Star Wars: Battlefront looks like it could be the most immersive and authentic Star Wars game in years - perhaps ever. With massive 40 player battles, ground-to-air vehicular combat, playable characters like Boba Fett and Darth Vader, and graphics built from the films' original props, Star Wars: Battlefront looks like it'll have a little bit of everything.

Well, almost everything. While Star Wars: Battlefront will let players battle in a variety of locations from the original trilogy, the prequels and upcoming sequels won't make an in-game appearance. That means that players might be able to duke it out on snowbound Hoth or the forest moon of Endor, but anyone who wants to visit planets like The Phantom Menace's Naboo or the cloning facility on Kamino is plain out of luck.

There's one exception: a few weeks after Star Wars: Battlefront makes its way into players' hands, DICE will release a DLC pack to help bridge the gap between The Return of the Jedi and J.J. Abrams' new Star Wars film, The Force Awakens. The expansion is called "The Battle of Jakku," and will let players reenact a pivotal battle from Star Wars lore, in which the newly victorious Rebel Alliance takes on one of the last remaining Imperial strongholds.

The planet Jakku and its barren desert landscapes feature prominently in The Force Awakens' two teaser trailers. The most recent teaser opens with a long shot of a speeder cruising along Jakku's dunes, passing the remains of an X-Wing and a crashed Imperial Star Destroyer; later, the Millennium Falcon whizzes out of the sunlight and into the remains of a ruined spaceship. According to DICE, these ships were casualties of the Battle of Jakku, and Star Wars: Battlefront's DLC will show fans what, exactly, happened during this epic conflict.

Star Wars: Battlefront's Battle of Jakku DLC arrives on December 8, three weeks after the base game launches, and two and a half weeks before The Force Awakens' hotly anticipated release. However, players who pre-order Star Wars: Battlefront will get access to the DLC a week early, on December 1. The Battle of Jakku DLC will be free to everyone whether they pre-order or not.

The DLC is a canny way to keep the Star Wars hype train at full speed between Star Wars: Battlefront's release and The Force Awakens' premiere. DICE has already shown a slavish dedication to maintaining the Star Wars canon, enlisting Lucasfilm's help to make sure that everything featured in the game is kosher, and it's exciting that Star Wars: Battlefront won't just get to honor the series' lore, but actually add to it as well.

Star Wars: Battlefront releases November 17, 2015 for PC, PS4, and Xbox One.

Source: Star Wars Celebration