A whole new expansion to the Star Wars universe has recently been announced, looking at the High Republic era, during one of the more prosperous times for the Jedi Order. However, along with this announcement comes even more integration in the Star Wars multimedia franchise by including a small cameo in Star Wars: Squadrons for players to get in on the High Republic hype.
Announced during a live stream on January 4, the reveal of the new Star Wars: Squadrons customization option came alongside an announcement for the rollout of a number of different pieces of content for The High Republic. Granted, for longtime Star Wars fans, the whole new rollout of lore-filled content looks like it may bridge the gap on what Disney now considers within the new canon from the extended universe.
The new cosmetic itself is a piece of cockpit flair in the shape of a High Republic lightsaber that players can keep in their view while flying through the galaxy. It's a small addition, and likely the first of many to be updated into Star Wars: Squadrons, depending on if this new content rollout is as successful as Disney is hoping. Though, this is likely the only way to really introduce anything Jedi related to the flight simulator, as it would be difficult to fully integrate a more elegant lightsaber into the less civilized dogfighting.
As for the rest of the High Republic launch event, it looks like an interesting new chapter in the Disney era of Star Wars, looking at a time that much of the newer content has mostly avoided. With any luck future Star Wars: Squadrons add-ons will give even more new content and missions that touch on this new series of comics and books. The new cockpit flair is nice for now, but both Disney and EA's history of brand integration will likely lead to even more multimedia collaboration moving forward.
These little bits of added customization in titles like Star Wars: Squadrons are always welcome to give players the opportunity to build their own experience the way they want to. It's a small addition that could wind up going a long way towards making fans of content like what is coming with The High Republic happy with their personalized cockpits and pilots. This is exactly the type of new additions that can keep the success of EA's latest titles with the Star Wars IP in good standing with fans and pull away from the more critical look at past attempts with the brand.
Star Wars: Squadrons is available now for PC, PS4, and Xbox One.