Home Gaming Star Wars Squadrons won’t have any microtransactions or live service elements

Star Wars Squadrons won’t have any microtransactions or live service elements

3 min read
12
Mass-HysteriEA

The end times are officially upon us, as Electronic Art’s next big game is aiming to deliver the ultimate Star Wars space combat experience and not ring a few extra coins out of players in the process. With Star Wars Battlefront II going down in history as the franchise straw that broke the space camel’s back, EA has adopted a different approach towards their monopoly on the license: Scaling back on microtransactions, and in some cases forging ahead by not including them at all.

Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order was a big step forward in the wake of Battlefront II’s controversial gambling mechanics, as it moved away from predatory features and now Star Wars Squadrons is following in those footsteps by not only making certain that every cosmetic within the game can be unlocked by simply playing it, but also by making certain that players aren’t subjected to a liver service product and all the hang-ups that come with that game model. “We’re trying to say with this game that we have a $40 price point, we want to feel generous to players, and we want it to feel like a complete experience creative director Ian Frazier explained to Game Informer.

Like ‘You gave us your $40. Here’s a game that you will love. Thank you.’ That’s it. This isn’t something we are building around a live-service strategy. It’s built around a game that is complete and great in its own right.

Over on Twitter, Star Wars Squadrons writer Mitch Dyer tweeted a more succint breakdown of how the game would approach the topic of microtransactions:

Human sacrifice, dogs and cats living together… mass hysteria! Like I said, end of the world stuff here and I for one am happy that EA is kickstarting the apocalypse with their new approach to Star Wars. But will Squadrons be worth the investment? Will it have the golden dogfight handling of its predecessors from many years ago, all of which had sublime aerial anarchy to engage in? If there’s a single game that still stands as the benchmark for the series, it’s 1997’s X-Wing vs TIE Fighter, a glorious example of Star Wars at its niche best that Squadrons is taking plenty of inspiration from.

“In 1997, was you have a lot less stuff to deal with in an Imperial ship. And that is, in a sense, an advantage,” Frazier said in a GameSpot interview where he described the equilibrium between the Rebel Alliance and the Galactic Empire’s forces.

I’ve actually found that to be shockingly true in our game,” Frazier said. “The TIE Fighter doesn’t have shields – which, you don’t have shields, which is a downside, right? But that also means you don’t have to manage shields. It’s one less thing to manage, so there’s less head-space required for that. … The counterbalance of what you’re losing is what you’re gaining in focus.

Star Wars Squadrons will be out in October for PC, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One. If you’re planning to play it using Virtual Reality, you may need to invest in an Incom corporation chuck bucket. Set attack foils to hype position.

Last Updated: June 22, 2020

12 Comments

    • Hammersteyn

      June 22, 2020 at 08:39

      the worst one

      Reply

  1. Lu

    June 22, 2020 at 07:52

    I’m super keen on this!
    Possibly the fist game I could comprehend playing was Tie Fighter.
    My only issue is the fact that there are only 4 ships per side. But the crazy amount of customization makes up for it.
    Looking forward to shooting up some rebel scum.

    Reply

  2. Hammersteyn

    June 22, 2020 at 08:39

    https://media1.giphy.com/media/l2YWnMs4mEkwallIc/giphy.gif
    .
    .
    .
    .
    .
    .
    .
    .
    .
    .
    Unless they add it later like COD does after all the reviews are in

    Reply

    • Kenn Gibson

      June 22, 2020 at 10:23

      yeah it will be a new after launch feature.

      Reply

  3. Seeker

    June 22, 2020 at 08:55

    No micro transactions but surprise mechanics.

    Reply

  4. Guz

    June 22, 2020 at 09:31

    Will wait and see, I’m sorry but I don’t buy anything from EA on release

    Reply

    • The D

      June 22, 2020 at 09:36

      Nothing wrong with that! Ignore the FOMO, check what the community has to say and see if there’s real value to be had in the long run.

      Reply

  5. konfab

    June 22, 2020 at 09:36

    Harambe might have been the cause of the coronavirus, but I think we can also thank Him for EA’s change of heart.

    Reply

    • Hammersteyn

      June 22, 2020 at 10:04

      EA’s heart never changes, only their mood.

      Reply

      • konfab

        June 22, 2020 at 10:27

        More like they realized that no amount of PR spin can really change people’s opinion of a company.

        Turns out that simply making games that people enjoy (I have just finished Fallen Order), is a good business model.

        The microtransactions thing has a place in Free to play games, but not for something that you have to fork out 700 Randelas to have the privileges of playing in the first place.

        Reply

      • schitsophrenic-toothbrush

        June 22, 2020 at 10:37

        Perhaps Disney changed it for them..

        Reply

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Check Also

Manchester United Sues Football Manager Over Use of their Name and Fan Mods

Manchester United, that massive global football brand whose fans are as equally annoying a…