Star Wars Battlefront's Battle of Jakku DLC will add a new game mode

The upcoming Star Wars Battlefront DLC Battle of Jakku will add a new 40-player mode to the game called Turning Point, EA announced today. The game mode will have Rebel forces pushing hard to capture a series of increasingly difficult checkpoints en route to taking an Imperial base on the surface of the planet, while the Empire's goons must hold the line against them.

Turning Point begins with Rebel forces needing to locate and capture one of three control points on the map within a specific time limit. Doing so will open new control points, and add more time to the clock. Eventually, the Rebels must advance to the Imperial base, then assault and capture it. Airspeeders and AT-STs will be the prominent vehicles in this mode, speeders on offense and walkers on defense.

EA also said that, unlike a certain other map that some Rebels found frustrating during the open beta, the outcome of a Turning Point is "never sure." It also offers a greater variety of tactical considerations to take into account than some other maps because control points captured by Rebels cannot be retaken by the Empire, even if Imperial forces are able to push the Rebels back.

The quickie teaser we saw earlier this month portrayed the Battle of Jakku as a sprawling, chaotic mess, and that's exactly what EA is going for. "We wanted to portray a battle completely surrounding you, in every direction," DICE Concept Artist Anton Grandert explained. "Debris is falling from the sky, telling the story of battles above. On the surface of the planet you can see ground troops as well as X-wings, all taking part of the fight."

The Battle of Jakku DLC will be available to anyone who preordered Star Wars Battlefront on December 1, while everyone else can get their hands on it a week later. In both cases, it will be free.

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Andy has been gaming on PCs from the very beginning, starting as a youngster with text adventures and primitive action games on a cassette-based TRS80. From there he graduated to the glory days of Sierra Online adventures and Microprose sims, ran a local BBS, learned how to build PCs, and developed a longstanding love of RPGs, immersive sims, and shooters. He began writing videogame news in 2007 for The Escapist and somehow managed to avoid getting fired until 2014, when he joined the storied ranks of PC Gamer. He covers all aspects of the industry, from new game announcements and patch notes to legal disputes, Twitch beefs, esports, and Henry Cavill. Lots of Henry Cavill.