- As per the latest reports by Game File, around 80% of Bit Reactor's devs were furloughed shortly before Star Wars Zero Company launched.
- A dev who worked on the game took to LinkedIn and said that the studio is concealing the info that the team was furloughed weeks ago.
- The Zero Company studio hopes that the game's success will bring back affected employees with restored pay.
It’s been almost a week since Star Wars Zero Company opened to positive reviews, but it seems most of its devs won’t get paid despite its success. According to a new report from Stephen Totilo of Game File, most of the developers of Star Wars Zero Company from Bit Reactor were furloughed ahead of the game’s launch.
Zero Company Studio Bit Reactor “Ran out of Money” and Took Devs off Payroll
In the detailed report published by Totilo on his Game File Substack, he mentioned that a rep from Bit Reactor reached out to him and revealed that nearly 80% of those who worked on Star Wars Zero Company are now off the payroll and were furloughed before launch.
There is only a skeleton crew left in place to address post-launch issues that may arise. Despite Zero Company launching with a strong 79% positive rating on Steam, most of its developers are not basking in the glory.
Totilo mentioned that Bit Reactor ran out of money shortly before Star Wars Zero Company could launch. The reason behind the financial turmoil is unclear at the moment, unlike the recent GTA 6 leaks that wiped over $2 billion off Take-Two’s market value.
However, some of the furloughed employees, like Zachariah Scott, took to LinkedIn yesterday and said that Bit Reactor was “concealing the fact that the team was furloughed weeks ago” as the senior team members, especially execs, were seen praising the hard work of the devs behind Zero Company’s success.
What we do know is that a court filing from 2024 referenced a 2021 EA funding agreement which was worth $50 million for Bit Reactor’s Star Wars game. However, the figure hasn’t been confirmed as the game’s actual or final budget. That said, it would seem that the intended budget may have fallen short of target.
To make matters worse, a legal battle has been raging in the background between Bit Reactor’s co-founders Alison Kelly and Greg Foertsch. Kelly claims she was a co-owner of the company and that Greg gradually pushed her out, which is why she is now seeking more than $20 million in damages. On a side note, the Dutch lawsuit against Sony is also ongoing at the moment.
The Bit Reactor lawsuit was originally expected to go to trial in June 2026, prior to Star Wars Zero Company launching, but has now been postponed to 2027. This could give Bit Reactor the time it needs to recoup its losses from the sale of the game, but it’s too soon to tell.
To that end, the studio hopes to bring furloughed employees back with restored pay. However, not everyone is confident of that notion. Given the impending trial and the fact that Star Wars Zero Company is a niche genre, owing to which, sales may be limited, despite EA going private earlier this year.
