In the AAA space, one of the more tangible signs that a video game is nearing its due date is the release of a live-action trailer. As we’re now knee-deep in what is arguably the busiest time of the year for new releases, said sizzle reels have been arriving thick and fast, with Need for Speed, Fallout 4 and Call of Duty: Black Ops III all receiving the live-action treatment in recent weeks. Now, it’s Star Wars Battlefront‘s turn.
With little over a week to go until the shooter’s anticipated launch, EA and DICE have pulled back the curtain on today’s new footage, which opens with shots of real-life humans being transported into another world. Keen to trumpet the escapism and immersion that Battlefront offers, it’s as though the rapture is plucking people of all shapes and sizes, only in this case transporting them onto the nostalgic plains of Endor, Hoth, Sullust and Tatooine.
Featuring a cameo by Pitch Perfect star Anna Kendrick, it’s at this point that the footage shifts gears into a CG-rendered trailer for Star Wars Battlefront itself. From the rat-a-tat gameplay to the riveting shots of the Millennium Falcon soaring through the air mid-battle, DICE’s new snippet is coated in a special kind of fan service, which is really emblematic of the licensed title as a whole.
Star Wars Battlefront will crack open the Lucasfilm archives when DICE’s shooter launches across all platforms on November 17 in North America. Its Battle of Jakku DLC, meanwhile, will be available to those who pre-ordered first on December 1, before opening to all players a week later.
