EA's thralls are still pretending that Battlefront (2004) never happened and that Battlefront (2015) was actually pretty good. Battlefront 2 will release a few months before The Last Jedi hits theaters, but appropriate DLC will be deployed in time to exploit the free publicity generated by the movie.
DICE, EA Motive and Criterion have assembled for a round table to talk Battlefront 2. First off, there was no table involved, but everything was round - or maybe that was just the result of my eyes trying to roll out of my skull. Not only does it now take three studios to make a Battlefield re-skin, but it also takes representatives from each separate studio to reinforce EA's marketing BS.
Ross
It's relatively difficult to filter out actually relevant information amidst all the high-fiving going on, but the most important news oozing off of this is that EA has abandoned its DLC model from the previous game, because it upset their customers enough to make the publisher reconsider its game-as-microtransaction-delivery-service approach. This time the DLC will be free, but will come with new microtransaction opportunities tiered by rarity, which of course means loot boxes - in a full price AAA title which includes a single player campaign. They might just get away with it while everyone is too busy being angry with for that exact same reason.
It is standard procedure to have movie tie-in games launch around the same time the corresponding movie hits theatres. Battlefront 2 will release a few weeks prior to The Last Jedi's theatric debut in order to position itself during the traditional AAA November release chaos, so the three studios, which we are assured are necessary to make such an incredibly deep project, will have DLC ready in time for the movie instead.
DICE
There is mention of a "Crate" planet for the DLC, but my hearing just be off. Is DICE abandoning all pretence in favour of creating a planet build entirely from loot crates held together by microtransaction magma?
Also, Disney and Lucas Corp seems to want to turn their various Star Wars spin-off narratives into more distinctive brands.
YouTube
The entire promotional affair aims to look like one of those Hollywood movie promotion interviews. The way the interviewer and cast are seated, the chairs they are seated in, and the simple game poster decoration behind them, it all looks as if these folk are about to talk about a movie. The 20 minute BS barrage is posted above, if you have the stomach for it.
