Free Maps And A New 40-Player Game Mode Coming In Jakku Star Wars Battlefront Update

 There’s been a few complaints that DICE’s Star Wars Battlefront is a little light on content. The negative vibes aren’t helped when gamers see a £35 Season Pass on the horizon, but DICE is at least going some way to negate this problem with the launch of two free new maps and an additional game mode next week.


Bridging the gap between Return of the Jedi and The Force Awakens, the Battle of Jakku pack is set 29 years before the movie, depicting an epic showdown between the Rebels and the Empire. The Jakku maps are coming on December 1st, and will be joined by the promising sounding new large scale 40-player Turning Point mode. The maps themselves looking pretty awesome, with a giant Imperial Star Destroyer falling down from the sky mid-battle. It’s definitely got a bit of a Tatooine vibe to it thanks to the desert environment, but there’s enough going on to set it apart. The larger one is Graveyard of Giants and there’s also Goazan Badlands for the smaller game modes. 

“At the edge of the map, the Empire has constructed a make-shift base as well as smaller fortifications strewn across the landscape,” says lead level designer Dennis Brännvall. “Following an emergency landing, the Rebels need to locate the enemy bases to attack and take control of them all.”

So the Imperials start with control of every point, and the Rebels are tasked with taking one of three points within a time limit. For each successful capture additional time is added, and more control points are available to capture nearer the Imperial Base. The ultimate aim is to chain-link your capture points all the way to the Empire’s base, who will be holding a last stand while the timer ticks down. Turning Point's a variation on a theme then, but it sounds as if DICE is working on making the bigger game modes work. Walker Assault is a grand spectacle but it’s lacking in substance, and it certainly doesn’t have the staying power of something like Battlefield’s Conquest.
In terms of content that’s not all we’ll be seeing either. DICE updated its website this morning to say “We will be adding more of what you love about the game, like new maps and Star Cards, for free in the coming months, in addition to all of the content we have coming with Season Pass." Which all sounds good then, because Star Wars Battlefront feels like a game which is going to live or die based on a steady stream of fresh content.