At Star Wars Celebration 2025, Bit Reactor hosted a full panel presentation on Star Wars: Zero Company, offering the first in-depth look at the studio’s tactical squad-based title set during the Clone Wars. The team outlined their core design goals, explained how the game differs from past Star Wars titles, and gave insight into the narrative direction and gameplay structure. While the trailer showed off visuals and tone, the panel itself provided more substantial clues about what kind of experience Zero Company is aiming to deliver.
You can watch the full panel below:
Let’s examine some key quotes from the developers and explore what they reveal about the priorities, design philosophy, and storytelling approach behind Zero Company.
Our vision … grounded in gameplay design pillars that weave in the immersive Star Wars galaxy with engaging, turn-based tactics gameplay.
This quote sets out the project’s priorities. Bit Reactor is building on a defined set of gameplay design pillars, which likely cover core systems such as unit behaviour, mission structure, tactical pacing, and player decision-making. The mechanics come first.
The reference to ‘weaving in’ the Star Wars setting suggests the universe is being used to support those mechanics directly. Locations, characters, and themes are chosen to reinforce the tactical structure, not to distract from it.
The emphasis is on clarity of design and integration, aimed at players who are looking for a structured tactical experience grounded in a familiar galaxy.
Depth shouldn’t cost you elegance.
This line summarises a key principle behind Zero Company’s design. It refers to the balance between mechanical complexity and user experience. The developers are aiming for a game that supports tactical depth without making the interface, controls, or presentation feel overwhelming.
In practical terms, this likely means clean visual design, responsive UI, and camera work that supports gameplay rather than cluttering it. It also suggests that onboarding and learning systems are being considered as part of the tactical design, not added afterwards.
The quote reflects an ambition to appeal to experienced tactics players without shutting out newcomers.
Think high-stakes battles with deep gameplay choices – thoughtful pacing and decision-making coupled with an amazing Star Wars story.
This describes how the gameplay and narrative are intended to function together. ‘High-stakes’ refers to the consequences attached to player actions, likely involving character survival, mission outcomes, and long-term squad progression.
‘Deep gameplay choices’ and ‘thoughtful pacing’ indicate a slower, turn-based structure built around careful planning rather than fast reactions. The mention of decision-making suggests that tactical outcomes are influenced not only by positioning and ability use but also by broader squad and mission-level choices.
The story is presented as integrated, not separate. The structure supports a narrative that unfolds through play, rather than one delivered between levels.
The Clone Wars are a unique part of our timeline, because it’s two relatively evenly matched forces going up against each other.
This explains why the Clone Wars era was chosen as the setting for a turn-based tactics game. Unlike other periods in the Star Wars timeline, which often focus on asymmetrical conflict, the Clone Wars depict large-scale engagements between organised militaries.
That framing allows for scenarios built on tactical balance. The player isn’t expected to dominate through overwhelming force but instead engage in structured encounters where positioning, squad composition, and strategy define success. It also creates space for a more grounded, military-style narrative without relying on Jedi power fantasy or rebellion themes.
The decisions you make… will have pivotal consequences in every playthrough of the game.
This confirms that player choice is not limited to dialogue or cosmetic outcomes. It points to a branching structure that affects gameplay, character arcs, and possibly mission availability. The use of ‘every playthrough’ suggests replayability, with variations based on how you build and deploy your squad.
This also supports the presence of systems like permadeath, evolving relationships, and tactical consequences that carry forward. It reinforces the idea that Zero Company is designed to support multiple valid paths, rather than one fixed storyline.
None of the characters in Zero Company are flawless or immune to a fatal case of blaster poisoning.
This line sets the tone for both character writing and gameplay consequence. The absence of flawless heroes points to more grounded, morally complex characters, in line with the game’s stated influences. It also implies that failure is part of the experience, and that any member of the squad can be lost.
This supports the inclusion of permadeath and persistent consequences. The game isn’t structured around invulnerability but around a squad that can be shaped, weakened, or fractured depending on your choices. It frames risk and consequence as part of normal play.
We wanted to create an experience where the deep history of Star Wars is married with the engaging gameplay of turn-based tactics.
This reflects the intention to integrate lore and mechanics rather than layering one over the other. The phrase ‘deep history of Star Wars’ points to a focus on established events, settings, and factions that fit naturally into a structured tactical framework.
It suggests that missions, characters, and environments are drawn from or informed by existing canon, but used to serve the gameplay. The goal is not just to reference familiar material, but to build scenarios where Star Wars context supports tactical decisions.
You can personalize the appearance and voice and class of Hawks… play as any combination of Hawks you want.
This confirms that the player character, Hawks, is fully customisable. The inclusion of appearance, voice, and class suggests a wide range of options, likely covering species, gender, combat role, and personality traits. It also indicates that the game does not treat Hawks as a fixed character but as a flexible player-defined protagonist.
This level of personalisation aligns with the game’s broader emphasis on player agency. It allows different players to approach missions with different priorities, identities, and tactical styles, while still operating within a defined narrative structure.
We’re inspired by the political intrigue of Andor, the gritty battlefield perspective of Rogue One, and the mythic pulp adventure of the original trilogy.
This defines the narrative tone the developers are aiming for. Rather than following a single stylistic influence, the game draws from three distinct sources within the franchise. Andor brings a focus on complex motivations and shifting allegiances. Rogue One offers a ground-level view of conflict with a focus on sacrifice and tactical realism. The original trilogy adds elements of classic adventure and larger thematic framing.
The combination suggests a layered narrative, serious in tone, with moments of intensity and moral ambiguity, but still recognisably Star Wars in structure and momentum. It also signals that the story will avoid simple binaries and lean into character-driven decisions shaped by the realities of war.
We hope you enjoy playing Zero Company’s story as much as we did making it. There might be some surprises … who we’ll run into in the game in the future.
This line closes the panel on a lighter note but still contains useful information. The first sentence reinforces the team’s narrative focus and internal enthusiasm. The second hints at possible cameos or connections to known Star Wars characters. The wording is careful, it doesn’t confirm anything, but it opens the door to familiar faces appearing during the campaign.
Importantly, the reference to ‘surprises’ is positioned as secondary to the main story. The focus remains on original characters and new material, with recognisable elements used to support rather than define the experience.
These ten quotes outline the structure, tone, and intent behind Star Wars: Zero Company. They show a clear focus on tactical gameplay, grounded narrative, and player-driven outcomes, backed by a development team familiar with both strategy systems and the Star Wars universe. As more details emerge, these early statements remain the best guide to what players can expect: a turn-based tactics game shaped by choice, consequence, and context.