Star Wars: Battlefront Only Launched With Three Servers

According to CultureCrave on X, the launch night of Star Wars: Battlefront Classic Collection saw over 10,000 players attempting to join the game. However, only three servers, each accommodating up to 64 players, were available, totaling just 192 spots. This limited capacity is reflective of 2004 standards. It did not live up to the expectations of contemporary gaming and Aspyr ought to have fixed it before release.

Fortunately, Aspyr resolved the server issue within an hour by adding more official servers and enabling community servers to appear in the browser. Similar server overload problems were seen with Helldivers 2 recently.

Despite multiplayer setbacks, the single-player modes of Star Wars: Battlefront Classic Collection remain unaffected and offer engaging experiences covering iconic moments from the original and prequel trilogies. Aspyr has already increased server capacity and fans hope for further upgrades to meet modern standards. 

The Classic Collection, priced at $34.99 and comprising the original two Star Wars: Battlefront games, debuted on March 14, with a ‘mostly negative” rating on Steam, garnering only 21% positive reviews. Many complaints, particularly centered on connectivity problems, have flooded in from Steam and social media users. One user stated, “Was only able to join one Heroes versus Villains match, and the Heroes’ side was completely broken. No one could join the Heroes team which resulted in no one to fight against. I figured this may have been just a Battlefront 2 issue so I hopped on over to play Battlefront 1 multiplayer. There's zero servers up for Battlefield 1. Wow.”

Impact of Server Issues on Gameplay

Early reports from users indicated that there were only three servers available for Battlefront 2 on PC. Each server was capable of accommodating 64 players, resulting in a total capacity of 192 players. With Steam reporting 9,232 players at a given moment, it suggests that hundreds, if not thousands, of players were unable to join servers due to the limited capacity.

Players on other platforms also experienced similar issues, including difficulties joining multiplayer matches or setting up their own servers. In addition to server problems, players encountered other bugs such as game crashes and missing cutscenes.

Within less than a day of its release on Steam, the reviews for the game were deemed “Mostly Negative,” with 1,972 reviews already submitted as of March 14.

This isn’t the first time that developer Aspyr has faced such issues. When releasing Tomb Raider 1-3 Remastered, players on the Epic Games Store encountered a “development build with incomplete assets.” Aspyr also faced a class-action lawsuit after canceling the Restored Content DLC for Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic 2 on Switch.

The Star Wars gaming community has been facing challenges recently. The cancellation of a first-person shooter based on The Mandalorian also adds to the frustration.

A Mixed Collection

The primary reason for the overwhelmingly negative review status of the Star Wars: Battlefront Classic Collection on Steam is its problematic online play. Initially, only three servers were available, which was inadequate for such a highly anticipated release. Players also encountered poor connection issues, rendering a significant portion of the games nearly unplayable.

According to a message posted on Aspyr’s support site shortly after the collection’s release, critical errors with the network infrastructure led to high ping, matchmaking errors, crashes, and servers not appearing in the browser. Aspyr acknowledged these issues and stated that efforts were underway to stabilize the network infrastructure.

While some of the initial online play issues have been resolved a couple of days after release, users have noticed additional problems such as the inability to invert controls, poorly remastered or missing cutscenes, and limitations on local play to just two players. Given the $35 price tag, the abundance of issues makes it difficult to recommend the collection until it undergoes substantial patching and discounts.

However, there are still positive aspects to the collection. Having both Battlefront games bundled together in a single launcher is appreciated, as is their availability on Nintendo Switch and PlayStation platforms for the first time. Despite the setbacks, the core gameplay of both shooters remains appealing, and some players have enjoyed experiencing online multiplayer for the first time—when it functions properly. Nevertheless, many feel that Aspyr missed a significant opportunity to deliver a better experience with this revival

Aspyr Reply To ‘Overwhelmingly Negative’ Reviews

With the Steam user reviews now firmly in the “Overwhelmingly Negative” category, it's evident that the launch of the Star Wars: Battlefront Classic Collection has been a catastrophe. Described by players as “Probably one of the worst launches of all time” within hours of release, the collection has been a major setback for Aspyr following the recent well-received Tomb Raider remasters.

In response to the backlash, Aspyr has issued a notably brief statement acknowledging the issues. They express gratitude for the “overwhelming support and feedback” from the Battlefront community while admitting to "critical errors with our network infrastructure" resulting in various problems like high ping, matchmaking errors, crashes, and server visibility issues.

Interestingly, Aspyr suggests that the problem wasn’t necessarily the lack of servers but rather their visibility due to glitches or other issues. This aligns with players’ experiences of encountering only a few servers despite the high demand.

While Aspyr promises to address these issues and improve network stability, the statement may not be enough to satisfy disappointed players. Many complaints, such as audio glitches and poor controller support, remain unaddressed. Moreover, there's curiosity about the substantial increase in download size compared to the original games, without apparent graphical improvements.

There's hope that Aspyr can rectify the situation. The Battlefront community and the nostalgia for these classic games deserve a better experience, and it's still possible for Aspyr to salvage the situation.

Star Wars: Battlefront Classic Collection Review Bombing

Despite the current challenges faced by the Star Wars: Battlefront Classic Collection, there's reason for optimism. Reflecting on the launch of DICE's Star Wars Battlefront 2 in 2017, which initially faced controversy over microtransactions but has since seen a resurgence in players, there's hope for improvement. DICE's dedication to updates and improvements turned the situation around, offering a valuable lesson for Aspyr.

Aspyr can learn from DICE’s experience and prioritize addressing the ongoing issues with the Classic Collection. While the future remains uncertain, there's potential for the game to meet players' expectations with the right efforts and resources. With recent disappointing news about the cancellation of Respawn's Star Wars FPS, fans are eager for positive developments within the franchise. Hopefully, Aspyr remains committed to improving the Classic Collection and unlocking its full potential.

The game plays almost exactly the same as the God of War franchise so if you know how to play those games, you'll be able to pick up and play this one without much trouble. However, while the game is virtually the same as God of War in terms of gameplay, the environment and atmosphere is vastly different and where this game really shines. The music is one of the most atmospheric details about this game. It has a very demonic feel to it and it sends chills down my spine when it starts to crescendo at the right time and place. And don't get me started on the environment. The depictions of the various levels of Hell and the eldritch horrors that occupy them is extremely detailed and imaginative, ESPECIALLY with the fight against Cerberus. I have never seen such a unique interpretation of the 3-headed hellhound in my life.

In conclusion, I had a lot of fun with this title mostly from the atmosphere alone, but if you want to play it for yourself, I highly recommend that you get one of the console versions as the PSP version has quite a bit of content cut from it in exchange for a digital comic which really isn't worth the amount of game that was removed. But until then, I'll be seeing you.

Console Score

PSP Score

After getting hit with negative game reviews, outrage over buying and then closing smaller game studios, and general poor feedback, Electronic Arts is looking at it's first unanimously great PR move in years. Unfortunately, it may be lessened considerably due to a supposed editing error. which has since been fixed, that censored former NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick's name out of "Big Bank" by YG, a song off of Madden 19's soundtrack.

So, setting politics aside, is Madden 19 worth being a part of your gaming budget?

If you are a fan of the NFL that plays exclusively on PC, absolutely snatch this up. Madden 19 improves on everything its predecessor created, except Longshot. This time around it plays more like a JRPG with long, unskippable cutscenes combined with short moments of gameplay. There is only one choice in the entire game mode, what quarterback Devin Wade admires, be careful though, your selection determines what style he becomes later on and as a player in MUT. It is rather short as well, leaving you feeling like nothing really happened, unlike in the first iteration of the mode.

What it lacks in Longshot, it makes up for in MUT. The levels and challenges have been beefed up and rewards are more frequent. The chemistry system is a lot easier to see and you can now change the chemistry of players. It is still a little lacking compared to FIFA's chemistry system but definitely improved in Madden 19. EA did include the amazing squad battle feature from FIFA and removed the horrendous, coin draining, contracts that worked well in FIFA, but never quite translated to Madden. Both of those changes combined means an influx of coins will be coming your way. After only a few hours, the coins earned were more than sufficient to form a decent high silver team.

Graphically, Madden 19 is an upgrade in every way. Some of the faces of lesser players, like kickers and punters get a scary treatment and the fans look like they were copy and pasted from the last Madden PC game but besides those small issues, the game is absolutely beautiful.

Waiting until E3 to announce the expansion to PC, EA could be using Madden 19 as a test run for future Madden games on the platform, as well as a potential NHL comeback. Back in 2008 when it was announced that Madden 09 was not coming back to PC, EA stated that, "The PC presents some very serious business challenges to us in the sports category..." and when they pulled NHL off the PC in 2009, EA cited a "...continuing decline in the sports PC market." With the launching of EA's own Competitive Gaming Division in 2015, and earlier this year, an eSport league in conjunction with their FIFA franchise and Major League Soccer titled eMLS, EA seems to be both putting more value on competitive sports gaming and expanding their existing IPs. Those actions by Electronic Arts, when looked at with their quotes from years ago, suggest that they have seen an increase in the sports PC market worthy enough to bring back Madden.

Madden 19's success could very well change the fate of the franchise and the potential of an authentic NHL game hitting Origin by 2020.


Madden 19 for PC can be found on EA's Origin client with two versions available for purchase: the standard edition for $59.99 and the Hall of Fame edition for $79.99