‘Star Wars Battlefront’ Game Launch: Artwork, Screenshots Reveal Details; EA Sets High Sales Expectations

Official artwork and screenshots from Electronic Arts' forthcoming “Star Wars Battlefront” game have recently surfaced. Hints that the game would include AT-STs (All Terrain Scout Transports, the two-legged walker vehicles introduced in "The Empire Strikes Back") have been confirmed, said Matthew Everett, community manager for the new game.

The game is among a galaxy of products being developed as tie-ins with the forthcoming film, “Star Wars: The Force Awakens,” which is set to premiere Dec. 18 in the United States. The film will be the latest in the "Star Wars" series that began in 1977.

The website DualShockers.com first spotted the tweet that shows off the new game's AT-STs. In a Twitter conversation with a fan, Everett said the game's developers have kept all the old fan-favorite features of the previous version, while adding some exciting new features.

"Star Wars Battlefront" is one of the most anticipated games of 2015, and Game Informer reports that EA has high sales expectations. “We certainly hope we can leverage a lot of the hype," said Blake Jorgensen, chief financial officer for EA, as quoted by Game Informer. He added that EA expects to sell "roughly 9 to 10 million units for the title, which we believe is the upside if things go well.”

EA bases its numbers on the performance of the earlier “Battlefront” game, which moved 9 million units. When the performance of its biggest franchise, “Battlefield,” is added into the equation, sales of "Star Wars"-related titles can reach 15 million units.

The expected success of “Star Wars Battlefront” may be due in part to expectations that EA has learned from problems it experienced with the launch of "Battlefield 4." Many regard that launch to have been a fiasco, as IGN reports.

“We’ve launched a lot of large-scale titles on our infrastructure [since "Battlefield"]. … We’ve been making significant investments into core infrastructure in security and stability,” Jorgensen said, as quoted by IGN. When it comes to “Star Wars Battlefront,” the team is bringing with it the experience of “Battlefield 4” to make sure that unforeseen events are kept to a minimum.

Here is video of the "Star Wars Battlefront" announcement, via YouTube/EAStarWars.