Star Wars Battlefront beta indicates playable Han, Leia, & Emperor

Update: It's confirmed, you'll be able to play as Han, Leia, and Emperor Palpatine in Star Wars Battlefront.

Original story: It's been more than a month since EA and DICE teased the next hero reveal for Star Wars Battlefront - but it only took a few days once players got their hands on the beta. Reddit user TheeUberMedic dug into the data files and found multiple voice over references that indicate the next two heroes (and one villain) headed into the fray: Han Solo, Princess Leia, and Emperor Palpatine. Apparently DICE was unconvinced by our Battlefront hero poll, though, because it doesn't look like Yoda will be playable.

With Luke Skywalker, Darth Vader, and Boba Fett confirmed, that brings the Hero and Villain count up to six. I'm also in on the PC beta, so I was able to confirm the file references myself. But don't take our word for it: Redditor radgamerdan extracted a bunch of the as-yet unused voice over files so you can hear what the new characters will sound like in action.

You can listen to Han Solo's VO tracks on Soundcloud. Han's "Force Power" voice samples call out for assistance from Chewbacca, who has not been found as a separate hero character; maybe Han's abilities will let his wookie pal provide aerial support from the Millennium Falcon.

Aside from unconfirmed heroes, the data files also pointed to another mode called "Hero Hunt." Judging by the voiceover files, it sounds like you'll stage your own miniature Order 66 as you hunt down all the good guys - unless you're playing as one of said good guys, in which case watch out for Boba Fett.

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Connor Sheridan

I got a BA in journalism from Central Michigan University - though the best education I received there was from CM Life, its student-run newspaper. Long before that, I started pursuing my degree in video games by bugging my older brother to let me play Zelda on the Super Nintendo. I've previously been a news intern for GameSpot, a news writer for CVG, and now I'm a staff writer here at GamesRadar.