Star Wars Zero Company, launching on August 27th, wears its XCOM ancestry openly. It is a single-player turn-based tactics game about assembling a squad, taking cover, combining abilities, developing operatives between missions, and accepting that a bad decision can permanently remove a favorite character from the campaign.
That resemblance is not accidental. Developer Bit Reactor was founded by strategy veterans and includes numerous former Firaxis developers who previously worked on games such as XCOM 2, XCOM: Chimera Squad, and Marvel’s Midnight Suns. Zero Company is a separate studio’s game, but there is a very direct line of experience connecting the projects.
Based on footage and impressions from outlets that have played preview builds, the interesting question is therefore not whether Zero Company resembles XCOM. It clearly does. The more interesting question is what happens when those systems are mixed with the authored characters, relationships, and cinematic ambitions that Firaxis explored in Midnight Suns.
Table of Contents
- The XCOM DNA is immediately obvious
- Zero Company also borrows heavily from XCOM 2
- Midnight Suns may be the more interesting comparison
- How Zero Company changes the formula
- Why Bit Reactor feels familiar to Firaxis fans
- XCOM vs XCOM 2 vs Midnight Suns vs Zero Company
- Is Zero Company basically Star Wars XCOM?
The XCOM DNA
Turn-based squad combat
At its core, Zero Company follows the familiar XCOM rhythm of moving a small squad through tactical battlefields one turn at a time. Positioning, cover, firing angles, abilities, enemy threats, and the order in which you perform actions all matter.
Each Operator receives three Action Points per turn, compared to XCOM’s two, which opens more possibilities. One example given by the developers is firing at an enemy, moving into a stronger cover position, and then entering Overwatch to punish enemy movement on the following turn.
Cover, Overwatch, and battlefield control
If you have played XCOM or XCOM 2, concepts such as cover and Overwatch should feel immediately familiar. The Star Wars setting gives Bit Reactor more extravagant ways to manipulate those systems, though.
A Jedi can use the Force to expose or reposition enemies, while another Operator can capitalize on the opening. Other abilities can push targets, support allies, heal injuries, or set up attacks for squadmates. Zero Company appears interested in turning familiar XCOM positioning into a chain of character-specific combinations.
Permadeath brings back the XCOM tension
The most important similarity may be the one that hurts most: Operators can permanently die. Zero Company does not automatically protect important squad members simply because they have names, dialogue, and roles in the story.
That recreates one of XCOM’s defining sources of tension. A veteran is not merely a stronger unit. They represent hours of investment, useful abilities, and memories from previous missions. Zero Company adds authored personalities and relationships to that equation, potentially making a fatal mistake even harder to shrug off.
On the other hand, the main characters, Hawkes, cannot die. Or rather: it’s game over, quickload when he does.
A mix of authored and custom recruits
Zero Company combines predefined Operators with Custom Operators. Hawks, the commander of Zero Company, can also be customized, while additional recruits can be shaped through appearance, specialization, equipment, abilities, and other options.
That sits comfortably beside XCOM’s tradition of turning customized soldiers into personal favorites, while the authored crew gives Zero Company a stronger narrative backbone.
Your squad grows between missions
Operators improve as they are deployed, unlock new abilities, and develop ways to work together. This gives Zero Company the same broader campaign rhythm that makes XCOM games more than a collection of disconnected tactical encounters.
The soldier who survives today’s mission can become a crucial specialist several missions later. If that Operator dies, you are losing both a character and a tactical investment.
Relationships matter between missions
Operators can develop bonds by fighting alongside one another. Those relationships can then unlock new synergies and influence how effectively characters cooperate. The squad therefore develops socially as well as mechanically. It was a great feature of XCOM 2’s War of the Chosen expansion, and it’s great to see it return in force (hehe, force) now.
The Den is Zero Company’s answer to the Avenger
Between missions, Zero Company returns to The Den, a base located on the Ring of Kafrene. This is where players manage Operators, equipment, recruitment, upgrades, and the wider campaign.
The basic function resembles the Avenger in XCOM 2, but The Den appears more interested in its inhabitants, drawing a lot from Midnight Suns’ Abbey.
The galaxy map handles the strategic layer
Zero Company’s campaign extends beyond individual fights through an interactive galaxy map where operations and investigations influence the larger conflict.
That has an obvious parallel with the strategic layers of XCOM, XCOM 2, and indeed, also Midnight Suns. These missions make the game’s scope appear grander and more involved: Hawks can only address some matter personally, others he needs to entrust to his team.
Midnight Suns shine through
Spending time with your squad
At The Den, players can socialize with Operators and learn more about them between missions. That naturally recalls the Abbey sections of Midnight Suns, where conversations and relationships gave the roster a lot of personality unrelated to combat.
Preview impressions suggest this character-focused layer may be one of Zero Company’s most interesting ideas. XCOM makes players care about soldiers through emergent stories. Midnight Suns builds attachment through authored conversations. Zero Company is attempting to use both.
Authored characters make losses more personal
That combination creates an unusual problem. A customized XCOM soldier can die permanently, but the wider script can continue without them. Midnight Suns characters have established personalities and relationships, but the game does not let you permanently lose them.
Zero Company puts authored squadmates into a system where death is very much on the table. That means a character can have a recognizable personality, relationships, tactical specialties, and story presence while still being vulnerable to the consequences of combat. Yes, your one Jedi can je-die, and you’ll have to deal with it.
Our review of Midnight Suns
If you’d like to read more about our experience with MS, we’ve got a review from somebody who never expected to love it so much,
XCOM / XCOM 2 vs Midnight Suns vs Zero Company
Find them all on G2A.COM
Get ready for an adventure the Galaxy Far Away never offered before
Zero Company launches on August 27th, about two weeks away at the time of posting, and even through the launch is yet to come, there’s much to tell. And much we already have. If you’d like to know more, we’ve got a full proper megapost about the crucial info about Zero Company!