Star Wars Zero Company: A New Hope for Turn-Based Tactics

When I spoke with the Creative Director and Lead Designer of Star Wars Zero Company earlier this summer, I left extraordinarily excited concerning the promise of a turn-based techniques sport set amid the Clone Wars, made by seasoned fingers behind among the style’s greatest.

Now that I’ve performed 15 hours of a preview construct over the course of per week, I’m thrilled to report that it completely lives as much as that immense promise. Star Wars Zero Company is the proper fusion of style, developer, and mental property into one thing particular that bodes nicely for the way forward for each techniques and Star Wars video games.

Ultimate Team

You play Hawks, a former Republic officer who now leads the eponymous Zero Company of mercenaries, starting as many nice Star Wars tales do: suffocating in debt to the Hutt crime syndicate. Soon, a displaced noble and a Republic Intelligence agent method them about investigating a harmful cult, the Coil, spreading within the outer reaches of the galaxy alongside a mysterious and terrifying plague. It’s a traditional, morally clear premise to get you proper into the motion of combating smugglers, cultists, and droids in gripping, turn-based tactical battles.

As is so usually the case in Star Wars, what actually elevates the proceedings is the scrappy, discovered household of outsiders at your facet. Of course, one unlucky Rodian doesn’t survive the tutorial mission to strengthen how permadeath works (taking place in fight offers a wound, and accumulating 3 wounds with out resting is finish of the road). That leaves you with a beginning squad of discharged clone trooper Trick and ex-convict/boxer, Kabb Uppercut (a very traditional Star Wars identify, and in addition my Hawks’ greatest good friend in keeping with the bond system, which rewards tracks and rewards characters that do loads collectively). Soon you’re joined by Jae Mordant, the aforementioned noble whose mining citadel was stolen from her by Fathom, chief of the Coil.

But it’s not lengthy till you’re rising that squad your self. Early on, I additionally recruited two totally different snipers from the procedurally generated pool of potential teammates out there for rent: Yaan Nia, a human insurgent firebrand that I took as a result of she appears sort of like Kleya from “Andor,” and Kos Niemz, a steely Weequay mercenary that I took as a result of she appears sort of like a California Raisin. I fell in love with each of them virtually instantly – procedurally generated characters, pinging off each other in emergent, systematized relationships, to not point out the looming menace of demise, is a confirmed method in numerous video games from The Sims to XCOM to RimWorld. As you may count on, Star Wars is a completely good setting for it, overflowing with iconic species and archetypes to combine and match like motion figures in your individual sandbox. This will probably be nice fodder for imaginative streamers, like XCOM was earlier than it.

In addition to totally customizing the looks and specialization of Hawks firstly, you may as well respec any of the above characters at any time. The solely characters you may’t change are these you may recruit with distinctive specializations (up to now, a Jedi Padawan and a Mandalorian Bounty Hunter). For the generated characters, you may even change their look and persona everytime you need. You may construct characters from scratch from the beginning menu, and allow or disable them for recruitment. It actually is among the most strong toolkits I’ve ever seen for customizing your individual adventuring crew of ‘Star Wars guys’ this facet of a tabletop role-playing sport.

My Hawks began as a Scoundrel, however Kabb additionally had that class, so as an alternative I quickly switched her to a quick-firing Gunslinger, as a way to make the most of a weapon mod I’d discovered that utilized accumulating burn standing on each assault. I may simply as simply think about extra RP-minded gamers utilizing these customization techniques to make narrative-driven modifications to their crew, like new scars and a change of function after a near-death expertise. Zero Company empowers gamers each strategically and aesthetically to freely experiment with developing precisely the group of operators that they need, whereas reserving the intense friction for the place it belongs: the tactical battles.

Blorbo Chess

Combat will, in broad strokes, really feel proper at residence to turn-based techniques veterans. Each of your characters has 3 motion factors per spherical, to be spent on shifting, attacking, or utilizing gadgets and skills. You alternate between taking your entire actions and the enemies taking theirs as you struggle by means of varied docks, touchdown pads, and different unique locales throughout the galaxy far, far-off. Objectives are usually divided between standing and combating till you’ve defeated everybody, or attaining a set process (reminiscent of rescuing a hostage or holding a spot for a number of turns when you steal one thing) after which shifting to an extraction zone whereas extra enemies pour in.

Your squad’s strongest talents require a shared useful resource, Advantage, as an alternative of motion factors, which accumulates as much as a max of 10 when any of your group efficiently offers harm to the enemy. This ingredient of tempo results in massive, dramatic swing turns the place you flip the tide of battle with a determined, creative, heroic mixture of strikes out of your group, and is an ideal instance of how the spirit of Star Wars infuses the design from prime to backside.

Lead Designer James Brawley informed me in June about how he sees techniques video games as a strategy to generate numerous distinctive puzzles from the mixtures of enemies, environments, and your talents. It feels nice to go from panicking concerning the seemingly not possible again foot the enemy has me on, by means of assessing my choices and eking out one other victory, spherical by spherical. At the builders’ advice as a style veteran, I performed on Hard (third highest out of 4 difficulties) and located it very properly difficult, practically all the time feeling like I’m scraping by and taking a wound or two, although not but shedding anybody completely. There are well-balanced choices to use kind of problem to fit your style, and the cutely named Beskar mode is that this sport’s equal for XCOM’s Ironman, with no reloading earlier saves.

I’ve solely simply scratched the floor of how a lot selection there’s to discover within the fight and group composition. One of the larger eye-opening moments of my playthrough was once I lastly acquired an astromech, which has no fundamental assault, however carries three totally different utility gadgets – all styles of grenade, on this case – with two makes use of every (versus one slot and one use for everybody else up to now). Using them acquired me to start out considering extra laterally about how I used grenades with different characters as nicely, reminiscent of utilizing the concussive grenade to knock individuals off the map fully. Brawley had talked about that he favored with the ability to discipline a squad fully of astromechs, partially as a form of homage to his childhood curiosity of operating all white mages in Final Fantasy. I sit up for exploring this wide selection of choices that open up as the sport proceeds.

Home Is Where the Holotable Is

Between missions you retire to The Den, your cozy base of operations on a dramatic former mining-turned-trading outpost referred to as the Ring of Kafrene (first featured to start with of “Rogue One,” the place Cassian Andor’s contact confirms the existence of the Death Star and units the plot in movement). Here you run round in third individual to speak together with your crew, handle your sources and group, and choose your subsequent mission on the holotable.

In addition to selecting your subsequent mission, the holotable additionally has a strategic map of your affect all through totally different sectors of the galaxy, unlocking varied rewards as you do issues in them. Operations are little text-based storylets that you choose from the holotable between discipline missions, normally with a alternative to find out the end result, generally requiring you to ship operators out with related dangers. These generally advance the principle story or side-quests as a part of narrative chains resulting in missions, however are sometimes simply one other strategy to get the credit, intel, and equipment that it’s essential function. For sure, notably charged ethical selections, everybody in your squad may have an opinion, with the UI clearly displaying how every possibility will have an effect on Hawks’ bond stage with each different character. All these techniques satisfyingly interlock to present you a number of little selections that dynamically feed again on each other – it offers off that traditional, Sid Meier sense of a sport being “a series of interesting decisions.”

Besides strategic administration of your personnel and gear, the Den additionally serves as an excellent narrative interlude to your harrowing battles, studying extra concerning the members of your squad in addition to different, non-combatant members of the group, like your wry android physician. Dropout star Vic Michaelis stands out specifically as Runa Blask, a Togruta (like Ahsoka) former Separatist partisan finance professional who’s grow to be Hawks’ principal advisor. She’s extraordinarily sensible, a little bit imply, and won’t hesitate to let you understand how a lot she hates the Republic. I actually want she’d decide up a blaster and be part of us within the discipline.

Go See a Star War

Ask me a number of years in the past, and I might have simply informed you that I’m extra of a Trek man, however the one-two punch of “Andor” and now Star Wars Zero Company has severely shifted that heart of gravity. Much like that distinctive TV sequence, Zero Company places Star Wars in a barely totally different style context than I’m used to, executed with such ability and care that it makes me respect with recent eyes what’s all the time been nice concerning the franchise, like discovered households, cute little aliens, and the tinny voices of hapless, overconfident B-Series battle droids being instantly owned (they’re fodder enemies that go down if you happen to breathe on them, and it by no means stopped being humorous).

It’s additionally all the time nice to see builders whose work I’ve beloved unfold their wings at a brand new studio. Even on the preview stage, Star Wars Zero Company is a incredible first outing for Bit Reactor, and past wanting ahead to enjoying extra of it, I’m additionally already enthusiastic about no matter they resolve to do subsequent.

I’m wanting to get again to the adventures of my Blorbos quickly when Star Wars Zero Company launches on XBOX Series X|S on August 27, 2026.

STAR WARS Zero Company™ Deluxe Edition

Electronic Arts

☆☆☆☆☆
31

★★★★★

$69.99

$62.99

Pre-order* STAR WARS Zero Company™ to outfit your droids with the Crystalline Astromech Pack Preorder Bonus, which incorporates the R3 droid and translucent “crystalline” astromech heads for the R4, R5 droid variants, in addition to Star Wars Zero Company’s™ unique BR-1 droid.

Unlock distinctive beauty gadgets impressed by the Clone Wars™ period with Star Wars Zero Company™ Deluxe Edition.

The “Grand Army of the Republic” Cosmetic Pack
• “Republic Officer” Uniform
• “100th Clone Company” Armor Set
• “ARC Trooper” Armor Set

The “Shadow Collective” Cosmetic Pack
• “Pyke” Helmet Cosmetic
• Five beauty tattoos
‎ – “Pyke Syndicate”
‎ – “Hutt Cartel”
‎ – “Death Watch”
‎ – “Black Sun Syndicate”
‎ – “Crimson Dawn”

Five Weapon Set Themes
• “100th Clone Company”
• “Kafrene Informant”
• “Black Sun Syndicate Enforcer”
• “Bespin Security”
• “Separatist Warrior”

Command an elite squad by means of a gritty and genuine story in Star Wars Zero Company™, a single-player turn-based techniques sport set within the twilight of the Clone Wars™.

Lead the Clone Wars’ Most Cunning Operatives
Command the galaxy’s best in tactical operations, investigations and different heart-pounding missions by means of a cinematic unique story.

Choose Your Path to Victory
Strategize and adapt to make each transfer rely. The outcomes of your selections make every playthrough totally different.

Engage in Tactical Star Wars Combat
Deploy a group of operatives starting from scoundrels to astromechs, or perhaps a Jedi, selecting from an arsenal of talents to defeat your foes.

Forge Deep Bonds together with your Squad
Improve your squad’s expertise on missions, as they be taught to work collectively and unlock new fight synergies.

Personalize Your Fight
Customize Hawks’ fight specialization and look, then fill your group with unique and custom-made Star Wars characters, tailoring their appearances, loadouts, and skills.

*Conditions and restrictions apply. See https://www.ea.com/games/starwars/zero-company/disclaimers for particulars.
Lucasfilm, STAR WARS and associated properties are logos and/or copyrights, within the United States and different international locations, of Lucasfilm Ltd. and/or its associates. © & TM 2026 Lucasfilm Ltd. All rights reserved.

STAR WARS Zero Company™

Electronic Arts

☆☆☆☆☆
31

★★★★★

$59.99

$53.99

Pre-order* STAR WARS Zero Company™ to outfit your droids with the Crystalline Astromech Pack Preorder Bonus, which incorporates the R3 droid and translucent “crystalline” astromech heads for the R4, R5 droid variants, in addition to Star Wars Zero Company’s™ unique BR-1 droid.

Command an elite squad by means of a gritty and genuine story in Star Wars Zero Company™, a single-player turn-based techniques sport set within the twilight of the Clone Wars™.

You will step into the footwear of Hawks, a former Republic officer who leads Zero Company as they’re recruited for an operation that pits them towards an rising menace that can eat the galaxy if left unchecked.

Lead the Clone Wars’ Most Cunning Operatives
Command the galaxy’s best in tactical operations, investigations and different heart-pounding missions by means of a cinematic unique story.

Choose Your Path to Victory
Strategize and adapt at each your base of operations and an ever-shifting battlefield to make each transfer rely. The outcomes of your selections make every playthrough totally different.

Engage in Tactical Star Wars Combat
Deploy a group of operatives composed of a wide range of archetypes starting from scoundrels to astromechs, or perhaps a Jedi, selecting from an arsenal of tactical talents to outmaneuver and defeat your foes.

Forge Deep Bonds together with your Squad
Improve your squad’s expertise as you deploy them on missions, the place they be taught to work collectively and unlock new fight synergies that may very well be the distinction between victory and defeat.

Personalize Your Fight
Customize Hawks’ fight specialization and look, then fill out your group with unique and custom-made Star Wars characters, tailoring their appearances, loadouts, and skills to suit your playstyle.

*Conditions and restrictions apply. See https://www.ea.com/games/starwars/zero-company/disclaimers for particulars.
Lucasfilm, STAR WARS and associated properties are logos and/or copyrights, within the United States and different international locations, of Lucasfilm Ltd. and/or its associates. © & TM 2026 Lucasfilm Ltd. All rights reserved.