After a bit of a chaotic (and most likely) fake leak EA finally came forward with an official announcement of the next Star Wars title in their video games catalogue. Star Wars Squadrons is a first-person multiplayer dog-fighting action game with a dedicated single player story campaign. It launches on October 2 and will be available for all major gaming platforms!
In Star Wars Battlefront 2 I was a huge fan of the flying module – the Starfighter Assault. I played the campaign mostly because of the space missions and the chance to enjoy piloting a ship. In multiplayer most of my active hours are registered inside of a cockpit.
Why would EA want to make a stand-alone version of Starfighter Assault? Star Wars Squadrons could have been an expansion to Battlefront 2, not a separate game.
Is this new title supposed to be a successor to these legendary classics such as X-Wing and Tie Fighter?
With the success of Jedi Fallen Order and Battlefront 2’s stabilizing after its disastrous first year, we all thought another RPG or lightsaber-centric title is in store for us next.
Before we dive deeper into what Squadrons is, could or should be, let’s start from the beginning!
What is Star Wars Squadrons
Star Wars Squadrons is EA’s new action, shooter, simulation video game based on the Star Wars franchise. It will offer a single player story campaign, but EA drives the main focus towards the dog-fighting 5vs combat experience.
“Master the art of starfighter combat in the authentic piloting experience Star Wars™: Squadrons. Buckle up, feel the adrenaline of first-person multiplayer space dogfights alongside your squadron, and learn what it means to be a pilot in a thrilling Star Wars™ single-player story.” – the official announcement by EA said
Star Wars Squadrons releases on October 2 2020. It will be present on all major platforms – PC (Origin, Steam and Epic), Playstation 4, Xbox One. VR is also supported. The development was given to Motive Studios.
The game does have a pre-order and a few bonuses, but this time EA learned their lesson, it seems. At least when it comes to the bonus content offered for pre-ordering and the microtransactions. More on that later.
There is only one version of Star Wars Squadrons available right now (no Deluxe or Premium or Gold or any other forms of a Special Edition). It is priced at €39.99 (Or whatever your local currency is).
The game will allow cross-platform gameplay. Up to ten players will be able to participate in a multiplayer match in 5vs5 dogfighting action on the side of the New Republic or the Empire.
The first gameplay is kept for the virtual EA Play, which is scheduled for June 18 2020. Stay tuned for this!
Star Wars Squadrons will not feature microtransactions. EA said that both the cosmetics and ship upgrades will only be available through gameplay, not through your wallet via an in-game store.
What is included in Star Wars Squadrons Pre-Order
EA does offer a pre-order of Star Wars Squadrons immediately after it was announced on 16th of June 2020. The pre-order at the time of this publication is not available yet for all platforms.
The bonuses included with your pre-order are all cosmetics and include:
- New Republic Recruit Flight Suit (Epic)
- Imperial Ace Flight Suit (Epic)
- New Republic Recruit Starfighter Skins (Rare)
- Imperial Ace Starfighter Skins (Rare)
- New Republic Recruit Decal (Common)
- Imperial Ace Decal (Common)
The official PC System requirements are as follows:
Recommended PC Requirements (non-VR) / Minimum (VR)
- OS: Windows 10
- Processor (AMD): Ryzen 3 3200G
- Processor (Intel): Intel I7-7700
- Memory: 16GB
- Graphics Card (AMD): Radeon RX 480 or Equivalent
- Graphics Card (Nvidia): GeForce GTX 1060 or Equivalent
- DirectX: 11
- Multiplayer Online Connection Requirements: 512 KBPS or faster Internet connection
- Hard Drive Space: 30GB
Minimum PC Requirements (non-VR)
- OS: Windows 10
- Processor (AMD): Ryzen 3 1300X
- Processor (Intel): Intel I5-7600
- Memory: 8GB
- Graphics Card (AMD): Radeon HD 7850 or Equivalent
- Graphics Card (Nvidia): GeForce GTX 660 or Equivalent
- DirectX: 11
- Multiplayer Online Connection Requirements: 512 KBPS or faster Internet connection
- Hard Drive Space: 30GB
Recommended PC Requirements (VR)
- OS: Windows 10
- Processor (AMD): Ryzen 3 3200G
- Processor (Intel): Intel I7-7700
- Memory: 16GB
- Graphics Card (AMD): Radeon RX 570 or Equivalent
- Graphics Card (Nvidia): GeForce GTX 1070 or Equivalent
- DirectX: 11
- Multiplayer Online Connection Requirements: 512 KBPS or faster Internet connection
- Hard Drive Space: 30GB
Did EA learn their lesson for SW Squadrons
The biggest question with this new title is did EA learned from their mistakes in the past?
Star Wars Battlefront 2 is a great game now and is in very solid shape. It was not the case when it launched back in November 2017.
EA’s greediness almost completely ruined what could have been clearly and easily the biggest hit not only for this year, but… who knows.
Progress was one of the core issues of Battlefront 2. It was so riddled with controversy and the microtransactions system was integrated so deep into it, it took DICE an incredibly long time to get rid of it and stabilize the game.
By its second year Battlefront 2 started to look like what it should have looked like at launch.
Star Wars Squadrons seemingly focuses once again primarily on multiplayer and EA does not hide that.
It is developed by Motive Studios – these guys created the single player campaign for Star Wars Battlefront 2.
The game’s official website promises “smooth progress”: “Rank up to unlock new weapons, hulls, engines, shields, and cosmetic items in a clear progression that keeps gameplay fresh and engaging.”
The first trailer doesn’t really give us much of a clue of what the game will really be like. It is more of a tech demo of the engine, but we already know that this engine is capable of delivering fantastic visuals at a moderate performance cost.
While the graphics of the trailer are not exactly representative of what the finished product in our hands will look like, the game will certainly be at least as beautiful as Starfighter Assault in Battlefront 2 and that’s fantastic.
The trailer did inspire many of us to start thinking about the game’s story and how it will connect several media projects from the recent years into one new storyline.
Many of us thought we saw Hera Syndulla from the Rebels TV Show and Husk and Eiden Versio from Battlefront 2’s single player story.
And now let’s get back to the title of this article – there was no high volume or requests for a new stand-alone game. Some hard-core flight sim fans have been dreaming for one, but I doubt Squadrons will deliver just that.
Many of us hoped and asked for a Starfighter Assault expansion or upgrade. But that would have been free and a new game is a chance for fresh new income for EA. This doesn’t mean that Squadrons is a bad idea and is doomed to fail.
The fact that Motive is behind it provokes hopeful thoughts in my mind regarding the story, gameplay and feeling of piloting your ship. The fact that EA is publishing it (and EA owns Motive too) is a reason to worry, because of the company’s own history.
Why does SW Squadrons need to be a separate game? Battlefront 2 is now nearly three years old. It had a very bad start and no matter how much DICE improved the game, today its popularity and active playerbase is only a fraction of what it could have been, I think.
Having an expansion to what has always been the most neglected part of Battlefront 2 – the ship piloting module – doesn’t make sense in terms of profit and sales. Don’t you think?
EA originally wanted to keep Battlefront 2 a paid-DLC-free title. This would, in their own words prevent the playerbase from segmenting and splitting. A wise move. One of the very few they had back in 2017.
Star Wars Squadrons teases ship upgrades and personal modifications at a higher level than what Battlefront 2 currently offers. This could really mean that Motive have stepped up on their game and this new title is worthy to be separately sold.
We should not expect much from the single player story of the game in terms of duration. It is only briefly mentioned and on top of that this is not a fully priced title. The campaign is said to take place after the Battle of Endor.
At “only” €39.99 EA suggests and reveals that there will be compromises. I highly doubt that this price is a hidden form of an apology for the company’s recent screw ups in the past few years when it comes to Star Wars games.
How will Squadrons survive without microtransactions
With the major MTX controversy from Battlefront 2 and several other games that launched in 2017 and 2018, most developers learned their lesson.
BioWare’s Anthem, another EA title, launched in an incredibly bad shape and with little to no content to keep most players entertained. It did several things right, though. One of them was the MTX part. Nothing that gives your javelin power and performance boost can be bought with real money.
Squadrons will not have microtransactions and it will not feature an in-game store.
How does a multiplayer game survive in today’s world without a live service and continuous support? It doesn’t.
I highly doubt that EA would allow Motive to continue developing the game after its launch if microtransactions are not part of the game to keep the money coming in and make the additional time and efforts worth it.
Jedi Fallen Order had a great success, but it has seen only a few patches and one (not so) big new addition since its launch so far.
The problem with Squadrons’ release date
Star Wars Squadrons’ launch collides with the release date of CD Projekt Red’s Cyberpunk 2077. EA’s title comes on October 2, only a couple weeks after the Polish studio would have released their long-awaited First-Person RPG.
As much as I love Star Wars, I don’t think I will personally spend much time with EA’s title after I complete the story once (or twice if it’s good and worth it). And then we have Assassin’s Creed Valhalla coming in November.
Final thoughts on the SW Squadrons reveal
EA is desperately trying to stay competitive, but on the wrong front! After the release of Star Wars Jedi Fallen Order EA should have finally realized that the biggest potential of this franchise is in the story and narrative.
Jedi Fallen Order gave us what we were missing for so many years – a strong healthy single player story-driven authentic Star Wars experience on the ground, with a Lightsaber in hand. It doesn’t get more classic than this. I want to believe that Squadrons will aim to achieve the same, but in space.
My personal biggest issue comes from the fact that this will be a “first person” game. Why? I never used this view in Battlefront 2, not on the ground, nor in space. The same is valid for pretty much every other competitive or casual pilot I have ever talked to or played with.
While I loved the Starfighter Assault in Battlefront 2, I am not a huge fan of the “first person” limitation Squadrons was announced with.
Battlefront 2 gave us the choice of how we want to play – first person or third person. If Motive’s new game also offers this, I would have to scratch this big concern I have right now.
I mentioned above that Starfighter Assault is one of the least played modes of Battlefront 2. This is a direct proof that almost nobody expected the next EA title to be a starship-based multiplayer Star Wars game.
A Single player story-driven Starship-piloting gameplay experience? Now, that’s the dream! Sadly the price of the game suggest that EA’s plans are likely more tailored towards quick and easy money piling on the success of Jedi Fallen Order. Or could the Star Wars licence expiration date play a role here?
Cool single player story campaign, exciting dogfighting starship piloting experience and no microtransactions, all at a “lower price”. That sounds promising. However, by now we should know better than to rush in blind into another EA (Star Wars) title.
I didn’t ask for Star Wars Squadrons. I didn’t expect this title in this genre to appear in this exact moment. But this doesn’t mean I am not excited. It all depends on how much of EA did EA place in it. That price… it scresms “unfinished” and “lacking” in the back of my mind and doesn’t give me space to dream for a new space flight classic-to-be.
What about you? Will you check out Squadrons and why? Do tell!
UPDATE: EA Play is behind us now and the Star Wars Squadron Gameplay trailer and preview gave us a ton of new details! Check them out!
