The reveal of an uncertain future for Star Wars: Squadrons has left a lot of fans with a bad taste in their mouths. It was revealed that the game is very much unlikely to not get any DLC at all. So that means no maps, cosmetics or new craft will be added over time, the Creative Director said while answering a question during a recent interview.
Speaking to Upload VR, the game’s Creative Director Ian Frazier said that the prospect of getting DLC to the game was very unlikely. They made it pretty clear that they weren’t going to support the game long-term saying, “as far as our philosophy goes we’re not trying to treat the game as a live service.”
The justification though does make sense. Going into detail, they feel that the mid-tier game should be taken for what it is. Being a game that you can complete the singleplayer component of in less than 8 hours, it makes for a value proposition you really have to consider. If you’re not interested in the multiplayer, the lack of DLC is a little less concerning. But for those that are it’s a problem.
“We don’t want to say, ‘It’s almost done!’ and then dribble out more of it over time, which to be honest is how most games work these days. So we’ve tried to treat it in kind of an old-school approach saying, ‘You’ve paid the $40, this is the game and it’s entirely self-contained. We’re not planning to add more content, this is the game, and we hope you understand the value proposition.'”
The core problem with this approach is that it’s clear that they want people to play the multiplayer for some time. The way progression works kind of requires a steady flow of new and returning players to even get matches going. And with no DLC plans, there’s a message that the long-term health of that multiplayer ecosystem doesn’t matter. At some point you need new content to bring back veteran players in any multiplayer game.
The PC launch of the game has also been having its own issues. Reports of several problems with performance and various bugs have made things a bit awkward for PC users of the title.
Star Wars: Squadrons is out now for Xbox One, PlayStation 4 and PC.
