As we stare down more $80 games, it rules that Star Wars Zero Company is $50

2 hours ago 7

A mandalorian with a pistol, a clone trooper with a rifle, and an Umbaran sniper.

Amid Star Wars Zero Company's gameplay and release date reveal at the 2026 Summer Game Fest, it somehow slipped by me that the squad tactics game from XCOM veterans also got an official price tag: $50. What year is it, 2005? Not only is this what Firaxis charged for XCOM: Enemy Unknown in 2012, it's less than the beloved XCOM 2's launch price of $60 a decade ago.

I got to try Zero Company hands-on earlier this year, and it is one of my top upcoming games: Zero Company pairs the crunchy permadeath squad tactics you'd expect from its pedigree with scandalously lavish production values. Its cutscenes feel more in line with CD Projekt, boasting intricate animations and a large voice cast.

I'm also jazzed about one of Zero Company's big mechanical innovations: Exploration between fights and back at your home based is zoomed in like a third person action game, transitioning seamlessly to the overhead god view when fighting starts.

I wouldn't have batted an eye at Bit Reactor charging 60 bucks for it, and the studio easily could have justified the increasingly standard $70 price tag. Galactic Racer, another upcoming Star Wars game I'm pretty hyped for, is going the $60 route, and I can't blame its devs or publisher in the slightest.

We'll see how Zero Company stands up at launch, but even as a work in progress, it felt like GOTY material. Seeing EA and Bit Reactor ask such a reasonable price for it even as a major franchise licensee has me even more excited. Contrast with Rockstar asking us to pony up $80, even $100 for GTA6 with nary a gameplay trailer in sight, and Zero Company feels like a breath of fresh air.

It's a savvy business move: Whatever the costs of triple-A development, it's still effectively competing with $20 and even $10 indies for people's time and attention. This is a way to stand out, add value, and stave off the perpetual threat of a flop launch. We'll have the full verdict on Zero Company soon: It's set to release August 27, and you can wishlist it on Steam.

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Ted has been thinking about PC games and bothering anyone who would listen with his thoughts on them ever since he booted up his sister's copy of Neverwinter Nights on the family computer. He is obsessed with all things CRPG and CRPG-adjacent, but has also covered esports, modding, and rare game collecting. When he's not playing or writing about games, you can find Ted lifting weights on his back porch. You can follow Ted on Bluesky.

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