Action game focus of the game is online multiplayer with up to 40 player battles

War of Star Battlefront Fighting is an action game played from either a first-person or third-person view; players can switch views whenever desired, similar to previous games, except when controlling "hero" characters or their personal guards.

The game has first and third person perspectives, allowing the players to choose between the two. The focus of the game is online multiplayer with up to 40 player battles; however, there are also offline challenges inspired by moments in the films that can be played solo or co-op either online or with split-screen.

The offline challenges are re-playable with a range of difficulty. Unlike previous games in the series, there is not a traditional campaign. Players can play as the Rebel Alliance or the Galactic Empire in addition to being able to play as key characters from the franchise. Players also gain the use of familiar props such as speeders, X-wing fighters, lightsabers and AT-ATs. DICE has also added power-ups such as shields and explosives. New items never seen before in the films are also added to game-play. Using a technique called photogrammetry, DICE was able to turn hundreds of photographs of real Star Wars props into three-dimensional digital models bringing the feel and look of the films directly into the game.

The series normally revolve around two armies – the Galactic Republic versus the Confederacy of Independent Systems or the Galactic Empire versus the Rebel Alliance or First Order versus the Resistance – fighting each other on various maps. Maps take place in the War of Star Battlefront Fighting galaxy, with battlezones varying in theme and size. Across the battlefield are multiple "command posts" (objectives) that act as spawn points, and can be controlled by either the player or the computer.

Units can spawn from any friendly command post, and vehicles regularly spawn at their respective command posts when destroyed. Units can capture neutral or hostile command posts by approaching them and standing within the immediate vicinity for about 30 seconds. The time to capture quickens with more friendly units within the capture zone. Some vehicles act as mobile command posts, and must be destroyed as they can not be captured. On some maps (such as Hoth or Endor), certain structures also act as command posts that can not be captured. Command post capturing works differently on certain campaign missions as well. Playable heroes and villains play a significant role in changing the course of battles.

The objective of most matches is to eliminate all of the opponents' reinforcement tickets or to capture the command points, to slowly chip away at their tickets. Reinforcement tickets are used whenever a unit is killed, or when one faction controls a majority of the command posts on the map (usually when the losing faction only has 2-3). Only one objective needs to be completed. When all command posts are captured, the team with no command posts has twenty seconds to recapture or neutralize an enemy command post. If the team cannot take over a post in this time, the match is over. Certain campaign levels and multiplayer have requirements that differ from the general game play, however the general structure remains the same.