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Battlefront II, From Launch To Its Final Update

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Image for article titled Battlefront II, From Launch To Its Final Update
Image: Lucasfilm/EA

The last X-Wing has left the station and the Death Star is shutting down: Star Wars Battlefront II will no longer receive big content updates. While the servers will remain up, the game will not be supported in a major way by Dice or EA moving forward. Released back in November 2017, Battlefront II has had a controversial and rocky life. But after years of updates, patches, and fixes, it became a game that players enjoyed. Eventually.

Let’s take a look at how things went for Battlefront II from launch all the way up to earlier this month.

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2017

  • In October, EA and Dice ran a beta for Battlefront II. While the game seemed to be a big improvement over EA’s previous Battlefront game, Star Cards and how microtransactions would work were a hot button issue among beta players. (The beta also had some nice looking leaves. )
  • Later that same month, after the beta and before the game’s release, the developers detailed some of the changes they were making to how Star Cards and loot crates would work at launch based on player feedback from the beta. Among the changes were the removal of epic loot from crates and a minimum level requirement for upgrading Star Cards. EA and Dice would spend the next couple years walking back microtransactions, dealing with Congress and fighting lawmakers around the world about these loot crates.
  • Even before launch, some countries began investigating loot boxes in games like Overwatch and Battlefront II. In Belgium, the loot crates in Star Wars were a key reason for the investigation.
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Image for article titled Battlefront II, From Launch To Its Final Update
Screenshot: Lucasfilm/EA
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“[Battlefront II is also]... a testament to some of the most insidious and predatory design decisions of recent years, crushing the excitement under a mountain of poor decisions. Battlefront II had the easiest job in the world: deliver a multiplayer Star Wars game and improve upon a hyped predecessor that under-delivered. Unfortunately, the game delivered at launch—perpetually couched with the fact that EA could change its economy and patch its systems and fix so many of these problems—manages to fuck that up.”

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Image for article titled Battlefront II, From Launch To Its Final Update
Screenshot: Lucasfilm/EA

2018

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Image for article titled Battlefront II, From Launch To Its Final Update
Screenshot: Lucasfilm/EA
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Image for article titled Battlefront II, From Launch To Its Final Update
Screenshot: Lucasfilm/EA

2019

  • Building off the late 2018 Clone Wars update, Count Dooku was added to the game in January. Fans quickly modded the new character and removed his head, a reference to his death in Episode III.
  • In March, a big new game mode was added to Battlefront II. This new mode, Capital Supremacy, featured both on the ground infantry warfare and fighting inside large spaceships. The new mode was good, when it worked.
  • Also in that same month, Jedi Master Yoda finally got the ability to block, leading to one of the best Kotaku headlines of 2019.
  • In May, a law was introduced to congress by a US Senator that would look to ban loot boxes from games designed for children under 18. The ESRB pushed back against the law, citing how countries like Sweden and New Zealand had determined loot boxes weren’t gambling.
  • Also in May, the original actor who played Chewbacca in multiple Star Wars films passed away. Fans honored Peter Mayhew by donning a specific Chewbacca skin that had the Wookiee wearing a bandage, a reference to Force Awakens, the last time Mayhew played the character. Dice also updated the main menu of the game, adding that same bandaged Chewie in what appeared to be a small nod to the beloved actor.
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Image for article titled Battlefront II, From Launch To Its Final Update
Screenshot: Lucasfilm/EA
  • After first getting their hopes dashed in 2018 when it was announced there were no plans to bring Droidekas to Battlefront II, the droids were added in June. Players loved them and almost instantly began doing wild and cool tricks with the new robots. It was also another example of how the game had turned around in the eyes of many players.
  • During that same month, at a UK Parliament hearing about gaming and loot boxes, a representative from EA claimed that their games don’t contain loot boxes, but instead “surprise mechanics” and that these are “quite ethical. The phrase “surprise mechanics” quickly became a meme.
  • Later in September, Dice added the long-awaited Clone Commandos to Battlefront II. These popular troops became fan favorites after starring in the Republic Commando game back in the early 2000s. The new Commandos were tough and were a lot of fun to use in combat. The same update also added a new way to play, Instant Action mode, and made further balance changes to the game.
  • In December, just in time for the release of The Rise Of Skywalker, Dice updated the game and added some new content that tied in into the latest film. The new content was well received and was a sign of just how improved the game was in 2019 compared to 2017.
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2020

  • The loveable droid BB-8 and their evil counterpart BB-9E were added to the game in an early February update. The droids popped up in a lot of online clips, as they were shockingly powerful combatants who could take down the likes of Darth Vader and Obi-Wan.
  • Later in February another loveable character was added: A playable Ewok class. While Ewoks had been playable before in the Ewok Hunt mode, they were now selectable on certain maps during other standard game modes. Their short height and speed made them deadly and dangerous foes. Also, the empire got a new boring spy person. Who cares.
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Image for article titled Battlefront II, From Launch To Its Final Update
Screenshot: Lucasfilm/EA
  • March of this year saw the global COVID-19 pandemic hit large parts of the world in a big way. In response, many countries began going into temporary lockdowns, forcing many folks to stay home for weeks. To help make the lockdown a little easier, EA and Dice offered double XP to Battlefront II players stuck at home.
  • Also in March, Baby Yoda appeared in Battlefront II thanks to a talented modder.
  • In April, nearly three years after Battlefront II first blew up the controversy around loot crates, the ESRB announced that all ratings on video games will now say if a game contains loot boxes. While Battlefront II isn’t the only game that has loot boxes, it certainly played a role in the ESRB’s decision.
  • The massive Scarif update, originally planned for a March release, was delayed until late April. However, when it finally arrived, fans enjoyed it. This update would also end up being the game’s last massive content release.
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And like that, after many years of free updates, patches and events, Battlefront II will no longer be updated. While fans will continue to play the game for years to come, Dice and EA will move on to different, new games.

In 2020, with countless updates and fan-favorite maps and characters added, Battlefront II has evolved into something far different than it was in 2017. Across Reddit and Twitter, diehard fans are saddened to hear the game will no longer be updated with big new maps or weapons. For some, it felt like the game had really become something great. Many don’t want support to end, with some offering to pay for future DLC. From its troubled launch to its latest changes, Battlefront II shows how live games can be terrible messes that fans hate and wonderful things that grow better over years of updates and support.