The next Star Wars game from Electronic Arts is on the way following the announcement of Star Wars: Squadrons. Developed by EA Motive, Squadrons is a multiplayer-focused starfighter combat game in which players can become flying aces in the Star Wars universe. Although the studio has released only a cinematic trailer for the game, the details are enough to excite any casual fan. Players can customize their ships and even experience a single-player campaign with an original story. The game is also priced at a surprising $40, instead of the typical $60. It sounds fairly appealing, but anybody who remembers the way EA handled Battlefront II should be apprehensive.
Star Wars Battlefront II was the biggest gaming industry controversy for quite some time. It launched as a pay-to-win, microtransaction-ridden mess. It earned the ire of players, critics, and even some government organization for promoting underage gambling with its loot box-focused progression system. Although EA DICE worked to fix the mess with content updates, it still took years to become a worthwhile purchase. EA DICE only fixed the issues after record-breaking social media outrage. With that in mind, Squadrons can become demonstrable proof that EA has learned a lesson. This is the company's chance to care about its consumers -- or at least pretend to -- or risk another Battlefront fiasco.
Unlike the launch of Battlefront II, Star Wars: Squadrons will need content. Not just a few maps and game modes, but actual playable content for all players. Naturally, this means it needs a single-player campaign. That seems to be a marketing priority for EA, but it's unclear how much single-player content there really is. After Battlefront II's campaign, there was essentially nothing for players except for some bare-bones challenge modes. EA later added Instant Action so Battlefront so players could fight with bots, so Squadrons need something like that at the very least.
Another major criticism of the first Battlefront was the lack of Star Wars eras, only featuring content from the original trilogy. The trailer for Squadrons advertises a story that takes place right after the original trilogy, but no other eras have been confirmed yet. Perhaps that doesn't reflect the multiplayer -- after all, Battlefront II features all three trilogies in its Starfighter Assault modes, so the digital assets already exist. Every trilogy should feature in a game about starfighters, so let's hope this detail is one EA is casually omitting. That would make for more content, as well as a more fulfilling purchase for hardcore fans.
Lastly, Squadrons should not feature microtransactions. That's asking for a lot -- it's hard to find a game that isn't designed to suck money out of consumers at every turn -- but this was the biggest issue for EA last time. Nobody wants loot boxes, or paid downloadable content or fake currency that must be bought with real money. Everyone wants a Star Wars game, not a Star Wars live-service -- and if that is what Squadrons is, then the game should be free.
These are all simple requests, but they all boil down to one simple principle: a decent amount of content for the money players are spending. Battlefront II had no content for a high price and asked players for more money after the fact. While this seems like EA's chance to make up for the past, the announcement still leaves a lot to be desired. Even the most appealing details suggest that history will repeat itself.
Thus far, Squadrons only seems to contain original trilogy content, and that's a bad sign. Although it will feature a single-player campaign, a focus on multiplayer content suggests a return to the heavily monetized live-service model. EA can implement microtransactions very easily around cosmetics, too -- a business tactic that has proven lucrative thanks to titles like Overwatch. Even the $40 price tag might be a red flag -- it sounds like a nice gesture, but perhaps EA is setting a lower price to excuse a potential lack in content or quality.
With Star Wars Squadrons still months away, EA Motive still has to reveal more details as the release window gets closer. Squadrons has only inspired cautious optimism among fans so far, but that can turn to pessimism on a dime. The game looks like fun, but if it doesn't attempt to make amends for the Battlefront II disaster, fans will only see it as a glorified expansion pack at best... or another EA scam at worst.