The Star Wars: Battlefront Classic Collection, a package of the original Star Wars: Battlefront games along with bonus maps and heroes, was unveiled during today's Nintendo Direct showcase. But there's good news for nostalgia-loving Star Wars gamers on PC, because it's also coming to Steam.
First things first: These are not the "new" Battlefront games that came out in 2015 and '17—they are instead the "Classic" precursors that arrived in 2004 and '05, and which are now referred to as such on Steam.
Despite their age, they retain a small but dedicated player base: As we said in 2015, "Star Wars: Battlefront 2 Classic still scratches an itch no other Star Wars game does." That calculus may have changed somewhat with the release of the newer Battlefront games, but those roots run deep.
Along with the base games, the Star Wars: Battlefront Classic Collection will include the Jabba's Palace bonus map for Battlefront, and the Bespin: Cloud City, Rhen Var: Harbor, Rhen Var: Citadel, and Yavin 4: Arena bonus maps, and Asajj Ventress and Kit Fisto bonus heroes, for Battlefront 2. The Hero Assault mode has also been expanded to be playable on all ground-based maps, including the Death Star, Kashyyyk, Kamino, and Naboo.
The announcement from developer Aspyr confirms the new package will run on Steam Deck, and there will be support for standard Steam features including achievements and cloud saves. Unfortunately, there's no mention of more meaningful enhancements, like crossplay or support for ultrawide displays. The Xbox and PlayStation versions support "cross-gen multiplayer," meaning that different generations of consoles can play together—so, Xbox One and Xbox Series X-S, or PS4 and PS5—but there's no reference on either of those storefronts, or on Steam, of cross-platform play.
The price might also be a bit off-putting. Aspyr said the Star Wars Battlefront Classic Collection will go for $35.01, presumably a reference to the storied 501s Legion that forms the backbone of the Battlefront 2 campaign. It's actually listed for $34.99 on the Xbox and PlayStation stores (no price has been posted on Steam at this point), but either way it seems a little high. The separate Battlefront Classic games go for $10 each on Steam, and that doesn't include the bonus content—but close to twice the price strikes me as a lot to pay for a handful of new maps and characters. Restored multiplayer is perhaps the biggest hook, but the Steam and GOG versions already support 64-person multiplayer, with crossplay between the storefronts.
The Star Wars: Battlefront Classic Collection is set to come out on March 14, Anyone who already owns either the original Battlefront or Battlefront 2 on Steam or Xbox will receive a 20% "loyalty discount" on the new Classic Collection during the preorder period. I've reached out to Aspyr for more information on other changes coming to the games, and will update if I receive a reply.
