New ‘Star Wars Battlefront II’ Roadmap Offers a Glimpse at the Game’s Future DLC

By Alex Kane

LOS ANGELES (Variety.com) – Developer shared a glimpse into the future of DLC for “Star Wars Battlefront II.” Ben Walke, the game’s community manager, tweeted out a development roadmap  on Friday, offering greater clarity on when we can expect certain updates in the coming months. EA teased a fair amount of content support during their June 9 press conference ahead of E3, but the new roadmap breaks things down with a tentative schedule.

July will see the addition of a brand-new “Hero Starfighters” mode, taking the successful formula established in Hero Showdown into outer space. “Here, players will spawn as one of the available Hero Starfighters on their respective sides,” DICE explained in a blog post . “If taken out, you’ll re-enter the game as a normal fighter, bomber, or interceptor. To win the game, your team of four needs to take out all enemy Hero Starfighters.”

This month will also bring several new quality-of-life changes, such as outfit swapping between rounds, improvements to the new Hero Showdown mode, and the ability to turn lightsabers on and off at will. “Lightsaber blocking will now affect stamina,” as well.

August will kick off the game’s new focus on characters and experiences based on the fan-favorite Clone Wars era of “,” which takes place in between the live-action films “Attack of the Clones” and “Revenge of the Sith.” The conflict was also the setting for the wildly popular animated series “Star Wars: The Clone Wars,” which aired on Cartoon Network and then Netflix beginning in 2008. The Clone Wars season will begin with new clone-trooper skins, emotes, and victory poses.

At least one major update in the fall will introduce the playable heroes Obi-Wan Kenobi and General Grievous, additional character skins, and adjustments to the game’s squad system, as well as “a non-linear, larger-scale mode where players battle for control of objectives around the map.”

DICE will also be adding the planet Geonosis, the world where the Clone Wars began, as part of an update this winter. The developer has described it as “the largest level we have ever built” for the “Battlefront” series. The game’s winter update will also introduce new cosmetic appearances and the iconic characters Anakin Skywalker and Count Dooku.

“’s” second season, centered around the character of Han Solo, began on May 16 and has since been updated with content from the film “Solo: A Star Wars Story.” The game got off to a rocky start last fall, when its implementation of loot crates was met with widespread criticism , but DICE has made gradual, successful improvements to the multiplayer experience ever since.