Star Wars Battlefront - the full Star Wars Celebration panel recap

A capacity crowd filled the Anaheim Convention Center, with all attendees aching to see the first footage of Star Wars Battlefront. The full reveal came earlier today, released just moments before the panel started. Here's what emerged from this special presentation from EA, DICE, and Lucasfilm.

The panel kicked off with the premiere trailer revealed earlier today. It was the gritty battle between the Rebels and the Imperial forces. There were Stormtroopers on speeders, AT-ST and AT-AT walkers, X-Wing bombing runs, and Darth Vader choking the life out any Rebel soldier that walked. The crowd erupted at every part of the trailer, especially once the Star Wars title theme kicked in.

The panel continued with representatives from Lucasfilm and DICE taking the stage. A talk with the DICE developers showed their excitement for what's ahead, revealing the early days of the DICE/Lucasfilm collaboration. They talked about visiting Skywalker Ranch and reminisced on their experiences watching the original films for the first time, before getting their hands on the archives for the first time. The models include the original Death Star, the droid models, the walkers, and the many starships, which include the Imperial Star Destroyer. As part of the pre-production effort, DICE took photographs of the archived props from all angles, while also traveling to the original film locations.

DICE followed this up by pointing out to the crowd that all footage shown to the crowd was in-engine footage. That segued into the gameplay portion of the panel. DICE confirmed that players will be able to switch from first-person and third-person views. They addressed Darth Vader and Boba Fett's appearances in the trailer, noting that players will get the opportunity to play as their favorite characters at various points. They further dissected the trailer, noting that Battlefront would be the first opportunity to visit the volcanic planet Sullust for the first time. DICE notes that they're aiming to flesh out the whole worlds, offering just as much of an opportunity for exploration, as well as combat.

DICE then revealed the November 17 release date to the crowd in attendance, noting its proximity to this year's "Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens." They pointed to the planet Jakku, revealed in yesterday's movie trailer. For those that don't remember, it was the one with the fallen Star Destroyer. DICE pointed to a pivotal battle that took place following the Battle of Endor in "Return of the Jedi," noting that Battlefront players would get to play out this battle as free DLC on December 8, a news bit that was also confirmed earlier this morning.

The topic then turned to PlayStation owners and a previously unrevealed item. A special Star Wars Battlefront PlayStation 4 box was shown to the crowd in attendance. Only five of these are in existence, with three given away to random panel attendees. Two others are slated to be given away on Twitter at a later time. The box contains a PS4, as well as a download code for Battlefront.

The panel closed with word from DICE, which could hardly be heard over the shouts of "Show it again!" The crowd wanted a second helping of the trailer and the panel obliged.

No other major news was revealed at the panel, but it was not needed for this Star Wars Celebration crowd. Just like the first time, they were captivated with just about every scene.

Star Wars Battlefront is set to release on Xbox One, PlayStation 4, and PC on November 17.

Ozzie Mejia

Senior Editor

Ozzie has been playing video games since picking up his first NES controller at age 5. He has been into games ever since, only briefly stepping away during his college years. But he was pulled back in after spending years in QA circles for both THQ and Activision, mostly spending time helping to push forward the Guitar Hero series at its peak. Ozzie has become a big fan of platformers, puzzle games, shooters, and RPGs, just to name a few genres, but he’s also a huge sucker for anything with a good, compelling narrative behind it. Because what are video games if you can't enjoy a good story with a fresh Cherry Coke?