All articles tagged with #bit reactor
Bit Reactor has begun reinstating furloughed employees following the successful launch of Star Wars Zero Company. CEO Greg Foertsch confirmed that more than half of the pre-furlough team is returning to paid positions this week. However, a significant portion of staff remains unpaid, as the studio continues to navigate financial constraints and ongoing legal disputes.
Bit Reactor is bringing back furloughed employees following the commercial success of Star Wars Zero Company, though not all staff have returned.
Star Wars Zero Company delivers a compelling XCOM-style tactical experience set in the Clone Wars era, with a rich crew, meaningful relationships, and twists that feel very Star Wars, but it’s hampered by a janky camera, occasional freezes, and uneven performance. It’s one of the best Star Wars strategy titles in years when it runs well, yet the technical issues and some superfluous third-person sections may deter players until patches arrive.
Despite the game's success, roughly 80% of Bit Reactor's staff were furloughed two weeks before Star Wars Zero Company launched, amid financial strain and a founders' dispute; the studio says it hopes to bring workers back, but there are no guarantees.
Star Wars: Zero Company earned strong critic praise and solid Steam sales, but Bit Reactor furloughed roughly 80% of its staff weeks before launch amid financial strain, leaving a skeleton crew for post-launch work. The studio says the layoffs were a pre-launch decision independent of EA/Disney, while co-founder Alison Kelly’s lawsuit accuses breach of contract and unjust enrichment and seeks over $20 million; the company hopes furloughed employees can be rehired if sales perform well.
Bit Reactor furloughed around 80% of its staff and left a skeleton crew as Star Wars Zero Company launched, suspending pay with hopes to reinstate workers if the EA-published game performs well; allegations of medical-leave firings and cut profit-sharing have surfaced, even as the title remained among Steam’s top revenue leaders at press time.
Bit Reactor furloughed roughly 80% of Star Wars: Zero Company staff weeks before launch due to funding issues, leaving a skeleton crew to patch bugs as a legal ownership dispute between co-founders Alison Kelly and Greg Foertsch unfolds. Kelly seeks damages and control, Foertsch disputes her ownership claims, but the game has still been well received and remains on track for release with hopes to bring furloughed staff back after the launch.
Bit Reactor reportedly furloughed about 80% of its staff in the weeks before Star Wars Zero Company’s launch, leaving a skeleton crew to address post-launch bugs; the studio said the move was financially driven and not tied to EA or Disney. Star Wars Zero Company has been well received and is near the top of Steam’s top sellers. The furloughs echo a 2024 lawsuit by a former COO that referenced earlier contractor terminations and ownership disputes.
Windows Central’s review praises Star Wars Zero Company as an instant classic that blends XCOM-style tactical combat with cinematic Star Wars presentation, built by Bit Reactor and EA/Respawn. The game delivers deep squad management, diverse heroes, and a story that deftly ties Clone Wars-era lore into a fresh conspiracy, all while running smoothly on Xbox Series X with impressive visuals and destructible battle spaces. Some console UI quirks, occasional AI glitches, and a few day-one stability hiccups are noted, but these don’t sap the overall momentum. In short, it raises the bar for the genre and stands out as one of the season’s best gaming experiences for fans of turn-based tactics and Star Wars alike.
Star Wars Zero Company is a Star Wars-flavored, XCOM-inspired tactical game from Bit Reactor. It nails deep micromanagement, resource budgeting, and satisfying mission design, with strong map layouts and clever operator customization. The story is serviceable but not the main draw, making the game a solid pick for fans of Star Wars and tactical strategy even if the narrative doesn’t elevate the experience.
Bit Reactor’s Star Wars Zero Company blends XCOM‑style turn-based combat with a Clone Wars-era narrative, putting Hawks in charge of a customizable mercenary squad that grows through permadeath, base upgrades, and choice-driven missions. The preview praises tight tactical systems, earned character bonds, and Mass Effect‑like base exploration, while noting some mission variety could be broader. A PS5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC launch is set for August 27, 2026.
Star Wars Zero Company is a debut turn-based tactics RPG from Bit Reactor, helmed by XCOM veterans, arriving August 27, 2026 on Xbox Series X|S. It combines robust squad customization and emergent bond-driven storytelling with hex-based tactical battles across the Clone Wars, featuring permadeath-style risks, a Den hub for management and narrative choices, and a shared Advantage resource that fuels dramatic turn swings, plus options like a hard Beskar ironman mode for players seeking greater challenge.
Eurogamer previews Star Wars: Zero Company, a Bit Reactor/EA XCOM-inspired turn-based tactics game set in Star Wars with new systems like operator bonds, Operations mini-adventures, and third-person HQ exploration; featuring a linear narrative, customizable characters, and a campaign that scales via intel and morale, releasing August 27 on PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X/S.
Despite mass layoffs at EA, the Star Wars strategy game being developed by Bit Reactor and produced by Respawn has survived unscathed. EA's recent layoffs affected around 670 workers and led to the cancellation of some games, but the Star Wars strategy game remains in development. Bit Reactor confirmed that the game was unaffected by the layoffs and is still in progress, with no release window announced yet. EA's focus on owned IP and online communities has led to the cancellation of some projects, including a Star Wars first person shooter, but the strategy game and Star Wars Jedi 3 are still in the pipeline.
EA's recent layoffs will not affect the development of the Star Wars strategy game by Bit Reactor, as confirmed by the studio. Despite the cancellation of a Star Wars shooter by Respawn, the Maryland-based Bit Reactor, known for its work on XCOM and Civilization, remains committed to the project, which was announced in 2022. The cancelled shooter was reportedly going to be a Mandalorian game set during the time of the Galactic Empire.