Los Angeles, CA – The release of Star Wars: Battlefront Classic Collection last week was fraught with controversy, as it came to light that the game had mistakenly featured a community-made mod in an official trailer before launch. Developer Aspyr initially denied including any unauthorized content in the game, but evidence of the mod, created by ‘iamshaymin’, was found in the release build of the game.
Reports from players revealed that footage of the mod was present in the PS5 version of the game without proper credit, leading to questions about Aspyr’s claims. While the company stated that the mod had been replaced with their own version in subsequent patches, it appeared that the original mod still existed in an earlier release of the game, contrary to Aspyr’s assurances.
In response to the discovery, iamshaymin expressed confusion and frustration, stating, “We don’t know how or why my Ventress ended up in the full release when we were specifically told by them it wouldn’t be.” The modder also highlighted the chaotic launch of the collection, noting that patches intended to remove certain content were rumored to have failed in doing so.
Aspyr addressed the situation by acknowledging the mistake, attributing the issue to placeholder footage mistakenly included in the announcement trailer. The company reiterated that the official release of Star Wars: Battlefront Classic Collection did not contain any code or content sourced without proper credit.
Additionally, Aspyr issued a statement regarding the game’s online multiplayer launch, which raised further concerns among players. The controversy surrounding the inclusion of unauthorized mod content has cast a shadow over the game’s reception, prompting backlash from the Star Wars: Battlefront community and raising questions about the integrity of the development process.
The situation underscores the challenges faced by developers in ensuring the authenticity and originality of their creations, particularly in the age of community-generated content and mods. Moving forward, it remains to be seen how Aspyr will address the fallout from this incident and regain the trust of players who have been affected by the controversy.