Squad is coming to PS5 and Xbox Series in 2027, with a free PS5 alpha until October 25

An open PS5 alpha until October 25

The technical test started on Friday, October 16, and runs until Sunday, October 25. It is open to everyone, but you need to sign up through the game’s official website. In this alpha, players are split between the Armed Forces of Ukraine and China’s People’s Liberation Army to fight over a strategic rail line on the Gorodok map.

PC players aren’t left out: while the alpha lasts, anyone who owns Squad on Steam can claim the Recon Team Pack for free, a set of five woodland weapon skins for the US Marine Corps. It is only free until October 25.

Squad entered early access on PC in December 2015 and fully launched on Steam on September 23, 2020. Secret Mode, which is handling the console version alongside Offworld, puts the launch in 2027; the studio hasn’t given an exact date yet.

What the console version includes

Offworld has detailed the launch content: the AAS, RAAS, Invasion and Fireteam modes; the Al Basrah, Fallujah, Mutaha, Narva, Yehorivka and Gorodok maps; and eight factions, including the US Army and Marine Corps, the British Armed Forces and the Russian Ground Forces. PvP matches will support up to 100 players, and the Fireteam PvE mode up to five.

The current performance targets are 4K with dynamic resolution and 60 FPS on PS5 and Xbox Series X, and 1440p with dynamic resolution and 30 FPS on Xbox Series S. The studio says it will keep optimizing and publish final figures closer to launch. The console version will have aim assist, a controller-specific control scheme and interface, proximity voice chat and official dedicated servers in North America, South America, Europe, Asia and Oceania.

Opt-in crossplay, but no shared progression

PlayStation and Xbox players will be able to play together on official console servers if they turn crossplay on. PC is more limited: PC players will be able to create community servers using the console ruleset, and console players with crossplay enabled will be able to join them. It will always be opt-in for PC players, who will find these servers in a separate section of the server browser.

There will be no cross-progression, owning the game on PC doesn’t include a console copy, and DLC and cosmetics will be platform-specific. Squad on console will be digital-only, each platform’s usual online requirements will apply, and mods won’t be available on console at launch. As for Game Pass or PlayStation Plus, Offworld says it has nothing to announce for now.

What it means for PC

Offworld stresses that PC remains fundamental and calls its plan “One Squad”: after the console launch, major updates will arrive on every platform at the same time, except for fixes that only affect one. The studio says it now has more developers working on Squad than it has had in a long time, and that the optimization work needed for consoles, together with the move to Unreal Engine 5, will also benefit performance on PC. Community servers and mods will remain part of the PC version.