Starting next week, fans of DICE's and Electronic Arts' science fiction shooter Star Wars Battlefront receive an offline single-player mode for the game.

According to a post on video game publisher Electronic Arts' official website, Star Wars Battlefront is set to receive an offline single player mode called Skirmish next Wednesday on July 20, 2016. Described as being "for all players," Star Wars Battlefront's new mode will allow fans to play alone or with a friend in split-screen against bots.

Although the inclusion of Skirmish should come as good news for most fans of Star Wars Battlefront, as a lot of fans have been desiring an offline mode since the title's launch about six months ago, some clarification is still required. For instance, in Electronic Arts' post on the matter, there's a mention of "console only" Skirmish offering Walker Assault and Fighter Squadron modes for multiple locations, but the press release doesn't specifically refer to anything about the game's PC port.

Considering the "console only" reference's placement is directly after the description of Skirmish mode's split-screen option, it might mean that the particular feature of playing with a friend for couch co-op can only be found on Star Wars Battlefront's PlayStation 4 or Xbox One versions. Conversely, since the mention of "console only" also precedes the next sentence that begins with a direct mention of Skirmish itself, it could mean that the mode is not available on PC.

It would be odd to offer both Skirmish and its split-screen capabilities to PS4 and Xbox One only, and effectively leave out either feature for Star Wars Battlefront's PC fans, but the most likely explanation is that couch co-op is solely for the console platforms, and Skirmish is coming to all versions. After all, most gamers on PC will attest to using their rigs exclusively for solo play.

In any event, the post from Electronic Arts goes on to confirm that Star Wars Battlefront will also update with free Hutt Contacts and in-game events, in addition to the inclusion of a free trial for players to experience the paid DLC portion of Bespin. Plus, and perhaps most excitingly, the publisher confirms the forthcoming release of the sci-fi shooter's next purchasable expansion pack of the Death Star in September.

The add-on centered around what's also known as the DS-1 Orbital Battle Station is set to add ground and space maps, new weapons, Star Cards, as well as two new heroes, "including one larger-than-life character we know you've been patiently waiting for." Considering the reference to size, Electronic Arts is more than likely alluding to Chewbacca, as the Wookie is one of the franchise's most towering figures both figuratively and literally, but it's anyone's guess as to who the other individual could be, especially since Dengar made his way into the game somehow. Nevertheless, all we can do at this point is speculate who the next characters are, and hope Skirmish makes up for Star Wars Battlefront's lack of single player at launch.

Star Wars Battlefront is out now and is available for PC, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One.

Source: Star Wars – EA