Electronic Arts (EA) announced that the Star Wars Battlefront II beta will run from October 6 to 9 on PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC. That’s good news for fans looking to try out the sequel to Dice’s 2015 reboot of the series before they buy. Even better, the beta will be open, meaning anyone can download and test out the multiplayer component of Battlefront II before the full game launches on November 17.
The multiplayer beta will give players access to two of the game’s online modes, Galactic Assault and Starfighter Assault. Over at the PlayStation Blog, details on Galactic Assault were outlined.
Players wishing to try out Galactic Assault will get to first experience it in the commercial streets of Theed, the capital of Naboo. You will either play on the side of the Separatist droid army or the Republic Clones. The 40 players on the ground match will let users test out the four different trooper classes: Assault, Heavy, Officers, and Specialists. Besides the trooper classes, users will get the chance to step in the shoes of Star Wars heroes, along with taking control of prequel-era vehicles.
While specific heroes for the beta haven’t been confirmed, we know that Luke Skywalker, Darth Maul, Yoda, Kylo Ren, Rey, Boba Fett and Yoda. Finn and Captain Phasma will be playable in the full game. Additional heroes, such as Han Solo, Lando, and Leia are rumored to be in the full game as well.
As for Starfighter Assault, EA hasn’t released very many details about the dogfighting, aerial mode. The mode will be set in the original trilogy era, and lets players jump in the cockpit of iconic Star Wars ships. Starfighter Assault will be objective-based, and feature multiple stages. We have yet to get a good look at multiplayer space battles in Battlefront II‘s gameplay footage — the portion of the game developed by Criterion Software — but EA promised that the mode will be shown off at Gamescom in August.
While the beta mirrors the original’s beta in that it is open, you can get in two days early on October 4 by pre-ordering Star Wars Battlefront II. If our early impressions at E3 are any indication, Battlefront II looks to outclass its predecessor in a myriad of ways.
