Squad is finally getting its long-awaited Unreal 5 update tomorrow, but the community is worried

Offworld first announced the Unreal Engine 5 update for Squad back in April. At first, there was a mix of excitement about the upgrade and laughter at the new PiP scope mode, but things are getting serious now. The devs confirmed on X yesterday that the update will go live on September 3rd. After all the playtests, though, a lot of players are starting to worry it might feel rushed and do more harm than good.

Squad 9.0 is coming, but is it ready?

Squad Update 9.0 isn’t just a big overhaul, it also brings Al Basrah map fully remade, with updated terrain, new urban areas, and smoother tactical flow. There are new gunplay mechanics, factions, and plenty of other additions. But as always, what looks great on paper doesn’t always play out that way in reality.

The update was supposed to launch this summer, but the playtests made it clear it’s not ready, so Offworld decided to push it back. Early tests showed serious performance issues with switching to Unreal 5. Players were seeing major frame drops and stuttering, even on high-end rigs. Vehicle physics also needed a lot of work, with cars and trucks tipping over easily.

Source: Squad; Developer: Offworld

On top of that, there are plenty of bugs – some funny, like downed players’ bodies crawling away and stopping them from being healed, and some frustrating, like reload glitches, vehicles glowing in smoke, and more.

The takeaway was simple: if the update launches with even half of these issues, it will definitely let the community down. It really needs a lot of polishing before release. And now that it’s finally happening, players are worried it still might not be ready, possibly because the devs just want to get it out before Battlefield 6 drops on October 10th.

Squad

September 23, 2020

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• Overview

• multiplayer
• tactical shooters
• FPP shooters (FPS)
• Offworld Industries
• Unreal Engine 5