The last thing I expected to wake up to this morning was over 30,000 players jumping to play one of the most hated AAA games in the past decade.
If you don't already know, Star Wars Battlefront II is on sale on Steam for a measly $4. Clearly, that enticed some folks because the all-time high concurrent player count on Steam charts is over 35K, and that’s just in the last 30 days. Previously, the peak was 10K.
I've got to wonder, is the price really all that's driving players to Battlefront II? Because previously, you literally could not pay me to play that game. Let's take a closer look at the past hate and its recent resurgence.
Why are so many people playing Battlefront II?
When Battlefront II originally launched, fans of the franchise, like myself, were upset by the absurd microtransactions, and rightfully so. However, gamers used their power for good for once and pressured EA into ditching the microtransactions, which actually worked.
Of course, microtransactions weren't the only problem. There was a disappointing single-player mode, and the overall multiplayer content was lacking. However, a few years later, Battlefront II pushed a spate of updates up until 2020, and the game felt a major improvement, at least according to David Jagneaux’s IGN review in 2019.
But if the last major update came in 2020, does that mean the sale really is what’s driving its current player count? Yes and no. It may actually be the byproduct of a slew of Star Wars-related content.
In the past month, we had May the Fourth (basically a Star Wars holiday), Andor Season 2, a Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith re-release in theaters, and even a Star Wars-themed Fortnite season.
Combine that with a steep discount, and it’s not a huge surprise that we’re seeing a massive resurgence. Even Andor actor Muhannad Ben Amor took to Instagram, hoping for a Battlefront III to happen.
Considering what happened with Star Wars Battlefront II, I severely doubted we’d see a Battlefront III anytime soon, at least until today. With this many people jumping to play Battlefront II, it’s not unreasonable to think that EA is going to see this resurgence and start planning on how to capitalize on it.
It’s kinda gross when you think about it that way, but at least people will get what they want. The question is: Will they get it how they want it?
Looking at the price and how far the game has come, maybe I’d give it a try for $4 — I’m sure that’s what 35,000 players thought as well.
