Multiplayer restored to 16-year-old game in celebration of Star Wars Day

May 4 is a renowned date for Star Wars fans due to the saying “may the fourth be with you.” Aside from being a fun saying, many things occur that coincide with the revered date.

During the time between May 4 and May 5 (revenge of the fifth) Star Wars merchandise such as games, movies and toys tend to be given discounts or are more prominently displayed on store shelves. Physically or virtually.

One major event that marked this year’s May 4 was the original “Star Wars: Battlefront” getting its multiplayer gameplay back. This is not the 2015 Battlefront created by Electronic Arts, but the original Battlefront game developed by Pandemic Studios and published by Lucas Arts back in 2004.

“Star Wars: Battlefront” was released in 2004 for the original PlayStation and Xbox. It is an action/shooter that lets you play in the most famous battles of the Star Wars universe or on other, lesser-known battlefields. Every weapon, vehicle or turret is meant to be used to secure victory and defeat the enemy.

“Star Wars: Battlefront” was brought into the Steam store in 2019, but it did not have any supported multiplayer. Instead of the game only the single-player Galactic Conquest campaigns and Instant Action game modes. This was unlike its descendent, “Star Wars: Battlefront 2” which was released on Steam in 2017 with multiplayer already implemented.

This has all changed since May 4. Now any player with a Steam copy of “Star Wars: Battlefront” can easily play together on official servers. This allows for up to 32 players to fight with or against one another in epic conflicts.

The original “Battlefront” set a precedent for future action games of a similar style and the game choices and mechanics were some of the best on the market at the time. It is good to see older games such as “Battlefront” given new updates that can reinvigorate fans from years ago.