'Star Wars: Squadrons' Won't Get Upgrade For PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X

When “Star Wars: Squadrons” debuts around the same time as the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X, but unlike many games, you won’t see an upgraded version of this game on those next-gen consoles.

While you can still play “Star Wars: Squadrons” on both the Sony and Microsoft consoles due to backward compatibility, visually upgraded versions that could maximize the game on the more powerful consoles are not in the plans of developer Motive Studios and publisher Electronic Arts, notes ScreenRant.

“Star Wars: Squadrons” is a dogfighting sim featuring lots of iconic ships from the “Star Wars” franchise and got many fans of that same franchise when it was revealed at the EA Play streaming event in June. It will also feature plenty of familiar “Star Wars” characters while introducing several new ones to add to the canon.

Set during the period after “Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi,” the game will tell a brand new story when the New Republic was just getting off the ground after the events at the Battle of Endor.

While it tells that story through a single-player campaign, the game’s main focus will be multiplayer, where it will offer both dogfights and longer multistage Fleet Battles.

With an October 2020 release date, “Star Wars: Squadrons” is actually going to be released not much sooner than the next-gen consoles previously mentioned. Both the Xbox Series X and PlayStation 5 are launching around November or December this year.

Despite that news, EA says it isn’t planning to offer a next-gen upgrade for “Star Wars: Squadrons,” confirming earlier speculation that it would only get a current-gen release.

Creative director of “Star Wars: Squadrons” Ian Frazier confirmed the news on Twitter, saying that this title isn’t getting a separate next-gen version, but that its current-gen version will be playable on the PS5 and Xbox Series X.

This news will undoubtedly be disappointing for fans who were anticipating the game, but during the game’s reveal in June, EA clearly labeled “Star Wars: Squadrons” as a release for the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One.

Another indicator that it wasn’t going to get a next-gen upgrade is that it is being offered at a budget-friendly price of $40, which could indicate that it’s not getting all the bells and whistles that a publisher like EA could potentially muster.

Electronic Arts has also said that “Star Wars: Squadrons” won’t have any microtransactions after launch. That doesn’t mean that the title is already on the way to a bargain bin though because it will still get exciting features like full VR support and cross-play.

As ScreenRant notes, a budget-priced current-gen exclusive coming out potentially just weeks before a next-gen console launch is certainly strange, and a game like that from EA not having post-launch monetization may be even stranger.

By no means does this mean that early adapters to the Xbox Series X and PlayStation 5 won’t be able to join in on the fun, they’ll just have to do so without their new hardware really giving its all.