Let’s face it; EA doesn’t exactly have a spotless record when it comes to consumer-friendly practices.
The publisher has found itself in hot water on numerous occasions in the past for crossing the line with pervasive microtransactions and pay-to-win mechanics, most notably with the eternally-popular FIFA franchise and Star Wars Battlefront II. It’s the latter in particular, of course, that caused fans to kick up a stink following its release for essentially locking player progress and unlocks behind a paywall, to the extent that developer DICE was eventually given the go-ahead to remove them entirely.
No doubt as a direct result of that controversy, last year’s Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order launched with not a loot box or in-game purchase to speak of, a model that Star Wars: Squadrons developer EA Motive is clearly intent on following.
The space combat game set in a Galaxy Far, Far Away got its long-awaited gameplay debut during last weekend’s EA Play event and according to Motive’s creative director Ian Frazier, everything you see is what you’ll get on release day and for the modest price of $40, no less. Speaking to Game Informer, Frazier said:
Our mindset has been very old school. 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. 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.
Frazier stops short of ruling out any potential DLC further down the road if players so wish it, but is keen to stress that the aforementioned entry fee is all folks will ever need in order to experience and unlock everything the game has to offer. A business model that, sadly, has become increasingly rare in recent years.
Star Wars Squadrons releases October 2nd for Xbox One, PlayStation 4 and PC. Those looking to pre-order ahead of time can see here for more details.
