Motive Studios’s creative director Ian Frazier has told Game Informer that Star Wars: Squadrons will have no microtransactions. That’s a pretty surprising development, being that the game costs only $40 and lets players customize their starfighters with numerous components (e.g., ion cannons, tractor beams, assault shields, and whatnot), which amounts to an ideal recipe for paid goods.
“Our mindset has been very old school,” Frazier said. “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. It’s built around a game that is complete and great in its own right. That’s not to say we will never add anything, I guess we could, but it’s not presented as a live service.”
Frazier seems like a good guy who has gamers’ best interests (and wallets) in mind, but let’s not forget that Motive Studios is ultimately beholden to the whims of its EA overlords, who may not be able to resist throwing microtransactions into the game’s virtual hangars. That said, it really sounds as if Star Wars: Squadrons will ship with plenty of great content – certainly enough to justify its $40 price, which already seems like a relative bargain.