First glimpse of gameplay in Star Wars: Zero Company's new trailer

Today, the first trailer for the upcoming turn-based tactics game, Star Wars: Zero Company was revealed during the annual Star Wars Celebration. The trailers lasted for just over two minutes and confirmed that the game takes place somewhere within the Clone Wars period of Star Wars history. We also got a few glimpses at the gameplay near the end of the cinematic, which was very reminiscent of games like XCOM. This new game in the Star Wars world is planned to be released sometime in 2026.

Star Wars: Zero Company first trailer and glimpse at gameplay

Star Wars: Zero Company is being published by EA, produced by Respawn, and developed by Bit Reactor, a studio made up of former XCOM and Civilization developers. Respawn and EA are also the groups that brought other Star Wars games like Jedi: Survivor and Fallen Order. From EA’s website: “Command an elite squad through a gritty and authentic story set in the twilight of the Clone Wars.” The game will focus on a group of five mercenaries operating underneath the brutal war as it draws to a close.

Star Wars: Zero Company seems like it will center on a group of five characters. “You will step into the shoes of Hawks, a former Republic officer who leads Zero Company – an unconventional outfit of professionals for hire hailing from across the galaxy…” from EA’s website. We know the name and story of the leader, but there are four other interesting characters shown in the trailer. First is a Jedi, or at least someone trained in the user of a lightsaber and the force. How did this person end up in Zero Company? Did they leave the Jedi Order at some point?

Other characters include a Mandalorian, and a Clone Trooper. How this trooper ended up working as a mercenary rather than with the Republic army should be an interesting story. But another detail that comes to mind is Order 66. Does this trooper still have the chip in their head that will compel them to attack their Jedi companion when that fateful order is sent out at the end of the Clone Wars? It could make for a great dramatic moment at some point in the narrative.

Finally, and maybe this is just a me thing, but who is this fifth character that is wearing a space helmet the whole time? Not only do I want to know their story, but why do they need to wear that? There’s another human in the group that doesn’t seem to need a space helmet, and the concept of needing to breathe on a planet rarely comes up in Star Wars. My only thought is maybe it’s full of water and they are some kind of underwater being. Which would admittedly be pretty cool.

The gameplay clips at the end showed the group facing off against groups of battle droids, the classic enemies of the Clone Wars period. Since this team is a group of mercenaries for hire, it stands to reason that they might not always be fighting droids. It will be interesting to learn why some of these characters decided to leave the Republic and where the story takes them. Star Wars: Zero Company is planned for release sometime in 2026, and is available to wishlist on Steam, the Epic Games Store, PlayStation, and Xbox.

Star Wars: Zero Company

2026

Want It!

• Overview

• strategy games
• Star Wars
• EA / Electronic Arts
• Respawn Entertainment
• tactical RPG & strategies