Electronic Arts has announced that their Star Wars Battlefront II video game will be getting an entire season of Han Solo-related content as a way of celebrating the scruffy-looking smuggler's upcoming film. The Han Solo Season event, set within the confines of Jabba's Palace, will begin on May 15th, when the game introduces players to the Blast, Hero Showdown, or Heroes vs. Villains mode. Additionally, more content inspired by the Ron Howard-directed prequel will be made available for Battlefront II in June.
When the Han Solo Season content arrives, players will be invited to take part in 2 vs. 2 battles. The game will also host a series of new Appearances inspired by the opening act of “Return of the Jedi” and a custom arcade mode where players can fly Starfighters from all eras of the “Star Wars” universe. For those of you who enjoy the saga's iconic interstellar dogfights, this mode's for you.
Some players are already calling the Han Solo Season initiative an act of desperation for the game to get back on player's good graces, after the title's launch was plagued with a loot box and microtransaction system that left fans of the franchise feeling taken advantage of. In fact, the controversy surrounding the game was so intense that it drew the attention of the Netherlands’ Gaming Authority, who upon inspecting the game's many systems, discovered that four out of ten loot boxes directly violate its Betting and Gaming Act. As a result, EA now has until June 20th to change the way their loot system is handled, lest they want to pull the game from servers. Furthermore, three game developers in South Korea were fined nearly a million dollars by that country’s Fair Trade Commission for deceiving customers. To be honest, the whole ordeal has been a real mess. I've been watching this story from the sidelines for months, and none of the press has been in EA's favor.
Have you played Star Wars Battlefront II? Do you feel as if EA intentionally took advantage of its players by developing a crooked loot system? Will the Han Solo content get you back into the game? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below.
SOLO: A STAR WARS STORY starring Alden Ehrenreich, Emilia Clarke, Paul Bettany, Thandie Newton, Donald Glover, Jon Favreau, Woody Harrelson, and Warwick Davis will arrive in theaters on May 25th.