New 40-Player Star Wars Battlefront Mode Announced

DICE announced today that Star Wars Battlefront's upcoming Force Awakens-inspired DLC, The Battle of Jakku, will introduce not only a new map, but also a 40-player mode called Turning Point.

In Turning Point, Rebels must locate Empire bases to attack and ultimately gain control of them. There are three Imperial bases on the new Jakku map. If Rebels capture one, more time is added to the clock and new bases become available. The end goal is to capture the Empire's third base "where the final stand will take place." DICE notes that capturing bases will become "increasingly challenging" as matches play out.

Once the Rebels have initiated a takeover of an Imperial base, Empire forces cannot reclaim it. This is when both sides will have to make some important choices.

"Let's say there's only 25% left of the claim process and the Empire has managed to drive away the Rebels. This means that the Empire have to choose between defending this vulnerable point or another part of the map," lead level designer Dennis Brännvall said in a statement. "The Rebels in turn need to decide where their next attack should be."

In terms of vehicles, Turning Point allows players to use airspeeders and AT-STs, the latter of which DICE notes will take on a "slightly more defensive" role compared to how they function in the other 40-player mode, Walker Assault.

Though the action is largely infantry-focused, there will be a good deal of action going on in the skies above. "The battles are ever-present; debris will be falling from the skies, and you'll even see a Super Star Destroyer come crashing down during the round," DICE said.

Alongside this news, EA also announced a new promotion for UK Battlefront fans. The company is holding a Battle of Jakku: Live from London event this coming Monday, November 30, beginning at 7 PM GMT. You can sign up here for a chance to get to play Battle of Jakku before its released. Sign-ups end November 25 at 11:59 PM. The event will be streamed live from the EA Star Wars Twitch account on Monday.

The Battle of Jakku launches as free DLC on December 1 for people who preordered Battlefront. Everyone else gets access to it on December 8. Jakku, as it's seen in Battlefront, takes place 29 years before its appearance in The Force Awakens. That movie comes to theaters on December 18.