Photo credit: www.engadget.com
New Star Wars Strategy Game Announced: Star Wars Zero Company
At the recent Star Wars Celebration held in Japan, Electronic Arts (EA) and Lucasfilm unveiled the first look of Star Wars Zero Company, an upcoming single-player strategy game set within the expansive Star Wars universe. This title was initially teased in 2022, as part of a broader slate of three new Star Wars games being developed or co-developed by Respawn Entertainment, the creative force behind acclaimed titles such as Jedi: Fallen Order and Jedi: Survivor. While a definitive release date remains unconfirmed, Star Wars Zero Company is slated to launch on PC, Xbox Series X/S, and PlayStation 5 in 2026.
“In Star Wars Zero Company, players will embody Hawks, a former Republic officer, as they lead an elite team of skilled operatives through a compelling narrative set during the final days of the Clone Wars,” according to the announcement trailer released alongside the reveal.
The development of Star Wars Zero Company is a collaborative effort between Respawn and Bit Reactor, a newly established studio. The game’s design notably draws inspiration from XCOM: Enemy Unknown and other strategy titles from Firaxis Games, reflecting the expertise of Bit Reactor’s team, which includes several veterans from Firaxis. Greg Foertsch, the studio’s founder and creative director, previously served as the senior art director for both XCOM: Enemy Unknown and XCOM 2.
“Our vision for Star Wars Zero Company revolves around key gameplay elements that integrate the immersive essence of the Star Wars galaxy with captivating turn-based tactics,” Foertsch stated. “We aspire to provide players with an original Star Wars narrative from the Clone Wars era that offers significant consequences based on their choices, as well as enriching tactical combat that remains approachable and visually cinematic.”
The game’s ambition is to strike a harmonious balance between the wide appeal of the Star Wars franchise and the specific desires of strategy enthusiasts. In a recent interview with PC Gamer, Foertsch, along with Hector Antunez, Bit Reactor’s lead animator (also an alumnus of XCOM), shared their vision of developing a Star Wars title that maintains the cinematic storytelling hallmark of Respawn’s prior works while delivering a fulfilling strategic gameplay experience. “Complexity does not necessarily equate to depth,” Foertsch noted, emphasizing their commitment to exploring that delicate distinction in gameplay design.
Source
www.engadget.com