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If you liked Star Wars Zero Company for its tactical squad decisions, character customization, and campaign layer, start with XCOM 2. If what you want most is the Clone Wars setting, an authored Star Wars story, and Hawks’s squad relationships, choose Zero Company itself. The useful distinction is not simply “turn-based strategy”; it is whether you want to carry over the combat-and-campaign structure or the story and characters.
What makes Zero Company distinctive
EA describes Star Wars Zero Company as a single-player, turn-based tactics game set near the end of the Clone Wars. You lead former Republic officer Hawks and an unconventional squad against the Separatist-aligned Infinite Coil and its leader. Its advertised mix includes tactical operations, investigations, customizable characters, squad bonds, and decisions made at the Den, the team’s base. EA’s game page and launch announcement outline that premise and feature set.
The official StarWars.com gameplay guide describes combat in more practical terms: operators have three action points to spend on movement, attacks, and abilities. Taking cover, calling for a teammate’s attack, setting overwatch, rallying an injured operator, and spending Advantage points on special abilities are among the documented options. Missions have marked objectives, and difficulty can be adjusted outside combat.
Between battles, Hawks selects tactical missions and operations from the Den. Operations are non-combat assignments that use Intel and can yield items, credits, or influence; some can also affect teammate bonds. Because the guide says there are more missions and operations than the player can take, deciding what to prioritize is part of the campaign strategy.
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The guide also identifies optional permadeath: when enabled, an operator dies after accumulating three injuries. This is a specific rule for Zero Company, not a general standard for squad tactics games. The same guide documents tutorials, on-screen tips, and adjustable difficulty, but those features alone do not establish how difficult it is compared with other games.
PC Gamer’s March 26, 2026 hands-on preview describes third-person exploration outside tactical battles and a design intended to bring the two modes together with cinematic presentation. That is a preview account, not a review of the released game.
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Pick by the part you want more of
For tactical squad planning and a campaign layer: XCOM 2
XCOM 2 is the clearest match if the appeal was planning turns, building a squad, and managing decisions between missions. Its Steam store description lists five soldier classes with skill trees, tactical guerrilla combat, and research and upgrades aboard the mobile headquarters Avenger. Those features overlap with the squad-and-campaign side of Zero Company, but the setting and story do not: XCOM 2 is a resistance campaign on an Earth ruled by aliens, not a Clone Wars narrative.
For a Star Wars story and squad relationships: Zero Company
If the setting, authored story, and Hawks’s team are the main draw, another tactics game cannot provide that specific experience. EA describes an original cinematic story and squad bonds, while the StarWars.com guide encourages talking with teammates to learn their backstories and unlock personal missions. Choose Zero Company for those story and character elements rather than expecting a mechanically similar game to reproduce them.
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For a first step into the genre
Zero Company is documented as having tutorials, on-screen guidance, and adjustable difficulty. That makes those particular learning and difficulty controls a reasonable place to start if you want help getting oriented. The available descriptions do not support a universal ranking of its difficulty against XCOM 2 or other strategy games.
Compare the mechanics that matter to you
Before choosing a squad strategy game, use these questions to distinguish its central loop from its theme:
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- What decisions fill a battle turn? In Zero Company, the guide describes action points spent on movement, attacks, and abilities, with cover and positioning, overwatch, and team attacks among the tactical choices.
- What happens between missions? If you want a base, research, upgrades, and squad development, XCOM 2’s store description explicitly includes research and upgrades aboard the Avenger. Zero Company instead describes mission selection and non-combat operations at the Den.
- Do you prefer authored story or squad-focused campaign play? Zero Company foregrounds its Star Wars story and relationships, including personal backstories and missions. The cited XCOM 2 description emphasizes its resistance campaign and tactical systems.
- How much character loss are you comfortable with? Check each game’s injury, recovery, and permanent-loss rules separately. Zero Company offers optional permadeath with a three-injury death threshold when enabled; that rule should not be assumed to apply elsewhere.
Where and when to buy Zero Company
EA announced Star Wars Zero Company for August 28, 2026, on PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series consoles, with PC availability through EA app, Steam, and Epic Games Store. The launch announcement listed suggested retail prices for the Digital Deluxe Edition of $59.99 on PC and $69.99 on consoles. These are launch-announcement figures, not a statement of current price or regional availability; check your platform’s store for the offer where you live. EA also described a Collector’s Edition with physical themed items.
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Product prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on Amazon at the time of purchase will apply.
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