EA had given the game away a bit, officially announcing a panel dedicated to its mysterious project in a galaxy far, far away, but it was still during the Star Wars Celebration that the new baby from Respawn and BitReactor was duly presented. On stage, the creative teams defined the contours of the turn-based strategy title, evoking the importance of storytelling for the game mechanics. Zero Company will follow a band of misfits on their missions to the ends of the galaxy, during a period widely explored in cinema and on the small screen. It will tell the story of the Clone Wars from a perspective that we are promised will be unprecedented.
The first images gave us an idea of the approach of its creators, but there is still much to discover about what will be a major first for the brand. BitReactor co-founder and industry veteran Greg Foertsch sat down with Lucasfilm Games executive producer Orion Kellogg to take us behind the scenes of Zero Company ahead of its 2026 release. I'm very happy to have done it here and that people appreciate what we kept secret for a very long time.
JDG: How long have you been working on this?
GF: I started as a director in 2021 and at the time I was alone. Zero employees and then people started arriving.
JDG: A turn-based strategy game is a first for Star Wars. Why did you choose this format?
GF: You know, my background is in this field and I'm kind of trying to innovate with this genre. I think there's still room to improve. I think the genre can really excel in storytelling, immersion. You want to make sure that people really feel the game, and not just mechanically clicking buttons. There's nothing like it before. There hasn't been a major IP that has ventured into this genre. We're able to immerse people in a way that makes a lot of sense for the game mechanics.
Orion Kellogg: From a Star Wars perspective, we're excited to finally have a strategy game. We've been wanting to do this for a while. The genre is ready to exist, it's ready to tell a story in a cinematic way, to bring drama in the way Star Wars does. Battles, meaningful choices, and relatable characters... let's do it.
GF: I feel like this is an opportunity to introduce this type of game to people who don't know it exists. That's the best way to get started.
JDG: Exactly, by taking on a license like Star Wars, we're not just talking to seasoned gamers. We want to attract people who aren't experts, but who are interested in anything Star Wars. Is that something you had in mind when making a game like this? GF: I think we want to make it accessible, but that doesn't mean we're going to make things easy for you. However, how you communicate things to people is key. We often tend to confuse complexity with depth, but they're very different. We want to deliver a really deep experience, but it won't necessarily be complex. Our goal is to make a game that people can understand. Those who know my work know that conveying information is at the heart of my approach. We want it to be digestible, engaging, and entertaining. We try to convey information by telling the story, not the other way around.
OK: Yes, we want the process to be organic. The reason we chose to work with BitReactor is because we believe in their capabilities and pedigree. We don't want them to just tell another Star Wars or Clone Wars story, we want them to tell the story of Zero Company. We wanted it to be new enough that a fan like you would come in and be surprised.
JDG: And I imagine that having a group with such different personalities is always a good story to tell. We can already imagine that there will be conflicts, reconciliations. Is that the kind of emotion that will guide the story?
GF: That's the kind of story that has driven Star Wars for decades, right? Every piece of Star Wars I can think of, like this discovery of self and of the other. The stories that speak to me the most in Star Wars are always the ones where it transcends the individual to talk about the group.
JDG: Let's go back to the saga. How will this game and the players' decisions impact the galaxy in a larger sense. Is that a spoiler?
OK: We don't want to spoil the story with details. But that's what Greg just said. You'll meet characters you'll recognize if you're a Star Wars fan. And if you're not, we'll do our best to introduce them to you. You'll make significant decisions. The ones you make, the ones Greg makes, will be different and will have a different impact.
JDG: You're working on the game. I imagine there's still plenty to tell about it. Should we stay tuned?
GF: Yes, follow that closely. I'm not sure when or how yet, but we'll show more. And then, the release is coming... in 2026.
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