I'll be honest EA Motive, you had me worried for a moment. But after suggesting that Star Wars: Squadrons would be getting no new content post-launch, the developer today announced two massive content drops for the stellar dogfighter over the coming month.
Writing in a holiday supply drop post, Motive announced a hefty shipment of new content heading to Squadrons' battlefields—with a new map, new ships, new weapons and custom games split between two updates across November and December.
Next week's 3.0 update adds new multiplayer map Forstar Haven, an asteroid trade hub folks might recognise as the backdrop for the game's prologue missions. With both ships staring down either side, you'll have the option to brave open space or risk weaving through claustrophobic tunnels to reach the opposing flagship.
As a bonus, all ships classes are getting a few new tools to help them specialise further. Bombers will soon be able to load up with shield-piercing bombs, while support ships are getting a new kind of turret for blasting flagship subsystems and enemy deployables.
It's next month's update that's really got me excited though. Update 4.0 is wheeling two stylish new starfighters into the hangar, the New Republic B-Wing and the Imperial TIE Interceptor.
Both ships arrive as alternative class options for their respective factions, letting you trade out a Y-Wing for a B-Wing or TIE Fighter for a TIE Defender. Each uses all the same customisation parts as their alternatives, but come with their own unique quirks—be it the Defender's shields or the B-Wing's bizarre gyroscopic cockpit.
The new ships promise to be more sidegrade than upgrade, then. Of course, I'm already seeing discourse over whether the B-Wing is the Best Wing or a Bad Wing. Personally, I'm excited to nip around in the TIE "one-and-a-half Interceptors" Defender.
December's update also promises to add custom games and a server browser, letting you fiddle with the game's settings and play private matches across any of the game's maps or modes. While an earlier patch helped fix matchmaking's jank, it's a welcome relief to know the game will still be playable should the ranked pool become a little too thin.
I was shocked to the degree I fell in love with Squadrons, honestly, and saddened to hear it wouldn't be getting any more content. But Motive seems equally taken aback by the game's reception, and have rethought its approach to post-launch content for the starfighter sim.
"When we set out to make Star Wars: Squadrons, the team had a singular vision: make the next great starfighter experience. We wanted to honour the classic games that came before us and provide everything to our players from the start in a nice, neat package.
"But then, we showed the game to everyone and the reception was so much more than we could have hoped for. It only became more intense after release, too, so we couldn’t help but start working on something a little extra."
That's fine by me. I'll take a B-Wing over Baby Yoda any day of the week.
