Star Wars: Squadrons has been revealed, with EA‘s brand new Star Wars multiplayer dogfighting game being announced alongside a debut trailer. Developed by EA Motive, Squadrons pits teams in a 5v5 battle for space supremacy, with it set to release on October 2, 2020, for PS4, Xbox One, and PC. You can watch the first trailer here.
So how did fans react to the Star Wars Squadrons reveal? The new cinematic trailer may not have revealed any gameplay footage, but it did show viewers some of what they can expect from the upcoming game. Here’s what the Star Wars community thought of it:
Wedge and Hera Syndulla are crowd-pleasers
https://twitter.com/SWBFExpress/status/1272549126580899840
https://twitter.com/SWBFExpress/status/1272549126580899840
The appearance of Hera Syndulla and Wedge Antilles in the debut trailer immediately got fans interested. Hera is best known for her appearance in the Star Wars Rebels series, and marks a transition for the character from the animated TV series into a more realistic take on the Star Wars universe.
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Wedge will be a familiar name to every Star Wars fan, being one of the most celebrated pilots in the original trilogy after debuting in A New Hope. The appearance of both characters suggests that we’ll see more under-utilized Star Wars faces make an appearance.
THAT Star Destroyer
THIS SCENE. Star Wars space battle but make it pretty. #StarWarsSquadrons pic.twitter.com/hU0jnystER
— Lacey Gilleran (@laceygilleran) June 15, 2020
A highlight of the Squadrons trailer is a Star Destroyer popping up in the clouds, with the Imperial capital ship looking as intimidating as ever. Viewers were particularly impressed by this shot, and while the lack of gameplay footage means we don’t know how the ship will factor into the game itself, EA makes a big deal of its introduction so we imagine we’ll at least get to fly around this beast.
No microtransactions
Star Wars: Squadrons will feature no microtransactions, according to EA, with fans praising the company’s new direction following its tactless approach to Star Wars: Battlefront 2‘s loot crates.
“40$, no MTXs & Single Player Campaign…what is EA planning? Did they finally learn?” Reddit user Sir_thanksalot89 said.
“EA finally is getting the hang of creating Star Wars games JUST when their agreement with Lucasfilm is to end soon, Ironic,” AveryLazyCovfefe added.
The developers’ reactions
Star Wars: Battlefront 2 writer Mitch Dyer confirmed that he would also be at the helm of Star Wars: Squadrons, alongside EA Motive and former BioWare writer Joanna Berry:
I'm so excited and grateful to say I've been writing Star Wars: Squadrons alongside @Joanna_Berry with the fabulous team at @MotiveMontreal.
This is our reveal trailer.
See you in the stars. pic.twitter.com/Jt5dT0eXi6
— Mitch Dyer (@MitchyD) June 15, 2020
I'm delighted to finally show you the game I've been writing for alongside @MitchyD and the incredible dev team at @MotiveMontreal : Star Wars: Squadrons.
Come fly with the galaxy's finest. Check out our reveal trailer: pic.twitter.com/5ldt4QEINY
— Jo Berry (@Joanna_Berry) June 15, 2020
Designer Melissa Ramsden also said that she had poured her “whole heart into the design of my first major feature in a Star Wars game”:
Ok ya'll, this proj is very special for me. I worked tirelessly from 2017 to this spring, and poured my whole heart into the design of my first major feature in a Star Wars game :'D
I can't wait for @MotiveMontreal to bring it over the finish line 🙌🥰https://t.co/O63piB5caV
— Darth Mel (@MelRambles) June 15, 2020
YouTube reactions
Kinda Funny livestreamed their reaction to the reveal trailer:
As did The Cyber Nerds:
The Star Wars-focused channel StarWarsOnly also followed suit:
Reactions have been mostly positive for Star Wars: Squadrons thus far. Considering that space battles have been largely ignored in EA’s Star Wars games save for Battlefront 2‘s overlooked Starfighter Assault mode, it’s good to see EA taking another crack at the whip with a game that evokes memories of the classic Rogue Squadron series.
Star Wars: Squadrons full gameplay reveal will take place on June 18 at EA Play, so be sure to tune in to see the game in action.
