HOTAS controls are very important for flight sims, and many complex action games involving flight controls. And even though Star Wars: Squadrons isn’t as complex as the likes of Microsoft Flight Simulator, but the action of dogfights between Empire and New Republic forces will require some fancy moves. The better fine control you have over your craft, the better you may play. And with a controller, it may be hard to catch some more nimble foes. Good news, if you want to experience the full immersion of piloting, there will be HOTAS support. It has now been confirmed that HOTAS controls will be available in Star Wars: Squadrons across all platforms.
You and four other pilots will team up to take out your foes in a massive fleet-based dogfight involving various iconic spacecraft from the New Republic era. Yes, that’s the Disney canon for those paying attention. And with tons of ship customization in the game, there’s room for some wild setups too, so don’t feel to restricted. Anyway, back to the point.
Via a Tweet, it was announced that Motive Studios would be adding support for HOTAS setups on consoles as well, for the PS4 and Xbox One versions. Ian Frazier, the creative director behind Star Wars: Squadrons, confirmed HOTAS will also come to consoles. The feature will be built into the game’s various versions following a day one patch. Consoles don’t normally get this kind of love, so that’s nice.
The game is due on October 2 for PC and consoles, with a day one patch for all platforms. The HOTAS support should land on PC first, as it’s built into the launch version on that platform. So those PC flyers are pretty lucky.
There is one downside though, as the HOTAS you use will only be supported if it’s the console-specific one. For example, there’s a line of Thrustmaster T-Flight HOTAS controllers for PS4 and Xbox One that will work. There may be workarounds released at some point for other setups, but these won’t have official support and will likely encounter issues and need additional components to interface with consoles. A quick look suggests some older Hori models might work. but would have to be tested. Although it may be a safe bet that if a HOTAS works with other Xbox One/PS4 titles, it will work in this one.
Motive Studios have also revealed plans for a VR version of the games at some point. Which all but requires the use of a HOTAS. details on that version are unknown, as it’s likely still in the works for now. Playing in VR without a HOTAS is all but impossible though, as you need to have more tactile feedback than a controller can normally offer. So if you want this in VR, you will want to put the time into finding a quality HOTAS that works for your setup. No word yet on system requirements for the VR version either, so be on the lookout for that.
