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Star Wars Zero Company brings turn-based squad tactics to the Clone Wars, pairing a new Star Wars story with the kind of high-stakes decisions associated with XCOM. A preview build offered more than 10 hours of missions, squad management, and exploration. Its tactical battles and lasting consequences made a strong impression, though the mission objectives sometimes felt familiar.
Star Wars Zero Company and its XCOM roots
Bit Reactor was founded in 2021 by former Firaxis developers, including co-founder and director Greg Foertsch, who spent 22 years at the studio. Several members of the team had worked together across multiple games, giving the independent studio an established creative partnership from the outset.
Foertsch has described that shared experience and trust as important advantages for a new team. Bit Reactor set out to make a turn-based tactics game, and the late Vince Zampella encouraged the studio to pursue a Star Wars project. Electronic Arts signed on as publisher, with Respawn Entertainment supporting development.
Rather than follow the period explored by Respawn’s Star Wars Jedi games, Bit Reactor chose the Clone Wars. The setting gives the developers room to tell a new story while drawing on familiar people, factions, and events from across the era. Foertsch has said that the goal is to make the story approachable for newcomers while rewarding longtime fans with recognizable details.
A new squad facing the Infinite Coil
Players take the role of Hawks, a customizable leader working with Zero Company, a group of mercenaries initially taking jobs for the Republic. The team becomes entangled in a mystery involving the Infinite Coil, a fanatical cult led by Kundri Fathom. Its members are infected with a plague that increases their physical strength while apparently affecting their minds and free will. The cult also aligns itself with the Separatists and their battle droids.
The early squad includes Aurelio, a Rodian; Trick, a Clone Trooper; and Kabb Uppercut, a retired Felshi boxer. A Jedi and a Mandalorian bounty hunter join during the preview. Characters have defined personalities and appearances, but they are not necessarily protected from the consequences of battle.
Permadeath gives tactical decisions lasting weight: fallen squadmates may not return. Successful teamwork can help characters gain levels, earn focus points for ability upgrades, and form bonds that improve their statistics. Since a poor outcome can reshape the roster, consider the risks of each engagement and make use of squad assists where possible.
Combat, base management, and exploration
Combat is the core of Star Wars Zero Company, but there is more to do between missions. Intel points can be spent on menu-based operations that provide credits, regional reputation, tactical missions, and other rewards. Credits can fund base modules, equipment and skills, medical care, and weapons purchased on the Black Market.
Squad members can be sent to the medbay for healing, so factor recovery into your plans before committing to another operation. Upgrading the base and improving the team can also help prepare for later missions.
Most gameplay uses an isometric camera, while some sequences shift behind Hawks as he moves through Star Wars environments. Players can also walk around the base in third person, speak with teammates, and interact with its modules. These sections add a change of pace and give the squad’s home a more tangible presence.
Mission variety and controls
In the preview, many objectives centered on defeating all enemies or reaching a location and evacuating while additional foes arrived. These familiar formats support tactical combat, but missions with distinct goals stood out more. One required rescuing a downed ally and escaping together; another briefly shifted into an espionage sequence, with Hawks disguising himself as an officer to gather intelligence.
The preview also supported both keyboard and mouse and controller play. Although the session began on a desktop PC, the Xbox controller became the preferred option. Foertsch said the team had considered controller support alongside traditional PC controls, giving players flexibility in how they approach the tactical encounters.
For players who enjoy squad tactics, the practical takeaway is to pay attention to more than hit chances. The preview’s battles made positioning, team support, and the possibility of losing a character meaningful parts of every decision.
Does Star Wars Zero Company deliver?
The preview combined tactical combat, squad progression, and consequential choices with a story set in the Clone Wars. Its permanent-death system made victories feel earned and losses difficult to ignore. The main question left open was whether the full game would offer enough variety in mission objectives beyond its more familiar combat scenarios.
Star Wars Zero Company was scheduled to arrive on PS5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC on August 27. Based on the preview, it has the ingredients to appeal to both Star Wars fans and players drawn to XCOM-style tactics. Its mix of squad management, risk, and a fresh Clone Wars narrative makes Star Wars Zero Company one to watch for anyone looking for a story-driven strategy game.
