Star Wars: Battlefront Gets Single-Player Bots & Much More!

Video game publisher Electronic Arts messed up the launch of Star Wars: Battlefront, admitting that they rushed it to coincide with the theatrical release date of Star Wars: The Force Awakens.

Of course, the game went on to easily and quickly outsell its 13 million units target in just a few months so an incredible amount of money was made despite the lack of content and depth of the core game. "Messed up" became a matter of perspective since it did big business. The new Star Wars: Battlefront successfully appealed to the widest possible demographic during the all-time high of Star Wars related buzz, but it may have lost quite a few gamers along the way to do so.

Taking the name and style of the original two Battlefront games by developer Pandemic Studios, DICE's new (read: rushed) take on the game opted not to build on the gameplay mechanics and progression systems of EA and developer DICE's popular Battlefield game series, while also neglecting to build a story campaign for the game in favor of its release date. The game still retailed at full price, however, but for what it's worth, Battlefront's production values are some of the best. There hasn't been a Star Wars game that looks and sounds so good. But that's not enough.

If any new triple-A game deserves to explore its lore and characters, especially one with such a popular brand and with such a big budget, it's certainly Star Wars. After all, it was Battlefront that represents the first foray into the EA-Disney licencing deal that sees the publisher making triple-A Star Wars games for the next 10 years.

Star Wars: Battlefront Review: Style Over Substance

Quickly, EA had to change their tune with developer blog updates from DICE immediately starting to talk about free updates, free content additions, offline modes, and maps, to go along with the ridiculously expensive (and so far, depressingly lackluster) DLC expansions. They're listening to your feedback so being vocal matters. Demand better!

To get right to the point, we’ve been listening to your feedback and your desire for more offline modes. Today we’re excited to officially announce a new mode, Skirmish, for all Star Wars Battlefront players.

Even while many players dropped off quickly from the multiplayer-focused game, the large Battlefront player base is keeping it popular. EA is still on a mission to turn that buzz around. With lower-than-acceptable review scores on Metacritic, the publisher promised to investors (and confirmed again last month at E3 2016) that the sequel will have a full single-player story campaign.

And for the original, currently available game, there have been rumblings of adding in more, bigger offline modes. These are rumors no longer.

Confirmed at the outset of Star Wars Celebration Europe and again during the EA Games Roundtable panel moments ago, Star Wars: Battlefront is getting new single-player options.

The new "Skirmish" mode will allow the game's flagship Walker Assault and Fighter Squadron modes to be played offline with bots, something that's much needed, much welcomed, but again, long overdue. There were offline bots for a single-player mode in Battlefield 1942, a game DICE released 14 years ago. So that's where we're at and how little DICE is delivering on their latest.

The new mode will be available starting July 21 and offers players the option to play offline against bots in a solo mission or with a friend using co-op split screen. (Console only) Skirmish can be played on a difficulty level of your choosing and across two modes, Walker Assault and Fighter Squadron. With multiple locations that span the galaxy, from the frozen planet of Hoth to the lava encrusted planet of Sullust, we hope Skirmish brings players a new way to enjoy Star Wars Battlefront.

A great step in the right direction, adding another staple gameplay element that will form the base of future Battlefront installments.

As for the next DLC expansion, the Death Star pack comes this September. For an early look at the content, watch the Star Wars Celebration Europe livestream on now here and stay tuned for updates:

Update: On stage a trailer was played for the Death Star expansion teasing the Death Star trench run and a Star Destroyer battle, while new hero/villain characters Bossk and Chewbacca were also confirmed alongside details on the fourth and final expansion based on Rogue One! Check out the trailer and details here!