At the recent Star Wars Celebration Japan, exciting new details emerged regarding the highly anticipated video game, Star Wars: Zero Company. This game aims to delve into the less-explored narratives of the Clone Wars, a period that, while heavily featured in the franchise, has much more to offer in terms of hidden stories and covert operations.

Unlike the widely known galactic civil war, which has been the focus of numerous Star Wars narratives, Zero Company will shine a light on the secretive and intricate operations that occurred during the Clone Wars. Its thematic inspirations are drawn from various sources, including the beloved Clone Wars animated series, the critically acclaimed film Rogue One, its prequel series Andor, and even classic World War II movies like The Dirty Dozen.

In an interview with GameSpot, Bit Reactor's creative director, Greg Foertsch, expressed his excitement about the game's setting. He remarked, The Clone Wars offers us a lot of the tools we need mechanically for the game, which is great. But it's also interesting; we haven't seen that kind of zoom level in the Clone Wars, and so it's a pretty unique spot to land that also offered a lot of great options for us from a game design perspective. This has opened the door for us to do a lot of things.

Further insights were provided by Orion Kellogg, a producer at LucasFilm Games, and Kelsey Sharpe, a creative executive within Lucasfilm's franchise content and strategy division. They both emphasized that the Clone Wars era allows for the exploration of "all sorts of places in that zone," which could lead to the creation of original and engaging stories. The rich and nuanced storytelling characteristic of the Clone Wars serves as a significant influence on Zero Company, blending seamlessly with the grounded atmosphere depicted in Rogue One.

Sharpe also highlighted the inspiration drawn from classic narratives like The Dirty Dozen for character development, particularly how the members of the Zero Company squad come together. However, she pointed out that the very first Star Wars film continues to be the core reference point, stating, Even if you have a more grounded tone and you're getting into the shades of gray of the Clone Wars era, there's always hope. There are always the bonds between your allies, there's always the mythmaking. And that's what Star Wars is. That's how we keep things feeling consistent across all the stories we tell.

Fans can look forward to experiencing Star Wars: Zero Company, which is set for release on multiple platforms, including PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X|S, in the year 2026.