DICE to Address Concerns with New Star Wars Battlefront II Update

Marred by technical issues and suffering tons of bad publicity because of the game’s aggressive microtransactions, Star Wars Battlefront II has had some trouble since it’s initial release on November 17, 2017. Even the company’s CEO, Andrew Wilson, is aware of what the loot box fiasco has done to the game as a brand, saying he saw it as “definitely a learning opportunity.” EA and DICE have provided a roadmap for the rest of the game’s content, but it’s spread across all of 2018, leaving some people confused with EA’s handling of one of the biggest entertainment properties. However, DICE seems committed to bringing Star Wars Battlefront II out of the hole EA dug, and the developers have thoroughly outlined a new update for the troubled sequel.

The release notes come by way of the official Star Wars Battlefront II forum post written by an EA community manager. In the post, the community manager leads with the introduction of a new mode called Hero Starfighters, an 8-player mode featuring “STAR WARS’ most heroic pilots dog-fighting against each other in elimination showdowns.” Additionally, heroes who wield a lightsaber can turn it on and off and will have a stamina count for the block function. The modes Jetpack Cargo and Ewok Hunt will make a return, “after a few tweaks and fixes have been implemented,” and Extraction will be playable for the rest of July. This and more is on top of the usual quality of life and bug fixing the studio is already performing. The release notes can be viewed in full on the forum page.

In our review of the game, we gave it a 7/10, saying, “DICE needs to untangle monetization and progression, keeping any elements that give players an advantage in battle away from [real-world] money. Progression should feel like a reward for playing the game, not paying the game. It’s disappointing that this conversation needs to surround such an amazing title. Star Wars Battlefront II is an insanely fun and [full-featured] experience no matter which corner of the galaxy or era of the story you go to. The Star Wars authenticity can be felt throughout, but blatantly predatory microtransactions are a blight, force choking the life out of what is otherwise one of my favorite games this year.”

[Source: Battlefront II Forums]