SummaryStar Wars Zero Firm arrives August 27, 2026 on XBOX Sequence X|S.A turn-based techniques sport with RPG storytelling, it’s the debut from Bit Reactor, a brand new studio lead by Firaxis XCOM veterans.Polished, charming and enjoyable, it’s a present to followers of techniques video games and Star Wars alike.
After I spoke with the Artistic Director and Lead Designer of Star Wars Zero Firm earlier this summer time, I left extraordinarily excited in regards to the promise of a turn-based techniques sport set amid the Clone Wars, made by seasoned arms behind among the style’s greatest.
Now that I’ve performed 15 hours of a preview construct over the course of every week, I’m thrilled to report that it completely lives as much as that immense promise. Star Wars Zero Firm is the right 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.
Final Crew
You play Hawks, a former Republic officer who now leads the eponymous Zero Firm of mercenaries, starting as many nice Star Wars tales do: suffocating in debt to the Hutt crime syndicate. Quickly, 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 typically the case in Star Wars, what actually elevates the proceedings is the scrappy, discovered household of outsiders at your aspect. After all, one unlucky Rodian doesn’t survive the tutorial mission to bolster how permadeath works (happening 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 likewise my Hawks’ greatest buddy in accordance with the bond system, which rewards tracks and rewards characters that do quite a bit collectively). Quickly you’re joined by Jae Mordant, the aforementioned noble whose mining citadel was stolen from her by Fathom, chief of the Coil.
Nevertheless it’s not lengthy till you’re rising that squad your self. Early on, I additionally recruited two completely 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 seems to be form of like Kleya from “Andor,” and Kos Niemz, a steely Weequay mercenary that I took as a result of she seems to be form of like a California Raisin. I fell in love with each of them nearly instantly – procedurally generated characters, pinging off each other in emergent, systematized relationships, to not point out the looming risk of dying, is a confirmed system in numerous video games from The Sims to XCOM to RimWorld. As you would possibly count on, Star Wars is a completely excellent setting for it, overflowing with iconic species and archetypes to combine and match like motion figures in your personal sandbox. This shall be nice fodder for imaginative streamers, like XCOM was earlier than it.
Along with absolutely customizing the looks and specialization of Hawks firstly, you can too respec any of the above characters at any time. The one characters you’ll be able to’t change are these you’ll be able to recruit with distinctive specializations (up to now, a Jedi Padawan and a Mandalorian Bounty Hunter). For the generated characters, you’ll be able to even change their look and persona everytime you need. You can too construct characters from scratch from the beginning menu, and allow or disable them for recruitment. It actually is without doubt one of the most sturdy toolkits I’ve ever seen for customizing your personal adventuring crew of ‘Star Wars guys’ this aspect 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, with the intention to reap the benefits 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 methods to make narrative-driven modifications to their crew, like new scars and a change of function after a near-death expertise. Zero Firm empowers gamers each strategically and aesthetically to freely experiment with developing precisely the staff of operators that they need, whereas reserving the intense friction for the place it belongs: the tactical battles.
Blorbo Chess
Fight will, in broad strokes, really feel proper at house to turn-based techniques veterans. Every of your characters has 3 motion factors per spherical, to be spent on transferring, attacking, or utilizing gadgets and skills. You alternate between taking your whole actions and the enemies taking theirs as you combat via numerous docks, touchdown pads, and different unique locales throughout the galaxy far, far-off. Aims are sometimes divided between standing and combating till you’ve defeated everybody, or reaching a set process (similar to rescuing a hostage or holding a spot for a number of turns whilst you steal one thing) after which transferring to an extraction zone whereas extra enemies pour in.
Your squad’s strongest skills require a shared useful resource, Benefit, as an alternative of motion factors, which accumulates as much as a max of 10 when any of your staff efficiently offers harm to the enemy. This ingredient of tempo results in huge, dramatic swing turns the place you flip the tide of battle with a determined, ingenious, heroic mixture of strikes out of your staff, and is an ideal instance of how the spirit of Star Wars infuses the design from high to backside.
Lead Designer James Brawley instructed me in June about how he sees techniques video games as a option to generate numerous distinctive puzzles from the mixtures of enemies, environments, and your skills. It feels nice to go from panicking in regards to the seemingly not possible again foot the enemy has me on, via assessing my choices and eking out one other victory, spherical by spherical. On the builders’ suggestion as a style veteran, I performed on Exhausting (third highest out of 4 difficulties) and located it very properly difficult, almost at all times 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 staff composition. One of many greater eye-opening moments of my playthrough was after I lastly received an astromech, which has no fundamental assault, however carries three completely 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). Utilizing them received me to begin pondering extra laterally about how I used grenades with different characters as nicely, similar to utilizing the concussive grenade to knock individuals off the map fully. Brawley had talked about that he favored having the ability to area a squad fully of astromechs, partially as a type of homage to his childhood curiosity of working all white mages in Closing Fantasy. I sit up for exploring this wide selection of choices that open up as the sport proceeds.
House Is The place the Holotable Is
Between missions you retire to The Den, your cozy base of operations on a dramatic former mining-turned-trading outpost known as the Ring of Kafrene (first featured at first of “Rogue One,” the place Cassian Andor’s contact confirms the existence of the Dying Star and units the plot in movement). Right here you run round in third particular person to speak along with your crew, handle your assets and staff, and choose your subsequent mission on the holotable.
Along with selecting your subsequent mission, the holotable additionally has a strategic map of your affect all through completely different sectors of the galaxy, unlocking numerous rewards as you do issues in them. Operations are little text-based storylets that you choose from the holotable between area missions, normally with a selection to find out the end result, generally requiring you to ship operators out with related dangers. These generally advance the primary story or side-quests as a part of narrative chains resulting in missions, however are sometimes simply one other option to get the credit, intel, and equipment that it is advisable to function. For sure, significantly 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 methods satisfyingly interlock to offer you plenty of little selections that dynamically feed again on each other – it offers off that traditional, Sid Meier sense of a sport being “a sequence of fascinating selections.”
Moreover strategic administration of your personnel and gear, the Den additionally serves as a terrific narrative interlude to your harrowing battles, studying extra in regards to the members of your squad in addition to different, non-combatant members of the staff, like your wry android physician. Dropout star Vic Michaelis stands out particularly as Runa Blask, a Togruta (like Ahsoka) former Separatist partisan finance professional who’s grow to be Hawks’ important advisor. She’s extraordinarily good, a bit imply, and won’t hesitate to let you understand how a lot she hates the Republic. I actually want she’d choose up a blaster and be a part of us within the area.
Go See a Star Battle
Ask me a number of years in the past, and I might have simply instructed you that I’m extra of a Trek man, however the one-two punch of “Andor” and now Star Wars Zero Firm has significantly shifted that heart of gravity. Very like that distinctive TV sequence, Zero Firm places Star Wars in a barely completely different style context than I’m used to, accomplished with such talent and care that it makes me admire with recent eyes what’s at all times been nice in regards to the franchise, like discovered households, cute little aliens, and the tinny voices of hapless, overconfident B-Sequence 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 at all times 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 Firm is a improbable first outing for Bit Reactor, and past trying ahead to enjoying extra of it, I’m additionally already enthusiastic about no matter they resolve to do subsequent.
I’m desperate to get again to the adventures of my Blorbos quickly when Star Wars Zero Firm launches on XBOX Sequence X|S on August 27, 2026.
STAR WARS Zero Firm™ Deluxe Version
Digital Arts
☆☆☆☆☆
31
★★★★★
$69.99
$62.99
Pre-order* STAR WARS Zero Firm™ 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 Firm’s™ unique BR-1 droid.
Unlock distinctive beauty gadgets impressed by the Clone Wars™ period with Star Wars Zero Firm™ Deluxe Version.
The “Grand Military of the Republic” Beauty Pack
• “Republic Officer” Uniform
• “one hundredth Clone Firm” Armor Set
• “ARC Trooper” Armor Set
The “Shadow Collective” Beauty Pack
• “Pyke” Helmet Beauty
• 5 beauty tattoos
– “Pyke Syndicate”
– “Hutt Cartel”
– “Dying Watch”
– “Black Solar Syndicate”
– “Crimson Daybreak”
5 Weapon Set Themes
• “one hundredth Clone Firm”
• “Kafrene Informant”
• “Black Solar Syndicate Enforcer”
• “Bespin Safety”
• “Separatist Warrior”
Command an elite squad via a gritty and genuine story in Star Wars Zero Firm™, a single-player turn-based techniques sport set within the twilight of the Clone Wars™.
Lead the Clone Wars’ Most Crafty Operatives
Command the galaxy’s most interesting in tactical operations, investigations and different heart-pounding missions via a cinematic authentic story.
Select Your Path to Victory
Strategize and adapt to make each transfer depend. The outcomes of your selections make every playthrough completely different.
Have interaction in Tactical Star Wars Fight
Deploy a staff of operatives starting from scoundrels to astromechs, or perhaps a Jedi, selecting from an arsenal of skills to defeat your foes.
Forge Deep Bonds along with your Squad
Enhance your squad’s abilities on missions, as they be taught to work collectively and unlock new fight synergies.
Personalize Your Struggle
Customise Hawks’ fight specialization and look, then fill your staff with authentic and custom-made Star Wars characters, tailoring their appearances, loadouts, and skills.
*Situations and restrictions apply. See https://www.ea.com/video games/starwars/zero-company/disclaimers for particulars.
Lucasfilm, STAR WARS and associated properties are logos and/or copyrights, in the US and different nations, of Lucasfilm Ltd. and/or its associates. © & TM 2026 Lucasfilm Ltd. All rights reserved.
STAR WARS Zero Firm™
Digital Arts
☆☆☆☆☆
31
★★★★★
$59.99
$53.99
Pre-order* STAR WARS Zero Firm™ 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 Firm’s™ unique BR-1 droid.
Command an elite squad via a gritty and genuine story in Star Wars Zero Firm™, a single-player turn-based techniques sport set within the twilight of the Clone Wars™.
You’ll step into the sneakers of Hawks, a former Republic officer who leads Zero Firm as they’re recruited for an operation that pits them towards an rising risk that can devour the galaxy if left unchecked.
Lead the Clone Wars’ Most Crafty Operatives
Command the galaxy’s most interesting in tactical operations, investigations and different heart-pounding missions via a cinematic authentic story.
Select Your Path to Victory
Strategize and adapt at each your base of operations and an ever-shifting battlefield to make each transfer depend. The outcomes of your selections make every playthrough completely different.
Have interaction in Tactical Star Wars Fight
Deploy a staff of operatives composed of a wide range of archetypes starting from scoundrels to astromechs, or perhaps a Jedi, selecting from an arsenal of tactical skills to outmaneuver and defeat your foes.
Forge Deep Bonds along with your Squad
Enhance your squad’s abilities as you deploy them on missions, the place they be taught to work collectively and unlock new fight synergies that might be the distinction between victory and defeat.
Personalize Your Struggle
Customise Hawks’ fight specialization and look, then fill out your staff with authentic and custom-made Star Wars characters, tailoring their appearances, loadouts, and skills to suit your playstyle.
*Situations and restrictions apply. See https://www.ea.com/video games/starwars/zero-company/disclaimers for particulars.
Lucasfilm, STAR WARS and associated properties are logos and/or copyrights, in the US and different nations, of Lucasfilm Ltd. and/or its associates. © & TM 2026 Lucasfilm Ltd. All rights reserved.
