Star Wars: Squadrons Gameplay Reveal Shows Dogfighting, Customization

EA debuted the first gameplay trailer for Star Wars: Squadrons during its EA Play event, giving us our first look at the dogfighting action game. That included a closer look at the New Republic and Imperial squadrons, customization options, and harrowing dogfights.

The star of the trailer was the view from inside the cockpit, showing how you'll engage with most of the moment-to-moment action. That look showed dogfights from a first-person cockpit view, complete with your ship's instruments and an icon of the ship itself with shields that seemed to deplete in parts, similar to the classic X-Wing and TIE Fighter series. The entire game is also playable in VR.

In the campaign, you'll be part of both the New Republic Vanguard Squadron and Imperial Titan Squadron. In the story campaign, "two pilots will shape the balance of power in the galaxy," according to EA.

In multiplayer, you'll team up in squads of five. Each side has matching ship types: Fighters (X-Wing, TIE Fighter), Interceptors (A-Wing, TIE Interceptor), Support (U-Wing, TIE Reaper), and Bombers (Y-Wing, TIE Bomber). You'll be able to customize your ships with more than 50 components like seeker warheads, tractor beams, and turrets. Other customization options include paint jobs for your ship exterior and decorations like an Ewok bobblehead for your cockpit.

The presentation also outlined the signature multiplayer mode, Fleet Battles. These are multi-stage conflicts where you and teammates or AI take part in three phases of battle. First, you go through a dogfight against other pilots, and then you go into attack and defense for mid-sized capital ships. Finally, you attack a main capital ship.

The official site outlined each of these modes and fighters, along with a dedicated section to the maps. Those include some recognizable locations from the Star Wars universe: Yavin Prime, Esseles, Nadiri Dockyards, Sissubo, Galitan, and the Zavian Abyss.

Star Wars: Squadrons is coming on October 2 for PS4, Xbox One, and PC. The game is available to pre-order now for $40 and includes a handful of pre-order bonuses--check out our Star Wars: Squadrons pre-order guide for more info.

GameSpot has officially kicked off Play For All--a celebration of all things gaming. Join us as we bring you the summer's hottest news, previews, interviews, features, and videos, as well as raise money for COVID-19 relief efforts and Black Lives Matter with the help of our friends from around the gaming world. Check out the Play For All schedule for more.