The previews have been out for a while and by most accounts, Star Wars: Zero Company is going to be a must-play title for anyone who is a fan of XCOM style strategy. Ahead of the game's launch next week, one final trailer for the game has dropped.

Star Wars: Zero Company is a new strategy game developed by BitReactor. It tells an original story featuring an elite squad of Republic fighters, undertaking secret operations during the Clone Wars in an effort to swing the war in the Republic's favour and end the rising Separatist threat.

Aside from XCOM style battles, players will have RPG elements to explore, forging deep bonds between squad members to unlock more utility in combat scenarios. You can also play with permadeath on, which is the way these games are supposed to be played, so when you lose a squad member on a mission, they are gone for good.

Players will also be able to customise their squad members, swapping between specialisations and you can even change how they look, so you can build a squad that truly feels unique to you.

Star Wars: Zero Company is launching on August 27th for PC, PS5 and Xbox Series X/S. At this moment in time, there is no Switch 2 version of the game, but it seems like the sort of game that would fit in well on Nintendo's console, so maybe that will happen somewhere down the line.

KitGuru Says: This is going to be a day-one pickup for me. Are any of you looking forward to Star Wars: Zero Company?

Wccftech recently had the chance to attend a Star Wars Zero Company presentation (plus a meaty Q&A with BitReactor, which you can find here), followed by access to a preview build of the upcoming single-player turn-based tactics game. The developers reckon it's shaping up to be more than XCOM with lightsabers, though honestly, after playing it, the similarities are very strong. Still, the game combines squad-based combat with a more character-driven campaign, a strategic galaxy map, and a deep management layer that could make every decision feel consequential. Set during the twilight of the Clone Wars, Zero Company follows Hawks, a […]

Read full article at https://wccftech.com/star-wars-zero-company-xcom-lightsabers-preview/

Humble Bundles are an excellent way for PC players to get their hands on a wide selection of games for a relatively low price. Celebrating the history of publisher 2K, Humble are now offering a MegaHits Bundle, including the likes of Risk of Rain 2; Borderlands 3; Mafia 2; XCOM and much more.

Unlike a majority of Humble Bundles, the 2K MegaHits bundle is only available to purchase in a single form – where-in paying £13.44 will net you a total of 15 titles:

• XCOM Enemy Unknown
• X-COM: UFO Defense
• The Darkness II
• Hidden & Dangerous trilogy
• Duke Nukem 3D: 20th Anniversary World Tour
• Bulletstorm: Full Clip Edition
• Tales From the Borderlands
• Homeworld Remastered Collection
• Tribes of Midgard Deluxe Edition
• The Quarry
• Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands
• Bioshock Infinite
• Mafia II: Definitive Edition
• Borderlands 3
• Risk of Rain 2

Of course, not every game will be for everyone. Even so, this bundle include plenty of variety, whether it be rogue-likes (Risk of Rain 2); looter-shooters (Borderlands); action-FPS games (The Darkness II, Bulletstorm and Bioshock); choice-based narrative titles (The Quarry); or strategy games (XCOM).

In case you missed it, July’s Humble Choice line-up is still available to claim, including titles such as Neon White, Tunic, Sea of Stars and more. Full details on this month’s Humble Choice offerings can be found HERE.

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KitGuru says: What do you think of this latest bundle? Do you plan to pick it up? Have you played The Darkness games before? Let us know down below.

Last year, Respawn surprised us with the announcement of Star Wars Zero Company, a new strategy game set in the Star Wars universe, created by former XCOM developers. Now with the game's release date getting closer, we've received a much deeper look at the game. 

In an exclusive feature on PCGamer, we learn that Zero Company is set during the Clone Wars, with our group of fighters going up against the Separatist movement, with a grittier tone inspired by the likes of Star Wars Rogue One and Andor.

Like in XCOM, the enemies on the map will slowly gain buffs over time if you don't take them out quickly enough, making levels more challenging the longer you go. Bit Reactor developers are also taking inspiration from XCOM with a Permadeath mode, so you could potentially see story threads end early if one of your ally falls in battle too soon. This in turn will also boost replayability as players look to perfect their runs and make it through to the end with their entire crew in one piece.

Social systems are in place too, so your characters can bond to unlock additional buffs in combat and unlock additional story moments.

Star Wars Zero Company does not yet have a release date but it will be coming to PC, PS5 and Xbox Series X/S consoles later this year. We should get more information at this year's Star Wars Celebration event, taking place from May 21st to May 24th.

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KitGuru Says: I'm a huge XCOM and Fire Emblem fan, so getting to play a Clone Wars era Star Wars game in a similar style is highly appealing to me. Are you looking forward to Zero Company? 

Veteran game designer Jake Solomon, known mostly for XCOM: Enemy Unknown, XCOM 2, and Marvel's Midnight Suns, announced the closure of Midsummer Studios. Solomon had founded the development team after leaving Firaxis. In 2024, I interviewed him to learn more about his next game, a narrative-driven life simulation for which he had already raised $6 million in seed funding. Rather than going for a traditional sandbox-like approach in the vein of the king of the genre, The Sims from Maxis, the game was conceived around player-driven storytelling. It was a systems-based approach where conflict, relationships, and consequences would combine to […]

Read full article at https://wccftech.com/xcom-jake-solomon-closes-midsummer-studios-life-sim/