A new Star Wars: Battlefront II mod replaces BB-8 with the equally adorable Grogu. The cute little Yoda-like alien became a sensation with fans almost immediately upon his introduction in the first episode of The Mandalorian back in 2019, where he was discovered by the titular Mandalorian bounty hunter Din Djarin during a seemingly routine assignment on planet Nevarro. Since then, Grogu, or “The Child” as he was officially called before his real name was revealed, was a mainstay on the first two seasons of The Mandalorian and even made a return appearance in The Book Of Boba Fett, alongside numerous pieces of crossover fan art depicting Baby Yoda combined with Halo's Master Chief, among other things. In The Book of Boba Fett he is being trained as a Jedi by Luke Skywalker in what will become the hero's doomed Jedi school from the Sequel Trilogy.
Given how popular he is, Grogu has been the subject of humorous crossover fanart depicting him as The Last Of Us 2’s Ellie and has even made an official appearance in Fortnite alongside Din Djarin not too long after The Mandalorian’s second season started airing in 2020 - though some players have complained that having the little green critter attached to their character's back gets in the way of aiming. While Grogu has yet to make an appearance in an actual Star Wars video game, plenty of fans have brought him into 2017’s Star Wars Battlefront II through the use of mods.
Modder Nanobuds is just the latest to participate in this growing tradition, posting their Grogu Mod for Star Wars Battlefront II to Nexus Mods about a month ago. This adorable mod swaps out BB-8’s character model with the Fortnite version of Grogu, allowing the baby alien to float around the battlefield in his hovering pram from The Mandalorian. Nanobuds even included custom-made Star Card abilities for Grogu. Most commenters have been pleased with Grogu's appearance in this mod, but some have noted that he is larger than he is usually depicted - a side effect from Nanobuds using Grogu’s Fortnite model.
Mods are going to be the only way players can expect to see any new characters in Star Wars Battlefront II, as EA and developer DICE officially stopped adding new content to the 2017 shooter after releasing 2020’s Battle of Scarif update in Battlefront II. Additionally, EA and DICE confirmed that they will not be producing a Star Wars Battlefront III anytime soon, with DICE shifting its focus toward supporting the recently released Battlefield 2042 and EA switching its Star Wars-based attention toward three upcoming games it announced late last month - including the long-awaited sequel to Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order.
Grogu has very quickly become one of the most beloved characters in Disney’s era of Star Wars, as evidenced by the many mods and creations fans have made for games like Star Wars Battlefront II. EA and DICE’s series of Star Wars-themed titles might be on hold for the time being, but at least there are talented modders out there creating new Star Wars: Battlefront 2 content for a game that overcame its controversial launch to become one of the best Star Wars gaming experiences of the modern era.
Source: Nexus Mods