EA's taken an uncharacteristically restrained approach to Star Wars: Squadrons. It came out shortly after it was revealed, without any microtransactions or grindy progression systems—none of the trappings of a live service game. And now that it's out, it looks like there are no plans to milk it.
Speaking to UploadVR earlier this week, creative director Ian Frazier explained that EA Motive wanted to make a straightforward game where it was complete at launch, rather than stretching it out across updates, seasons or DLC.
"Never say never," he said, "but as far as our philosophy goes we're not trying to treat the game as a live service. 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."
That it wasn't going to be a live service game was emphasised quite a lot before launch, but given all the different aliens and locations stuffed into the Star Wars universe it's surprising that EA Motive isn't drawing on them for new cosmetics and more maps.
It should be a good thing, a game that launches with everything it's ever going to have, so you can just buy it and never have to dip into your bank account again, but on the other hand I just want more stuff. I'm greedy. The unlockable cosmetics are all very plain, and eventually I'm going to start getting bored of the maps—but I guess that's when I just move on. Being finished with a game—what a novel concept!
