Star Wars Zero Company Gameplay Explained

The Short Version

Star Wars Zero Company is a single-player, turn-based tactics game in the XCOM style, set during the Clone Wars. It was developed by Bit Reactor, a studio founded by XCOM veterans, in collaboration with Lucasfilm Games and published by Electronic Arts. It released on August 27, 2026 for PC, PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S, and launch-week reviews from IGN, Vice and Prima Games all describe the same core: squad-scale tactical missions inside a broader campaign structure.

The Campaign Loop

The campaign alternates between three layers. The Den is your home base between missions, where you manage loadouts, make strategic decisions and check in with your Operators. The Galaxy Map opens strategic Operations across 150+ planets, while Tactical Missions play out on 12+ unique planets where you command the squad directly.

• Squad limit: 4 Operators per Tactical Mission.
• The Den can hold up to 20 Operators, so roster choice is a real decision.
• The official community Q&A estimates 30–40 hours for an average main-story run.

Tactical Missions

Missions are turn-based: you read the battlefield, use cover and positioning, spend Action Points deliberately and keep an exit route in mind. Overwatch lets you control the next enemy move, and the objective stays active while you fight, so clearing a room is only useful if it advances the mission.

Permadeath is on by default, but it can be toggled off. With it on, an Operator collects Injuries, and three Injuries mean permanent loss. That makes every exposed flank a real decision instead of a reload trigger.

Advantage and Abilities

Advantage Points are a shared squad resource generated during play and spent on tactical abilities, so the squad pools its tempo rather than each Operator acting alone. Operators come from eight standard classes, each with three passives and one ultimate ability, plus unique classes locked to specific characters. Class choice changes what a turn can do: movement, crowd control, healing or burst damage.

Difficulty and Permadeath

There are four standard difficulty settings — Story, Normal, Hard and Expert — plus Beskar Mode, a separate ironman-style modifier that can be paired with any of them. Difficulty can be changed between missions, so the choice is not permanent. Post-launch balance patches may adjust combat over time, so treat launch-week impressions as the current snapshot.

Sources

• EA — Star Wars Zero Company official game page
• IGN review, August 27, 2026
• Vice review, August 27, 2026
• Prima Games review, August 27, 2026

All sources accessed August 29, 2026.