Star Wars: Squadrons

The game commences its narrative journey following the destruction of the planet Alderaan. Acting under the directives of Darth Vader, Commodore Rae Sloane dispatches Helix Squadron, under the leadership of Captain Lindon Javes, from the Imperial II-class Star Destroyer named Vigilance to Fostar Haven. Their mission is to wipe out a potential convoy of Alderaanian refugees. Haunted by doubts about his allegiance to the Galactic Empire after Alderaan's obliteration, Captain Javes stipulates that only standard TIE fighters should be employed. His second-in-command, wingmate, and close friend, Lieutenant Terisa Kerrill, a staunch supporter of the Empire, disregards his decision. Upon reaching Fostar Haven, Helix Squadron initiates ship scans. When the squadron opens fire on a fleeing vessel, the Stationmaster activates the station's defense mechanisms. A brief skirmish ensues, leading to the discovery of the Alderaanian refugee convoy within a tunnel, sparking a dogfight between Helix Squadron and rebel X-wings. After eliminating the X-wings, Lieutenant Kerrill commands the pursuit of the refugee convoy through the tunnel. However, Captain Javes thwarts Helix Squadron's pursuit by disabling their TIE fighters using ion missiles. Kerrill, taken aback by Javes' betrayal, swiftly reboots her ship and orders a chase. Following a brief pursuit, Javes obliterates the tunnel's exit, trapping Helix Squadron. Javes and the convoy escape the tunnel, only to be confronted by the Vigilance, emerging from hyperspace directly in their path.

Somewhere in the Mid Rim, the Rebel Fleet, under the command of Admiral Gial Ackbar, picks up a distress signal originating from Fostar Haven. Ackbar sends Echo Squadron to respond. Arriving at Fostar Haven, Echo Squadron finds the refugee convoy under attack by the Vigilance. As they move in to assist, Echo Five is shot down and killed. Echo Squadron receives a transmission from Lindon Javes on an Imperial Channel, and they accept his assistance as a defector. Following a battle resulting in the death of Echo Two, Echo Squadron inflicts sufficient damage on the Vigilance to allow the convoy and the Rebels to escape.

Set four years after the Battle of Endor, the main storyline of the game unfolds, focusing on two distinct fighter squadrons: Vanguard Squadron of the New Republic, and Titan Squadron of the Galactic Empire. The narrative revolves around "two pilots shape the balance of power in the galaxy." A significant portion of the plot involves the New Republic's Project Starhawk, which the Empire has learned about, prompting them to dispatch spies to undermine it. Players will assume the roles of both Vanguard Five and Titan Three for the New Republic's Vanguard Squadron and the Empire's Titan Squadron, respectively.

Vanguard Squadron consists of four additional pilots, including Kierah "Gunny" Koovah, a Mimbanese serving as Vanguard Leader or Vanguard One; Gracalia "Grace" Vatara Sienar, a human female; Feresk "Frisk" Tssat, a Trandoshan male; and Keo Venzee, a non-binary Mirialan. Shortly after the Battle of Endor, Lindon Javes is appointed commander of the Temperance and Vanguard Squadron, immediately putting them to work for the benefit of Project Starhawk. With the assistance of Fleet Intelligence Officer Ardo Barodai and Chief Mechanic Zerelda Sage, Javes tasks Vanguard Squadron with disable Imperial jamming ships causing blackouts. Vanguard Squadron splits up for the assignment and regroups at Cavas, where after a small battle, the jamming ship is destroyed. Upon returning from their mission, Vanguard Squadron is immediately deployed on another mission where they work with Wedge Antilles and Talus Group to capture the Imperial II-class Star Destroyer Victorum above the planet Yavin Prime. Despite heavy casualties, they succeed, and the Star Destroyer is taken for Project Starhawk. Vanguard returns to the Temperance not too happy about all the secrecy surrounding Project Starhawk. Commander Javes tries to reassure them when he is interrupted by a Code Yellow from the Victorum. Its hyperdrive had malfunctioned behind enemy lines and it was pulled out of hyperspace. Imperial ships are on the way to reclaim the Victorum, so Vanguard Squadron is sent to defend it. Managing to destroy several Imperial shuttles, Vanguard gives the crew of the Victorum enough time to repair the hyperdrive and jump to safety. Vanguard follows the Victorum to just outside the Ringali Nebula where they discover Project Starhawk to be the construction of a battleship at the Nadiri Dockyards led by General Hera Syndulla.

Titan Squadron is comprised of four other pilots, including Varko Grey, a human; Rella Sol, a human; Shen, a cybernetic-supported human male; and Havina Vonreg, a human female. In the Talcene system, the Imperial Star Destroyer Overseer, led by Captain Terisa Kerrill with the assistance of Imperial Intelligence Officer LT-514 and Chief Mechanic Willard Waylin, receives directives from Admiral Rae Sloane to locate and eliminate Lindon Javes and Project Starhawk. Kerrill recruits Titan Squadron for this mission. Their initial task involves extracting an Imperial spy, Agent Thorn, from an orbital outpost above Hosnian Prime. They accomplish this with minimal losses. Following the acquisition of Thorn's intelligence, Titan Squadron is dispatched to monitor the trajectory of a New Republic engineer convoy traveling from Hosnian Prime near Desevro in an attempt to uncover the location of Project Starhawk. A local Imperial force commanded by Captain Amos and the damaged Imperial Star Destroyer Tormentor is instructed not to interfere with this discreet operation, but Amos' arrogance leads him to attack the convoy. In the ensuing battle, Titan Squadron is forced out of hiding to protect the convoy from Amos. Imperial shuttles manage to board the convoy ships and retrieve the data, but Amos is killed and the Tormentor is destroyed. Only the sector is found from the mostly wiped data. Kerrill orders the destruction of the convoy to send a message to Lindon Javes that they're coming for him.

To divert Terisa Kerrill's attention away from Project Starhawk, Lindon Javes disseminates a message intended for interception by an Imperial listening outpost situated near Esseles. Javes deploys Vanguard Squadron to destroy the outpost to make Kerrill think they were hiding something about Project Starhawk and throw her off the trail. Vanguard successfully destroys the outpost, and Kerrill takes the bait. The fabricated intelligence suggests that Vanguard Squadron is safeguarding a shipment of magnite crystals essential for the completion of the Starhawk. This misinformation is employed to lure Kerrill and the Overseer deep into the Zavian Abyss. The trap is a success, but not before Titan Squadron is able to scan the convoy's navicomputer for the precise location of Nadiri Dockyards. The Starhawk emerges and activates a powerful tractor beam on the Overseer, ripping it apart and slamming it into the surrounding asteroids. Kerrill manages to jump away, the ship badly damaged.

The Overseer exits hyperspace in the Remitik system where they quickly send a distress call to a nearby Imperial munitions depot led by Colonel Gralm. With Gralm unwilling to provide aid for the Overseer due to his problem with rebel guerrillas, Terisa Kerrill sends Titan Squadron to retrieve baradium from the outpost while it is under attack from rebels. LT-514 is able to remotely retrieve the baradium, and the Overseer leaves, repairs nearly complete. In order to lure the New Republic Fleet away from the Nadiri Dockyards, Admiral Sloane orders simultaneous attacks on New Republic targets across the galaxy. The Overseer and Titan Squadron are sent to destroy the fuel pods and medical frigates over Mon Cala. Sloane also sends Imperial battle groups to strike Onderon and Gorse to disrupt New Republic supply lines. At Mon Cala, Titan Squadron meets heavy resistance from Anvil Squadron, a New Republic squadron that Shen had previously encountered and lost too. During the battle, Titan manages to destroy the Silver Coronet and deal a heavy blow to Anvil Squadron. The diversion is a success and Vanguard Squadron rushes to aid the forces at Mon Cala. With Vanguard out of the way, the Overseer travels to the Nadiri Dockyards and attacks the Starhawk, severely damaging its hyperdrive with the baradium missiles. Just as Kerrill fires the killing missile barrage, Lindon Javes and the Temperance exit hyperspace in front of the Starhawk, taking the missiles and damaging the hyperdrive. The Temperance manages to scramble the Overseer's missile targeting system, causing Kerrill to fall back. As the Nadari fleet flees, the Titan Squadron is sent to trap them enroute to Chandrila with the reactor cores leftover from the dismantled Victorum. Titan manages to destroy the fleet save for the Starhawk, which diverts toward the Ringali Nebula.

Severely wounded and almost defenseless, Lindon Javes dispatches Vanguard Squadron and Zerelda Sage to reactivate a nearby broadcast hub that once orbited Galitan. They successfully repair the hub and transmit a distress signal to the New Republic. Despite the mission's triumph, the Starhawk has sustained too much damage and is ordered to be evacuated to the Temperance by General Syndulla. To facilitate the Temperance's escape, Javes pilots an X-wing to buy them time to fix the hyperdrive. Thanks to the distress call, Anvil Squadron arrives just in time to assist Javes take on the Overseer while the Temperance breaks off from the fleet. General Syndulla sends Meteor and Hail Squadrons to secure the Nadiri Dockyards from the Empire.

Doggedly pursuing the New Republic Fleet, Terisa Kerrill disregards the Temperance and continues her pursuit of the Starhawk. In a final assault, Titan Squadron attacks the Starhawk. Titan Three manages to blast a hole in the hull and travel down the shaft to the tractor beam core. Destroying the reactors, Titan Three is shot out of the shaft, leaving the Starhawk a ticking time bomb. In one final attempt to fend off the Empire, Lindon Javes attacks Titan Squadron, only to have his X-wing shot down and crash into the side of the burning battleship. Assuming his death, Kerrill calls back Titan Squadron to the Overseer. As it leaves, the remaining Imperial forces pursue the burning Starhawk. Titan Three is promoted to Flight Baron for his service.

Aboard the Temperance, General Syndulla sends Vanguard Squadron to save Anvil Squadron from the remaining Imperial forces. Vanguard manages to destroy the nearest Star Destroyer, allowing Anvil to escape. As Vanguard is clearing a path, they receive a transmission from Lindon Javes, who survived the crash. Several CR90 corvettes pull in front of the Starhawk which is firing periodic tractor beams. The Corvettes tow the Starhawk into a straight shot of the unstable moon of Galitan, which is surrounded by Imperial forces as Javes pilots an X-wing off the Starhawk. The Corvettes pull back and Vanguard protects the Starhawk as it makes its way to the moon. It crashes, and the Starhawk explodes, causing the moon to go with it. The explosion engulfs all remaining Imperial forces, and Vanguard Squadron narrowly escapes. They regroup with the Temperance and head to Chandrila, engineers safe and ready to rebuild the Starhawk and more.

The entirety of the game is VR compatible. The PC iteration features full support for joystick controls, including HOTAS setups. Cross-platform play is enabled. The game adopts a consistent first-person perspective. The game offers both a single-player campaign and a variety of multiplayer modes. The narrative campaign alternates between perspectives of pilots from both the New Republic and the Empire.

The game features four distinct classes of starfighters: fighters, which offer a balance of firepower and defense; interceptors, which excel in speed and are effective against fighters; support craft, which boast heavy armor and provide support to other units; and bombers, which trade speed for enhanced firepower and armor, making them ideal for engaging enemy capital ships. The New Republic utilizes the X-Wing, A-Wing, U-Wing, B-wing, and Y-Wing for these roles, respectively. Similarly, the Empire employs the TIE Fighter, TIE Interceptor, TIE Reaper, TIE Defender, and TIE Bomber.

• Dogfight: A 5v5 battle featuring respawns and customizable weapon loadouts. Victory is achieved by the first side to reach 30 kills.
• Fleet Battles: Designed as a multi-stage conflict, Fleet Battles starts in a social hub for strategy planning. After deciding on a strategy and launching from the hanger, players need to push a front line towards the enemy. Depending on which way the line is moving, players must attack or defend two medium-sized capital ships. If a player succeeds on the offensive end, the final goal is to take out a flagship, beginning with its subsystems: shield generators, power systems, and targeting systems. When the flagship falls, the destroying side wins. This mode can be played as a lone player against AI, or as part of a two-player online coop experience. It can also be played as a ranked mode with two teams of five players fighting against each other. When played against AI, there are a number of generated names used .

As players progress through both the single-player campaign and multiplayer modes, they unlock the ability to personalize their starfighters, including exterior paint schemes and interior decorations. With over 50 available loadout options, players can fine-tune their fighters to suit their playstyle. The game features two forms of in-game currency, both of which can be used to acquire cosmetic and performance-enhancing items.

Star Wars: Squadrons also incorporates a "training" mode, allowing players to hone their skills and experiment with various loadouts, as well as a Fleet Battles tutorial.

• In Practice , players are able to add in as many starfighters, cruisers, and capital ships as they like to sharpen their skills. They can also experiment with different starfighter load-outs to find the optimal setup of their choice.
• The Fleet Battles tutorial provides players with a comprehensive understanding of the game's mechanics and rewards them with a unique item upon completion.

On September 10, 2020, the game reached its gold status, signifying the completion of its development phase.

The game was officially launched on October 2, 2020, for Xbox One, PPlayStation 4, and PC platforms. Two supplementary narratives were published on EA's website soon after launch: the short story "The Light You Bring" on October 8, and "Count to Three" on October 13.

On December 11, 2020, the B-wing was introduced as an alternative bomber-class starfighter for the New Republic, while the TIE Defender was added as an alternative fighter-class starfighter for the Empire.