Star Wars Zero Company: XCOM-Style Tactics Meet Clone Wars Drama
- Star Wars: Zero Company launched on August 27, 2026, combining turn-based strategy mechanics with a narrative set during the Clone Wars, according to reports from Tweakers, Gameliner, IGN...
- The story takes place in the final months of the Clone Wars and follows a customizable ex-Republic Captain named Hawks.
- Missions deploy up to four team members across planetary settings to face droids, sect members, and mercenaries.
Star Wars: Zero Company launched on August 27, 2026, combining turn-based strategy mechanics with a narrative set during the Clone Wars, according to reports from Tweakers, Gameliner, IGN Benelux, and Headliner. Developed by Bit Reactor and published by Electronic Arts at a standard price of $49.99 and a Deluxe price of $59.99, the game is available on PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X|S. The studio includes former Firaxis developers, such as CEO and Creative Director Greg Foertsch, who worked as art director on modern XCOM titles.
Narrative Setup and Character Dynamics
The story takes place in the final months of the Clone Wars and follows a customizable ex-Republic Captain named Hawks. Hawks takes the fall for a mission that wiped out his squad, leading him to operate off the books from the Ring of Kafrene as leader of a mercenary group called Zero Company. Hawks is joined by a Republic spy and an exiled noblewoman who target an entity known as the Infinite Coil. The campaign lasts more than twenty hours and features characters such as the Togruta second-in-command Runa, the wounded clone soldier Trick, former alien bokser Kabbney Uppercut, Lesat smuggler Neesh, and Umbaraanse sniper Luco. Team relationships and dialogue choices shape interactions on the base, while permanent character death adds stakes to combat outcomes and unlocks specific story branches.
Turn-Based Combat and Gameplay Systems
Missions deploy up to four team members across planetary settings to face droids, sect members, and mercenaries. Combat operates on a system of three action points per turn to govern movement, attacks, and abilities, utilizing roles such as medic, revolverheld, and sniper. An assist mechanic allows nearby team members to support each other and trigger combat bonuses. Roughly twenty percent of missions include third-person exploration segments where players control Hawks on foot. While these sections showcase environments inspired by Star Wars media, they contain minimal dialogue or puzzles.
Presentation, Performance, and Development Status
The game runs on Xbox Series X in two modes, with a performance mode holding a smooth framerate and a quality mode delivering higher fidelity at a choppy 30 frames per second. Reviewers noted occasional artifacting, slow texture loading, and blocky shadows, though a launch patch was scheduled to address these presentation issues. IGN Benelux reported that a large portion of the development team at Bit Reactor was placed on unpaid leave following the game’s release, raising questions about future updates and studio operations.