Set at the tail-end of the Clone Wars, Zero Company is a brand-new turn-based tactics game developed by Bit Reactor, in collaboration with Respawn Entertainment and Lucasfilm Games, and is scheduled for 2026 on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC (and I bet Switch 2). The first trailer sets the mood very well, with small introductions to the game’s original characters, and a brief glimpse of gameplay, while the panel dove into extra details on what to expect. Hear all about it below!
I’ll admit, turn-based tactics or real-time strategy games (RTS) are not my usual cup of gaming tea, as I prefer my action-adventure/first-person shooter/platformer types instead, but if anything would get me to finally give the genre a serious attempt, it’s going to be putting Star Wars all over it. As for why, I’ve not always had the patience for how the battles play out, as it somewhat has always seemed silly to me that both sides are sort of waiting for the other to do their worst, though the early Mass Effect games were a good mix of action and strategy for an RPG. Plus, there’s a lot of FOMO to be had with these games, aka the fear of missing out, as your choices often change the story and characters in unpredictable ways, and it’s not as easy to save scum (the act of saving before a choice) like in a RPG, I feel like. And it sounds like Zero Company will have plenty of choices for players to make!
Here’s the official run-down of Zero Company’s story:
“Star Wars Zero Company features a gritty and authentic original story set during the twilight of the Clone Wars that puts players in control of Hawks, a former Republic officer who’s in charge of an elite squad of cunning operatives. As an unconventional outfit of professionals for hire hailing from across the galaxy, Zero Company must set aside their differences to take on an emerging threat that will consume the galaxy if left unchecked.”
Players will experience the story as they see fit, as there is a lot of options for how players want to proceed, from choosing who on your squad goes on a mission, who is actually in your squad, where you’re going next, and who exactly each character in your squad is, as they are customizable. This includes Hawks, the leader of Zero Company, as they can be an alien, human, and it seems different genders, though there’s no clarity yet if it’s inclusive or just on the binary scale. This extends to the rest of the team you recruit and put together, though as I said before, there are original characters as well with evolving storylines. Here’s more on those characters, those who are on the official poster/trailer above, including links to their Databank pages:
“Players can choose how to form their Zero Company squad with the option to utilize both characters they crafted themselves as well as new, original Star Wars characters with stories that evolve as they play. During the panel, Contreras introduced Celebration attendees to four of them:
– Trick, a clone soldier whose laconic wit masks a haunted heart
– Luco Bronc, an incendiary sharpshooter who still hasn’t forgiven the Republic for invading his homeworld of Umbara
– Cly Kullervo, an infamous Mandalorian gunslinger and one of the last surviving members of the ancient clan Verminoth
– Tel, a Tognath Jedi Padawan on a quest to complete her fallen master’s last mission
“These unlikely allies must band together to face a galactic threat. The more they work together and face adversity,” Contreras said, “the deeper their bonds grow, and the stronger the team becomes.”’
There’s some fascinating storylines with these characters, with my two favorites being: Luco’s Umbaran history and still working with the Republic, that’s something with a lot of meat to it, as it’s not something The Clone Wars dove too deeply into and a longer experience with branching paths could hold lots of promise; and Tel-Rea Vokoss, as while it’s not only neat to have a Tognath Jedi, and a female one at that, but I am VERY interested to learn what her master’s mission was and how being with Zero Company helps achieve it. Overall, the panel stressed that teaming certain characters on missions together could be good or bad, changing the narrative and their storyline, and that’s fascinating and leads me to some early FOMO worries, which if I had more time to play games, I’d probably not have to worry about as much as I could replay this often.
But this doesn’t sound like a small or short experience, given they are hyped up the galactic map as being one of the biggest in any Star Wars game, and looking at the screenshot from the panel, there does look to be a LOT of planets! Zero Company’s home base, “The Den,” is on the Ring of Kafrene, which is very fitting given the developers were looking at Andor/Rogue One for their story inspirations. Other confirmed locations include Serolonis from The Bad Batch (from the episode with the new and intriguing racing sport, Riot Racing), Solo: A Star Wars Story‘s Vandor (where they did the train heist), and Mapuzo from Obi-Wan Kenobi (the planet where Obi-Wan and Leia escaped to and were later found by Darth Vader and the Inquisitorious), while there are going to more familiar and new spots to boot. Zero Company will get around to all these places via the Caisson, a new ship design, and its droid pilot, M-3VO.
I’m tentatively intrigued by Zero Company, as its ambitions and story sound like something worth putting my feelings about the genre aside for, so I’ll be keeping my eye out for updates to learn more about it. Hopefully it’ll hit its 2026 release window!
Here’s the part of the livestream where the panel happens!
Ryan is Mynock Manor’s Head Butler. You can follow him and the website on Bluesky.