Ukrainian Armed Forces soldiers will be added to SQUAD game shooter

Canadian studio Offworld Industries has officially confirmed that the tactical shooter SQUAD will feature a new playable faction — the Armed Forces of Ukraine. The Ukrainian units are currently in development, and the release is expected at the end of 2025. The information was received through the Ukrainian publication PlayUA.

The developers explain their decision by several factors:

• Ukraine is in the top 4 countries by number of players;
• the team strives to realistically depict the modern battlefield;
• the game already has a Ukrainian localization.

What else is known

At the same time, the Eastern European biome will be updated — the vegetation and architecture will be reworked so that they better match the real landscapes of the region. Also expected:

• a new squad creation system;
• rewards based on the results of matches;
• a Commendations system — players will be able to mark others for effective play, leadership, or helping newcomers. Special icons will be displayed in the HUD, scoreboards, and other interface elements.

Unreal Engine 5 and update plans

In June, the developers completed the final testing of the version on the Unreal Engine 5. Taking into account player feedback, the team changed the update schedule: instead of frequent small patches, two major versions will be released by the end of the year – 9.0 and 10.0. Between them, there may be some minor fixes. More details about the upcoming updates are promised to be revealed in August.