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'Star Wars: Battlefront' to host free beta

"Star Wars: Battlefront" majored on the original films

Players on PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and Windows PC will be able to set about creating their own "Star Wars" moments when a multiplayer beta launches in October.

The official tie-in is being developed by DICE, a studio well known for its "Battlefield" franchise which has championed multivehicular and infantry combat since 2002, and in years gone past, the studio and its publisher Electronic Arts have hosted both closed and public betas in order to test out the readiness of the game's multiplayer aspect while giving players a taste of the action.

Preferential access has often been given to players that had pre-ordered the relevant title or an associated Electronic Arts release, but "Star Wars: Battlefront" will skip that in favor of an open beta system, EA told VentureBeat. Instead, interested players will soon be able to register for the beta through starwars.ea.com, with no apparent upper limit to sign-ups.

Set for early October, the beta will contain three maps and modes.

Already used to showcase "Star Wars Battlefront" this year, the Walker Assault on Hoth is a 40-player battle set around scenes from "Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back," and gives players the opportunity to become Luke Skywalker or Darth Vader.

The Survival Mission on Tatooine is a horde-based mode for two players, taking place on Skywalker's home planet, in which two Rebel soldiers must repel Imperial troops.

And a third mode, Drop Zone, was teased by EA's Star Wars blog, with details to follow in the coming weeks.

Also announced was an app for iOS and Android devices, the "Star Wars Battlefront Companion," which will launch alongside the main game on November 17, containing a digital card game "Base Command" plus friend updates and data pulled from "Battlefront" itself.

Parallel to the multiplayer beta announcement was the news that "Star Wars Battlefront" would adopt a different approach to the way its multiplayer games are populated on consoles.

A "new skill-based matchmaking system" would be implemented for "Star Wars Battlefront," clarified DICE's Community Manager on Reddit, rather than the usual server browser in which players could use a server browser to choose which live match they would join.

It's a footnote which has irked some longtime fans who want to retain that level of control over their use of the game, but also indicates that DICE is preparing to welcome the broad audience that the "Star Wars" name will bring in.