Recruit an unconventional team of operatives and deploy them on missions unlike any other in the galaxy far, far away in Star Wars Zero Company!
The newly announced single-player turn-based tactics game, developed by Bit Reactor in collaboration with Respawn Entertainment and Lucasfilm Games, is coming in 2026 to PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X|S. Today, attendees at Star Wars Celebration Japan got the explosive first details about the game currently in development.
Here’s your first look at Star Wars Zero Company and the ragtag squad under your command.
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.
Stay tuned to StarWars.com for more details about Star Wars Zero Company!
Telling A Star Wars Story
Bit Reactor’s Game Director Greg Foertsch and Lucasfilm Games’ Executive Producer Orion Kellogg had a chance to chat with StarWars.com about Zero Company, what sets the tactics game apart, and what players can look forward to. It all begins with Hawks.
“We're offering a character we haven't seen before, a role we haven't seen before,” Kellogg says of the game’s protagonist. “I don't think I can point at another character in the Star Wars franchise and say, oh, that's Hawks. And I think that's because of this unique story that we're telling and this unique timeframe digging beneath the surface of the Clone Wars. It gets really complex. It's complicated, and Hawks is, then, also complicated.”
While fans have seen larger-than-life Jedi Masters and galactic politicians in The Clone Wars animated series, Zero Company promises a boots on the ground perspective of the conflict that’s never been seen before as the story takes players and their squad across the galaxy to places both strange and recognizable.
“We really wanted to touch on some of the places that maybe people haven't been as familiar with,” says Foertsch. “The kind of game that we're making allows us to craft environments that hopefully resonate with people that have seen the series, maybe things that were deep cuts that somebody out there will think, ‘I remember that place.’”
“This isn't just a Clone Wars game,” Kellogg adds. “This is a game in the Clone Wars, but from a new angle. This is really Bit Reactor's vision. It's their Star Wars story and we're here to help them tell it. So you're also going to see influence from the political intrigue of Andor; you’re going to see the gritty battles of Rogue One. You're going to see the wit and wisdom of A New Hope. It’s a Star Wars game through and through.”
As players put together their squads and send them into the fray, the experiences the characters go through together shape every fight that follows. It reflects one of Star Wars’ core themes, says Foertsch.
“This is a Star Wars game where you can really have a found family. You’re playing with multiple characters, leveling them up, building their relationships and their bonds. For me, ever since being a 4 year old seeing the original Star Wars in the theaters, it's always been about found family. This is such a perfect combination for me as a developer and as a fan. I can't wait for people to see and experience that.”
Kellogg agrees. “I hope players walk away feeling like these characters are part of their Star Wars stories they want to tell,” he says. “But I also think that, as a genre that we haven't played in a lot, I can't wait for players to say, ‘Wow, I can't believe they did that. I can't believe that we got to go to all these places.’ I think that story will then evolve to, ‘I can't believe I did that. I can't believe I was able to overcome that challenge.’ I think there are going to be lots of surprises with the genre as it interacts with the storytelling.”
Star Wars Celebration Japan First Look
As they kicked off the packed panel at Celebration Japan, Bit Reactor’s Game Director Greg Foertsch and Narrative and Cinematic Director Aaron Contreras shared some of their guiding principles for the development of Zero Company. Their first goal when creating the game was a simple one: start with Star Wars. Andor A Star Wars Story, Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, and the original trilogy of films served as the game’s inspiration and guiding lights.
Additionally, the panelists said they wanted choices made in the game to be meaningful. Hawks’ appearance and combat class can be fully customized, as can the operatives the squad recruits. Squadmates’ appearances, load-outs, and abilities can be tailored across a wide variety of character archetypes, from astromechs to a Jedi. And while in the field, the members of Zero Company who players choose to send on the mission will forge bonds between them to unlock powerful combat synergies that can turn the tide of battle.
A Unique Era
“In Zero Company, players enter the fray in the Clone Wars well into the galaxy-wide conflict. The Bit Reactor team is creating a story with strategic assaults on different planets and terrains, as well as clandestine missions emphasizing the intimate character-level story they've crafted,” said Lucasfilm Creative Executive Kelsey Sharpe.
“While the game is set against the epic backdrop of the Clone Wars, Zero Company gets embroiled in a shadow war that no conventional army is equipped to counter,” revealed Contreras. “And the Hawks you create is going to need some help to stop this mysterious, corrupting force.”
Meet the Characters
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.”
Gameplay
In between adventuring across the galaxy to embark on tactical missions, players will return to The Den, Zero Company’s base of operations located on the Ring of Kafrene. The Den features an expansive galaxy map where players choose the strategic tasks and tactical missions to take on next.
In one of the largest and most interactive maps ever featured in a Star Wars game, Zero Company will travel to planets that fans might already be familiar with, including Serolonis from The Bad Batch, Solo: A Star Wars Story's Vandor, Mapuzo from Obi-Wan Kenobi, and more.
“The places players choose to go and the missions they undertake can each have an impact on the story,” said Foertsch. “For example, Trick and Luco don’t seem to get along, as evidenced in the game trailer. If players choose to invest in their partnership by sending them on missions together, they may be able to improve their bond, which could impact their fate in the game.”
Every squad needs a starship to get to where they need to go in the galaxy, and Zero Company is no exception. Bit Reactor had the opportunity to create both a new ship design and a new droid to serve as the squad’s pilot, and their excitement to bring them to the Star Wars galaxy was apparent as they introduced them both: the Caisson and its pilot, M-3VO.
Stay tuned to StarWars.com for more details about Star Wars Zero Company!
