Star Wars: Squadrons preorders on the Epic Store come with an X-Wing glider for Fortnite

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A new cinematic featuring the Empire's Titan Squadron is out today too.

(Image credit: Electronic Arts)

The deep space dogfighting sim Star Wars: Squadrons won't be an Epic Games Store exclusive—you can also pick it up on Steam or Origin if you prefer. But that doesn't mean that Epic is entirely without leverage when it comes to convincing people that its store is the right store.

You know what I mean.

The Fortnite glider will come on top of the New Republic Recruit and Imperial Ace cosmetic items that are being offered as a preorder bonus on all storefronts. It's probably not going to carry much weight with starfighter pilots who don't play Fortnite, but an awful lot of people do play Fortnite, and an exclusive glider is bound to have some big appeal.

EA also released a new Star Wars: Squadrons cinematic today, introducing Titan Leader, the head of the game's Imperial squadron. It's very silly—How does a TIE Fighter outmaneuver an X-Wing in atmosphere? Would an X-Wing pilot really be cleared to chase down a single TIE? Is "Imp" supposed to be some kind of devastating personal insult?—and cramming in a trench run and the big rooster tail as they go blasting over the water is a little on the nose. All that's missing is a disembodied voice saying "use the Force," although I'm not aware of Imperial pilots ever getting that sort of cosmic pep-talk from dead Sith Lords. 

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Despite all that, it's interesting to see the focus on the Imperials as the "hero" faction in the trailer, although I do wish it went deeper into the game's narrative angle. The actual dogfighting looks promising, but the story is where the whole "play as the space fascists" thing is going to get interesting.

Star Wars: Squadrons comes out on October 2.

Andy Chalk
Andy Chalk
US News Lead

Andy has been gaming on PCs from the very beginning, starting as a youngster with text adventures and primitive action games on a cassette-based TRS80. From there he graduated to the glory days of Sierra Online adventures and Microprose sims, ran a local BBS, learned how to build PCs, and developed a longstanding love of RPGs, immersive sims, and shooters. He began writing videogame news in 2007 for The Escapist and somehow managed to avoid getting fired until 2014, when he joined the storied ranks of PC Gamer. He covers all aspects of the industry, from new game announcements and patch notes to legal disputes, Twitch beefs, esports, and Henry Cavill. Lots of Henry Cavill.