Electronic Arts believes it is “just getting started” with the Star Wars Battlefront franchise.
That’s according to EA Global Publishing Chief Laura Miele, who told GamesIndustry.biz that the publisher is confident about Battlefront‘s future, particularly after selling upwards of 14 million copies since its launch late last year.
That’s a feat DICE’s licensed shooter achieved without a single-player campaign – one of the common complaints levelled at Star Wars Battlefront – as it raced to the finish line to piggyback off the release of The Force Awakens. Nonetheless, Miele believes the series is off to a cracking start under EA: “[Battlefront] is one of the best-selling Star Wars games in the history of all Star Wars games and that’s our first one. We’re just getting started. So we feel like we have a great road ahead of us in this franchise.”
Now approaching its seventh month on the market, Star Wars Battlefront has received the Outer Rim and Bespin expansions, with reports indicating that the final add-on, Death Star, will drop alongside the shooter’s one-year anniversary in November.
It’s this lasting appeal that fuels EA’s content rollout, according to Miele, who revealed that the publisher feels “an obligation to this franchise and brand.”
“The thing that has been so fulfilling and rewarding to us is that not only do we feel an obligation to this franchise and brand because we love it so much and we’re such fans ourselves, but it was actually incredibly rewarding for our employees and our staff. They wanted to work on it. It actually helped us draw great talent into the company.”
Star Wars Battlefront recently received the Bespin expansion, whisking players to the eye-watering heights of Cloud City. Beyond that, DICE is collaborating with Criterion on PSVR-exclusive missions, while there’s also word of a direct sequel making its bow in 2017.