Developer studio Bit Reactor has furloughed a big a part of its workforce with out pay simply weeks earlier than the discharge of “Star Wars Zero Firm.” A spokesperson for the studio confirmed this to the gaming e-newsletter Sport File. The studio ran out of cash shortly earlier than launch. The furloughs have been first made public by a court docket doc dated August 12, 2026, from a lawsuit filed by co-founder Alison Kelly.
Furloughs of this type are usually not formal dismissals: affected workers stay employed however don’t obtain a wage. According to Game File, one supply estimates the proportion of furloughed workers at 80 p.c of the workforce. A second supply says solely a skeleton crew remained for post-release bug fixing. The choice rested solely with Bit Reactor and got here neither from writer Digital Arts nor licensor Disney. Whether or not and when Bit Reactor will rehire the furloughed workers stays open.
Studio’s First Sport
“Star Wars Zero Firm” is Bit Reactor’s debut. Greg Foertsch based the studio in Maryland in 2021 after working as Artwork Director on “XCOM: Enemy Unknown” and “XCOM 2” at Firaxis. A big a part of the workforce additionally got here from Firaxis; by mid-2023, the workforce had grown to over 50 workers, according to Game Developer.
Flip-based techniques is taken into account a distinct segment style, making the context of this debut all of the extra uncommon: Respawn Leisure is producing, EA is publishing, and the license comes from Disney subsidiary Lucasfilm. Foertsch needed to carry turn-based techniques with blockbuster high quality out of its area of interest, as he explained to heise online before the release. “Zero Firm” is accordingly elaborate, with spectacular cutscenes and a marketing campaign lasting 30 to 40 hours.
The gamble has paid off, no less than with critics and consumers: Since August twenty seventh, “Star Wars Zero Firm” has been accessible for PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Sequence X/S and, in accordance with Sport File, was the best-selling title on Steam afterward. Criticism is especially directed on the PC model’s technical facets: efficiency in Unreal Engine 5 is poor, and stuttering can’t be averted on any system. Moreover, textures generally load too slowly throughout scene modifications.
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