Whatever you might think of Disney’s handling of George Lucas’ sci-fi universe, it’s clear that we still can’t get enough of Star Wars. From the premiere of Star Wars: Fate of the Old Republic at 2025’s The Game Awards, to the appearance of Star Wars: Galactic Racer a little earlier on this list, the future of a galaxy, far, far, away, seems assured, and certainly so with Star Wars Zero Company making it to number four on our list of 2026’s most wanted games.
You can stick your Cal Kestis lightsaber swinging, and your Sebulba-bashing pod-racing, Zero Company is Star Wars by way of XCOM. By that virtue, this is a tactical, strategic series of skirmishes through the darker, more serious side of Star Wars, with a turn-based combat style that will feel familiar to fans of games like XCOM, Baldur’s Gate 3 or Marvel’s Midnight Suns.
Coming from Bit Reactor, with support from Respawn and Lucasfilm Games, Zero Company is set during the twilight of the Clone Wars, the announcement trailer showcased an intriguing mix of characters, including a clone trooper, Mandalorian warrior and at least one rogue Jedi padawan. Your team is led by Hawks, a former Republic officer, who pulls the Zero Company together to complete a series of shadowy missions that look to have huge implications for the Star Wars universe. Quite how that plays out in terms of fitting into the wider canon, we’ll have to wait to find out.
The team at Bit Reactor have said that they want decisions to feel important, but that might be more to do with the customisation options for your characters and tactical choices on the battlefield, rather than overly impactful narrative moments. Either way, it’s hugely exciting to be able to explore the wider Star Wars universe from a new perspective, and there’s a huge range of possibilities with this period. Maybe you’ll complete a mission alongside Rex? Or come up against Maul as he works his way towards his takeover of Mandalore?
Bit Reactor definitely have the chops to pull this one off, not least because they’re a team made up of former XCOM alumni. XCOM, and its sequel, remain the benchmark for tactical strategy, so that bodes extremely well for Star Wars Zero Company’s gameplay, and with the XCOM license seemingly encased in Carbonite somewhere within 2K’s IP dungeons, this could well be the spiritual successor that fans have been waiting for, dressed up in one of sci-fi’s best and most beloved universes.
Star Wars Zero Company is coming to PS5, PC and Xbox Series consoles in 2026.
