Motive Studios’ space combat game Star Wars: Squadrons released in October 2020, and the title quickly earned a spot as one of the best flight simulators to come out in recent years. Earning predominantly positive reviews from multiple media outlets, Star Wars: Squadrons was even nominated for Best VR/AR Game at The Game Awards 2020.
It was a little surprising, then, when Star Wars: Squadrons became playable via Free Play Days for Xbox Gold and Xbox Game Pass Ultimate subscribers just three months after release. This caused some to speculate that perhaps the game would soon become available to Xbox players for a longer period of time. This was later confirmed when publisher EA teased that Star Wars: Squadrons would be coming to EA Play and therefore Xbox Game Pass Ultimate as well.
RELATED: Star Wars: Squadrons Writer Working on Gotham Knights Game
It’s now been officially announced that Star Wars: Squadron will join the vast catalog of games offered through EA Play and Xbox Game Pass Ultimate on March 18, 2021. The title will join a number of other Star Wars games available through the two services, including Respawn Entertainment’s award-winning action-adventure game Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order and Star Wars Battlefront 2, an action shooter released in 2017.
Gamers interested in taking advantage of the addition of Star Wars: Squadrons to EA Play and Xbox Game Pass Ultimate have two options available to them. EA Play on its own costs $4.99 a month, and a subscription will allow gamers to play numerous EA-published titles on their Xbox console. It is not necessary to have an Xbox Live Gold subscription to access these games. In November 2020, EA also teamed up with Microsoft to bundle EA Play into the Xbox Game Pass Ultimate subscription, which is available for $14.99 a month.
Star Wars: Squadrons offers a single-player story campaign set after the Battle of Endor and the destruction of the second Death Star. It gives players the opportunity to view the events of the Galactic Civil War from the perspective of both the New Republic and the Galactic Empire, piloting starfighters from both factions.
The game also offers two multiplayer modes. Dogfight in Star Wars: Squadrons has players team up to battle it out in 5-v-5 high-adrenaline combat, while Fleet Battles offers a multi-stage, objective-based contest between two squadrons of five players with the ultimate goal to destroy the enemy team’s flagship. Players can also create or join custom matches with a variety of modifiers, restrictions, and starfighters to choose from.
Star Wars: Squadrons is available on PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.