement suggests you can expect a stronger focus in the sequel on character progression. Players will now earn unlocks in multiple categories, including heroes/villains, trooper classes, and vehicles. We'll probably have to wait until E3 for more specifics.
Battlefront II will also place more of a focus on space combat, with Criterion -- which handled the VR mission for the 2015 Battlefront -- leading development on that side of the game.
As the leaked trailer had already suggested, pre-order buyers can expect some bonuses. The previously outed hero pack based on The Last Jedi includes Rey and Kylo Ren, as well as the Millennium Falcon and a new First Order ship.
There's also a step-up "Elite Trooper Deluxe Edition" that -- in addition to The Last Jedi stuff -- comes with upgrades to every trooper class (Battlefront II takes a page from Battlefield here) and three days of early access to the game.
Adam Rosenberg is a Senior Games Reporter for Mashable, where he plays all the games. Every single one. From AAA blockbusters to indie darlings to mobile favorites and browser-based oddities, he consumes as much as he can, whenever he can.Adam brings more than a decade of experience working in the space to the Mashable Games team. He previously headed up all games coverage at Digital Trends, and prior to that was a long-time, full-time freelancer, writing for a diverse lineup of outlets that includes Rolling Stone, MTV, G4, Joystiq, IGN, Official Xbox Magazine, EGM, 1UP, UGO and others.Born and raised in the beautiful suburbs of New York, Adam has spent his life in and around the city. He's a New York University graduate with a double major in Journalism and Cinema Studios. He's also a certified audio engineer. Currently, Adam resides in Crown Heights with his dog and his partner's two cats. He's a lover of fine food, adorable animals, video games, all things geeky and shiny gadgets.
