The reveal of a PlayStation VR exclusive experience in the Star Wars universe back at the Game Developers Conference (GDC), San Francisco, this March came as a shock to many. It was no surprise that the franchise would eventually see adaptation to the new medium – LucasFilm’s own ILMxLAB has been openly talking about their work in virtual reality (VR) for some time – but that it would be Electronic Arts (EA) to be first out the gate did come as somewhat of a shock. Few details have yet been revealed about the experience, though EA has now confirmed what many has suspected.
Developed in partnership with EA and DICE – the latter being the studio responsible for the creation of the Frostbite engine – Star Wars: Battlefront VR will indeed be based on the same videogame engine that powers the popular Star Wars: Battlefront reboot on PlayStation 4, Xbox One and PC. Furthermore, it will be made available later this year.
These two small but not insignificant details were revealed during a Q4 2016 Earnings Call hosted by EA:
“Our unparalleled Frostbite engine will power more of our games this year, including an all-new Star Wars Battlefront experience for PlayStation VR,” stated Andrew P. Wilson, Chief Executive Officer & Director at EA.
Though it may have been easy to assume that Star Wars: Battlefront VR would use the Frostbite engine, this is the first confirmation EA has issued. Furthermore, during the announcement of the experience at GDC it was simply stated that the experience would be made available on PlayStation VR with more information coming ‘soon’, and as such the confirmation of a release in 2016 is good news.
No further details have yet been offered. It’s currently expected that Star Wars: Battlefront VR will debut at the Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3), Los Angeles, next month. VRFocus will of course be in attendance and will bring you all the latest details from the show floor.
