Star Wars: Battlefront Classic Collection's lack of cross-play suggests it's 'dead on arrival'
Remember at the end of The Empire Strikes Back, when Darth Vader tells Luke Skywalker he's his father and the latter says, "No. No. That's not true. That's impossible!" Well, that's how we feel when it comes to Aspyr's Star Wars: Battlefront Classic Collection.
While Battlefront games have something of a tarnished reputation thanks to the microtransaction scandal of 2017's Battlefront II, the original series under Pandemic Studios is up there with some of the best Star Wars games. Unfortunately, the new-gen revamp of the first two games is already falling short.
Star Wars: Battlefront Classic Collection is launching without cross-play
2004's Battlefront and 2005's Battlefront II are getting a facelift, coming to Windows, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S on March 14. When the Star Wars: Battlefront Classic Collection was revealed at the recent Nintendo showcase, there were concerns that there was no mention of cross-play.
Considering the Battlefront Classic Collection made a big deal of hyping its massive 64-player maps, you'd think cross-play would be a standard feature. Someone put the question to Aspyr via a support ticket, and confirming our worst fears, it seems cross-player has been Force-choked.
The concerned fan shared the news on Reddit, and while cross-play isn't coming at launch, the Aspyr support agent at least confirmed cross-generation multiplayer between PS4 and PS5/Xbox One and Xbox Series is available. Although it's possible cross-play could be added at a later date, the agent made no mention of it.
Star Wars fans declare the Battlefront Classic Collection as DOA
Click to enlargeAs you can imagine, fans of the Star Wars: Battlefront Classic Collection are less than happy with the news. The average Xbox and PlayStation fanbase isn't split like Jedi and Sith, meaning we like to play with our console cousins. After all, that's the whole point of Battlefront as you try to save the galaxy together.
Responding to the news on Reddit, it's clear wannabe Rebel scum are up in arms. One disgruntled gamer wrote, "How does anyone think this is a smart decision? Xbox version will be dead in 3 weeks, probably no leaderboards either, games chalked before it comes out!"
Another added, "Wow thanks for letting me know. Literally no reason to buy this when I already have the two ogs on steam," while a third said, "This post just decided for me which device to buy this on, Switch. Going to have the highest online player count."
There were complaints that Aspyr is a "one-and-done" developer, with accusations that the developer doesn't put much effort into its ports. It's sad to see two classic games with so much potential frozen in carbonite as players are pulling the plug before they've even given it a go. Sigh, pour one out for topless Kit Fisto.
