EA Says Star Wars Battlefront Will Draw in Lapsed Gamers, Younger Players

In addition to core shooter fans, Star Wars Battlefront is aiming to appeal to two other major categories of players: lapsed gamers and younger gamers. That's according to EA CEO Andrew Wilson, who talked more about the soon-to-launch sci-fi shooter recently as part of the company's latest earnings report.

"Anecdotally, what we have seen is that Star Wars Battlefront is bringing in two groups that are very important groups to us," Wilson said. "One are gamers that have lapsed, traditionally who have been big gamers in the past and maybe haven't played for a while, and [Battlefront's beta has] certainly been a catalyst for those people to come back into the gaming universe as it relates to console. And two, onboarding a new younger age demographic."

Wilson was asked what kind of overlap exists between the 6 million people still playing Battlefield 4 and Battlefield Hardline with Battlefront's 9.5 million beta players. Wilson acknowledged there is "absolutely a crossover," but added that Battlefront has the chance to bring in new players, too.

"We're very energized by the opportunity to bring in, one, that lapsed gaming group, as well as adding a new younger demographic going forward," he said. "And remember that this is a title, a shooter title, that will be more appropriate for younger players than maybe some other shooter titles in the market."

He didn't name any others outright, but he's likely referring to the Call of Duty series, which typically carries an M-for-Mature rating. Battlefront, on the other hand, is rated T-for-Teen.

Preorders for Battlefront are "excellent," EA says, while the game is expected to ship 13 million copies by the end of EA's current fiscal year. The publisher previously forecast shipments of 9-10 million, but raised its projections recently in part because of the positive response to Battlefront's beta.

In addition, EA has raised full-year revenue expectations by $50 million as a result of the strong response to Battlefront's multiplayer beta, among other things.

Battlefront launches on November 17 for Xbox One, PlayStation 4, and PC. In other recent news, EA has teased that the game's DLC pass will contain "new universes," additional weapons, and more.