A new Hope for Tactics Games

While games like XCOM, Gears Tactics, and warhammer 40,000: Chaos Gate – Daemonhunters have kept the tactics genre alive, a perceived barrier to entry remains. Many find the complex gameplay mechanics overwhelming. Bit Reactor intends to address this with Zero Company.

Greg Foertsch, creative director at Bit Reactor, explained their approach:

I think that when you look at these games–in general–a lot of times the mechanics can overwhelm and you tack the story on later. By using the story to guide us, it doesn’t shut down doors, it open doors. And it’s not just about what we want people to play, but also what we want them to feel. And so through camera work,presentation,and story,I think we’re able to hit a lot of notes and really make this game appeal in a different way and kind of innovate in a way that the other games in the space haven’t. I think we’re really focused on trying to like marry those two aspects of it, the immersion and the presentation level with the mechanics.
Greg Foertsch, Creative Director, Bit Reactor

The goal is to organically teach players the game’s systems as they delve into the Clone Wars’ underbelly.

Story-Driven Immersion

bit Reactor is prioritizing story to guide players through the mechanics. Mr. Foertsch elaborated:

So, we want to make sure that we wrap the game with a good story that makes sense to people and tutorializes things as needed, as opposed to kind of hitting people over the head. If you want to experience the game for the story, it’s there. If you want to play and you want to have permadeath, guess what? You can do that too.I think making a game where people can appreciate, understand, and get into it and not feel overwhelmed by it, but it still has the depth and challenge, you can do both.That’s what we’ve set out to do.
Greg Foertsch,Creative Director,Bit Reactor

This approach aims to create a game that is both accessible and deeply engaging.

The Force and Relationships

LucasFilm Games creative executive Kelsey Sharpe highlighted the unique advantages of setting the game in the Star Wars universe:

You can use the Force, you can call out an astromech droid for an assist, and then also so much of Star Wars storytelling is based on the relationships that characters build with each other.
Kelsey sharpe, Creative Executive, LucasFilm Games

Players will get to know authored characters while creating customizable characters, making decisions about who to send on missions together.

At the same time that you are getting to know the Authored Characters, you’re creating these customizable characters and making gameplay decisions about who you’re going to send on certain missions together.And those are going to meaningfully affect both the tactical layer of gameplay and the experience that you have back at the Den.
Kelsey Sharpe,Creative Executive,LucasFilm Games

Release and Further Insights

Star Wars: zero Company is scheduled to launch in 2026 for PC,PS5,and Xbox series X|S [1] [3].

For more information, check out the reveal trailer and read about how the developers aim to replicate the gritty wartime feel of Rogue One and Andor.

FAQ

• What type of game is Star Wars: zero Company?

  It is a single-player, turn-based tactics game.

• When will Star Wars: Zero Company be released?

  The game is scheduled for release in 2026.

• What platforms will Star Wars: Zero Company be available on?

  It will be available on PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X|S.

• Who is developing Star Wars: Zero Company?

  Bit Reactor is developing the game in collaboration with Respawn Entertainment.