An old Star Wars game is finding new life in 2025. Star Wars Battlefront 2, released back in 2017, has seen its player count jump by more than 600% since April. The game now has nearly 8,000 people playing at once on Steam – numbers it hasn’t seen since 2021.
The surge started on May 2, 2025, right as Fortnite launched its big Star Wars event called Galactic Battle. While Fortnite players got to swing lightsabers and fly X-wings, many seemed to want an even more authentic Star Wars experience. That’s where Battlefront 2 came in.
This spike aligned perfectly with several key events. Fortnite’s massive Star Wars collaboration got people excited about Star Wars combat, while Battlefront 2 offered a more dedicated Star Wars battle experience.
The Star Wars buzz from Disney+ shows like Andor‘s finale helped too. The combination of the Fortnite event, the anti-cheat fix, the sale price, and the TV show excitement created multiple reasons for players to return to the game.
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What makes this comeback particularly interesting is the game’s history. When Battlefront 2 launched in 2017, it faced harsh criticism over its loot box system, where players had to pay extra money for advantages in the game. The backlash was so severe that EA’s response became the most downvoted comment in Reddit’s history.
But over the years, EA removed the controversial payment system and added lots of new content. The game now has 23 different battle maps from famous Star Wars locations like Naboo and Endor. Players can fight as their favorite characters from all three movie trilogies.
The numbers tell the story: from just 760 players in April 2025 to over 7,800 in May. That’s getting close to the game’s all-time record of 10,489 players, set back in January 2021.
What’s more impressive is that these numbers only count PC players on Steam. The actual total, including those playing on PlayStation, Xbox, and EA’s own app, is likely much higher.
The surge has sparked new discussions about a possible Battlefront 3, though EA hasn’t announced any plans. For now, players are simply enjoying this unexpected revival of a game that’s managed to overcome its rocky start and find a dedicated following eight years after its release.