Star Wars: Battlefront II’s Promotion Will Tie In With The Last Jedi

The timing of Star Wars: Battlefront II‘s release in a couple of weeks couldn’t be better, as it gives Electronic Arts a chance to hype the game before the release of Star Wars: The Last Jedi, which hits theaters a month later on December 15th.

During this week’s earnings briefing, EA CFO Blake Jorgensen noted how tying events in with big movies pays off big time with its games. For instance, the 2015 release of the first Star Wars: Battlefront benefitted big time tying in with Star Wars: The Force Awakens, including a free multiplayer map that takes place on the planet of Jakku – a key location from the film.

As a result of the tie-in – and heavy promotion by the company, obviously – the game managed to sell more than 15 million copies, becoming one of the biggest Star Wars games ever. And EA expects Battlefront II to be even bigger, with its vast improvements, its new single player campaign, and its still-to-come free downloadable content.

Jorgensen pointed out that the release of The Last Jedi serves as a key opportunity to get people on board with Battlefront II, in the form of a discount. Usually, they’re reserved for when a game underperforms, but Jorgensen noted that it’s different from that.

Speaking with the MP1st, he said, “That’s the way the games business always has worked. And so if you see the title on discount, don’t ready anything into that other than the fact that, that’s the way you sell games in the holidays.” And if you need something by comparison, EA usually offers a discount around the Super Bowl for its Madden games, in an attempt to entice more of a football audience to jump in.

As you’re probably already aware, Battlefront II has some pre-order goods from The Last Jedi that you can use in the multiplayer portion of the game. There could possibly be more DLC from the film coming, but EA hasn’t disclosed what that could be just yet. The more, the merrier, especially considering that the film is expected to be one of the holiday season’s biggest, if not the biggest.

Star Wars: Battlefront II releases on November 17th for Xbox One, PlayStation 4 and PC