Will ''Star Wars: Squadrons'' soar or crash as an eSport?

EA's new space-shooter has major potential and appeals to multiple niches, but are they ready and willing to back a competitive scene?

Set after immediately after Return of the Jedi, Star Wars: Squadrons sees players flying for both sides of the conflict piloting ships for both the New Republic and the Galactic Empire.

The Full Package

Hailed as one of the most consumer-friendly AAA releases in recent memory and the new standard for VR experiences in games, Motive Montreal's Star Wars: Squadrons represents another unexpected shift in EA's publishing paradigm.

Released as a complete standalone experience featuring a full single-player campaign and two multiplayer modes, and with no obvious monetization strategy, it continues the departure from their traditional way of handling something like the Star Wars license, a pattern established with last year's Jedi: Fallen Order that also avoids the pay-to-win pitfalls that hamstrung the launch of games like Battlefront II. In an interview with The Star Wars Show, Motive's Creative Director Ian S. Frazier said the developers approached the title intending for it to be a full experience at a 40$ price tag. “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," he said.

That said, its release was not without issue. Aside from the usual day-one bugs (busted stick-and-throttle support for many, and a particularly finicky VR experience on PC), one of the major critiques was that while not necessarily lacking for content, most reviewers felt that without continuous updates players would exhaust the base content (six maps, a seven-hour story and a reward-based unlock system that grants players cosmetics and customization parts for their ships) too quickly.

The only break comes in the form of challenges, daily gameplay missions like 'get five kills with an X-wing' or 'play Dogfights three times' which reward a small chunk of currency, and bi-monthly operations, eight-week ranked seasons which reward a single rare helmet for your pilot avatar on completion. Not much, but something for diligent players' efforts.

“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."

Fire and Forget?

That same slow-trickle style of content patching has been both the boon and bane to recent releases, particularly in the battle royale market. Apex Legends enjoys a healthy following these days thanks to infrequent but bountiful expansions, but that's a far cry from the initial post-launch reception which saw players dropping the game in droves as the glacial pace of development and meagre offerings dried up interest. Conversely the ubiquitous Fortnite's constant steady stream of updates just isn't feasible for a studio like Motive, with less than 100 staffers on payroll.

The key difference that sets Squadrons apart right now is EA's non-committal attitude towards dedicating anymore resources to Squadrons' continued development. Indeed, in an odd twist of fate, the one time they decide to drop the over-monetized live-service scheme also happens to be the one time consumers might have let them get away with it. They've almost certainly realized this up in corporate, so expect some form of microtransaction to be implemented in the near future, but the fact remains that without seeing the long-term potential in supporting organized play and promoting tournament events they stand to miss the boat on flight sims becoming recognized as a major eSport with their game as the catalyst. Imagine, if you will, the money.

The thing to recognize here is that Squadrons has real potential. A first person space-combat game with full VR support, multi-platform crossplay with intricate mechanics, a steep learning curve and a high skill ceiling sounds uniquely tailor-made to be a digital spectator sport, and online communities are ravenous for more. In fact those same communities have for months espoused the ways in which the game really does seem designed as an eSports title as proof of the publisher's intent. All it needs now is that sweet, sweet Disney dosh to kindle the fire, but that's going to be EA's move to make. In the meantime, Motive Montreal will hold the line while we wait and see what comes next for this rare beast.

All screenshots © 2020 Electronic Arts Inc.