Star Wars Battlefront is a 2015 action shooter video game developed by DICE and published by Electronic Arts.

Players can also assume the role of iconic characters from the Star Wars films, which serve as "heroes" and, similarly to vehicles, are unlocked during every match by finding specific tokens across the map.

At launch, the hero roster included Luke Skywalker, Darth Vader, Han Solo, Emperor Palpatine, Leia Organa, and Boba Fett, with Nien Nunb, Greedo, Lando Calrissian, Dengar, Bossk, Chewbacca, Jyn Erso, and Orson Krennic being added later through DLC.

A "Cat-and-Mouse" style game mode which pits a single Hero character against seven other players on the opposing team.

This round-based game mode features all hero and villain characters from the Rebel Alliance and Galactic Empire.

Small teams formed by artists were responsible for selecting the right assets that could be used by level designers to build maps.

[22] In June 2014, it was revealed at EA's E3 2014 press conference that the ice planet Hoth and the forest moon of Endor would be playable maps for the game.

[25] In early March 2015, the first gameplay footage of the game was shown at a private retail event and received a standing ovation from the audience.

[32] On June 15, further gameplay was shown at E3 2015 depicting the Walker Assault mode on Hoth from perspectives of both the Rebel Alliance and the Galactic Empire using various weapons, items and vehicles such as the AT-AT walker, Snowspeeders and TIE Fighters ending with playable characters Luke Skywalker and Darth Vader engaging in battle.

[45] It introduces the Cloud City, Bespin, and allows players to play as the hero Lando Calrissian and the bounty hunter Dengar.

The expansion pack introduces characters Director Orson Krennic for the Empire and Jyn Erso for the Rebellion.

[49] Criterion Games developed a PlayStation VR exclusive mission titled Rogue One: X-Wing VR Mission, taking place alongside the events of the 2016 Star Wars Anthology film, Rogue One: A Star Wars Story.

Players defend the Rebel base from the Galactic Empire using Star Cards featuring vehicles, weapons, and power-ups.

In the companion app, players can earn virtual credits, which can be used to unlock star cards, weapons, and character customization in the main game.

[52][53] A novel based on the game titled, Star Wars Battlefront: Twilight Company, was written by Alexander Freed, a former developer from Electronic Arts subsidiary BioWare.

Moreover, he praised the accuracy of Stormtroopers for its being "at least 100% true to the movie" and called wave-one soldiers "exceptionally special" while pointing out the flaw that the game had an unusual balance of Star Wars heroes and villains.

For example, Darth Vader would be splatted by any passing ship while Luke Skywalker would have "far more luck on the 'looking epic' side of things" such as successfully destroying an AT-ST solo.

[56] Steven Storm of Ars Technica praised the visuals, stating: "DICE has at least captured the look and feel of Star Wars, perhaps better than any other game with the license before it.

[58][59][60] Mizuho Securities analyst Neil Doshi noted the negative reviews, but predicted that the game would prevail as a financial hit.

[68] Due to heavy criticism about the gameplay's lack of depth and approach to casual gamers, Blake Jorgensen, Electronic Arts' chief financial officer admitted that the game was intentionally designed to be accessible for those new to first-person shooter games, or children wanting to play with their parents, going against the hardcore fanbase of Star Wars: Battlefront (2004).

[62][68] Andrew Reiner of Game Informer criticized the Season Pass approach by feeling a little cheated given the sparse content available at launch.

[74] Electronic Arts expected the game to sell nine to ten million copies before the end of the company's 2016 financial year on March 31, 2016.

[77] It was also the fastest-selling online PlayStation 4 video game in the UK, breaking the record previously held by Destiny.

[78] In early December 2015, GameStop president Tony Bartel told retail investors that a number of key November games had sold fewer copies than the chain had expected.

Peter Moore, however, defended Star Wars Battlefront's launch sales and spoke out to investors to say that Electronic Arts was still standing by its target of selling 13 million copies by the end of March 2016.

[84] In Japan, the PlayStation 4 version sold 123,908 copies within its first week of release, placing it at number one on the all format sales chart.