Software:Star Wars Zero Company

From HandWiki
Star Wars Zero Company
Developer(s)Bit Reactor
Respawn Entertainment
Publisher(s)Electronic Arts
Director(s)Greg Foertsch
Producer(s)Caydence Funk
Designer(s)James Brawley
Grayson Scantlebury
Programmer(s)Ryan McFall
Writer(s)Aaron Contreras
SeriesStar Wars
Platform(s)
Release2026
Genre(s)Turn-based tactics
Mode(s)Single-player

Star Wars Zero Company is an upcoming turn-based tactics video game developed by Bit Reactor and Respawn Entertainment and published by Electronic Arts. The game is set during the Clone Wars era, with players assuming control of the leader of "Zero Company", a group of misfits and mercenaries tasked with fighting an emerging threat that threatens the whole galaxy. It is set to be released in 2026 for PlayStation 5, Windows and Xbox Series X/S.

Gameplay

In this gameplay screenshot, the player's squad is fighting against droids of the Confederacy of Independent Systems.

Set during the Clone Wars, Zero Company places players in the role of Hawks, a former Republic officer tasked with recruiting a crew of misfits and mercenaries to protect the galaxy from an emerging threat. Players can fully customize Hawks' gender, appearance, and voice at the beginning of the game.[1] Combat in the game is turn-based, and played from a top-down perspective. Players issue commands to a squad of characters, which may include custom mercenaries as well as story-based characters. These characters can be sorted into different classes, though story-based characters have access to their own unique skills and abilities.[2][3] Players can also create their own astromech droids, which focus on supporting the party and utilizing explosives.[2] In each turn, each characters only has a limited number of action points that dictate how many actions they can perform and how far they can move, though they can be replenished within a turn using certain abilities.[2] Squad members can sustain lasting injuries or even suffer permanent death, though the narrative continues regardless of who is lost.[4] Different missions have different objectives. While each level is handcrafted by the developer, the placement of enemies is procedurally generated.[5]

Between missions, players manage a base of operations known as the Den to conduct research, upgrade their gear, and launch strategic investigations and tactical strikes across the galaxy.[3] Players advance time, known as "cycles" in the game, as they complete missions. Some objectives are time-limited, meaning that they will expire forever if they are not completed in time.[2] Players can also start non-combat operations to gather intel. In these missions, players must make narrative decisions that may lead to consequences several cycles later. The game features a progression system where players can choose which permanent upgrades to deny their enemies through sabotage.[5] The game also features elements commonly found in role-playing video games.[6] Outside of combat, players can explore the world from a third-person perspective.[7] At the Den, the player character can converse with different squad members. They will have differing personalities and world views and players must resolve their conflicts. While characters will not desert the party due to low approval, their dissatisfaction will trigger specific narrative consequences and story moments.[5] Conversely, characters who frequently participate in combat operations together will develop stronger bonds, providing them with significant tactical synergy bonuses.[3]

Development

The game is currently being developed by Bit Reactor, a studio founded in 2022. The development included many former staffers of Firaxis Games, including Greg Foertsch, founder of the company and creative director of the game.[8] Foertsch previously served as the art director for the modern XCOM games.[5] Foertsch was invited by Vince Zampella, the founder of Respawn Entertainment, to create a Star Wars tactics game.[5]

The game was created with high production values, with the team introducing a third-person sections to the game styled similarly to cinematic action-adventure games. The story in the game was written by Aaron Contreras, the writer behind the Star Wars Jedi games.[5] The team was divided about adding permadeath into the game, though it was subsequently decided that the inclusion of this feature fit Star War's core theme about loss.[9] The game was designed to be accessible, with the team using the game's story to tutorialize its core gameplay mechanics.[10] The Clone Wars era was chosen as the game's setting as the team felt that it provided a lot of opportunities for the team to tell an original story. The team read a lot of Star Wars books, as well as visiting Wookieepedia, to determine what planets and locations to include in the game.[11] The Clone Wars animated series, Rogue One, Andor, as well as Dirty Dozen inspired the game's themes and tone.[12]

In January 2022, EA announced that Respawn was developing three games set in the Star Wars universe, including a sequel to Software:Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order (Jedi: Survivor), an unnamed first-person shooter which had since been cancelled, and this game.[13] Zero Company was announced in April 2025 during Star Wars Celebration in Japan. Publisher Electronic Arts is set to release the game in 2026 for Windows, PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S[14]

References

  1. ↑ Myers, Maddy (April 19, 2025). "Star Wars Zero Company, a turn-based game at the end of the Clone Wars, gets full reveal". Polygon. https://www.polygon.com/star-wars/560074/star-wars-zero-company-xcom-game-reveal/. Retrieved March 27, 2026. 
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 Litchfield, Ted (March 27, 2026). "Everything you need to know about Star Wars Zero Company". PC Gamer. https://www.pcgamer.com/games/strategy/star-wars-zero-company-guide/. Retrieved March 27, 2026. 
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Bouthyus, Darryn (April 19, 2015). "Star Wars: Zero Company's Main Character Is Fully Customizable". GameSpot. https://www.gamespot.com/articles/star-wars-zero-company-main-character-is-fully-customizable/1100-6530936/. Retrieved March 27, 2026. 
  4. ↑ Kuhnke, Oisin (March 26, 2026). "Star Wars Zero Company forces you into permadeath so you can see "what's on the other side of the experience"". Rock, Paper, Shotgun. https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/star-wars-zero-company-forces-you-into-permadeath-so-you-can-see-whats-on-the-other-side-of-the-experience. Retrieved March 27, 2026. 
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 5.5 Litchfield, Ted (March 27, 2026). "Star Wars Zero Company is more than just 'Star Wars XCOM'—it feels like Mass Effect but with turn-based tactics and permadeath". PC Gamer. https://www.pcgamer.com/games/strategy/star-wars-zero-company-is-more-than-just-star-wars-xcom-it-feels-like-mass-effect-but-with-turn-based-tactics-and-permadeath/. Retrieved March 27, 2026. 
  6. ↑ Hopley, Alex (March 27, 2026). "Star Wars Zero Company comes with enough story to make it as much of an RPG as it is a strategy game". Gamereactor. https://www.gamereactor.eu/star-wars-zero-company-comes-with-enough-story-to-make-it-as-much-of-an-rpg-as-it-is-a-strategy-game-1698303/. Retrieved March 28, 2026. 
  7. ↑ Bailey, Dustin (March 27, 2026). "Star Wars Zero Company lets you explore like it's a third-person action game outside of combat, and it sounds like the same kind of X-factor that helped Baldur's Gate 3 break out beyond the CRPG nerds". GamesRadar. https://www.gamesradar.com/games/strategy/star-wars-zero-company-lets-you-explore-like-its-a-third-person-action-game-outside-of-combat-and-it-sounds-like-the-same-kind-of-x-factor-that-helped-baldurs-gate-3-break-out-beyond-the-crpg-nerds/. Retrieved March 27, 2026. 
  8. ↑ Partis, Danielle (January 19, 2022). "Former Firaxis art director Greg Foertsch unveils new studio, Bit Reactor". Gameindustry.biz. https://www.gamesindustry.biz/former-firaxis-director-greg-foertsch-unveils-new-studio-bit-reactor. Retrieved March 27, 2026. 
  9. ↑ Carpenter, Lincoln (March 27, 2026). "Star Wars Zero Company devs said 'there were some fights' about its story-centric squadmates suffering permadeath, but accepting that 'Star Wars is about loss' made the game stronger". PC Gamer. https://www.pcgamer.com/games/strategy/star-wars-zero-company-devs-said-there-were-some-fights-about-its-story-centric-squadmates-suffering-permadeath-but-accepting-that-star-wars-is-about-loss-made-the-game-stronger/. Retrieved March 27, 2026. 
  10. ↑ Bouthyus, Darryn (April 19, 2025). "Star Wars: Zero Company Caters To Hardcore Fans, Despite Being An Approachable Tactics Game". GameSpot. https://www.gamespot.com/articles/star-wars-zero-company-caters-to-hardcore-fans-despite-being-an-approachable-tactics-game/1100-6530935/. Retrieved March 27, 2026. 
  11. ↑ Bailey, Dustin (March 27, 2026). "Even the Star Wars Zero Company devs have spent a lot of time "going on Wookieepedia" to get the deep cut lore right". GamesRadar. https://www.gamesradar.com/games/strategy/even-the-star-wars-zero-company-devs-have-spent-a-lot-of-time-going-on-wookieepedia-to-get-the-deep-cut-lore-right/. Retrieved March 27, 2026. 
  12. ↑ Bouthyus, Darryn (April 19, 2025). "How Star Wars: Zero Company Aims To Replicate The Gritty Wartime Feel Of Rogue One And The Clone Wars". GameSpot. https://www.gamespot.com/articles/how-star-wars-zero-company-aims-to-replicate-the-gritty-wartime-feel-of-rogue-one-and-the-clone-wars/1100-6530934/. Retrieved March 27, 2026. 
  13. ↑ Humphries, Matthew (January 25, 2022). "EA Is Developing 3 Star Wars Games". PCMag. https://www.pcmag.com/news/ea-is-developing-3-star-wars-games. Retrieved March 27, 2026. 
  14. ↑ Shea, Brian (April 19, 2025). "Star Wars Zero Company Details, First Screenshots Emerge From Star Wars Celebration Japan". Game Informer. https://gameinformer.com/2025/04/19/star-wars-zero-company-details-first-screenshots-emerge-from-star-wars-celebration-japan. Retrieved March 27, 2026. 

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