STAR WARS ZERO COMPANY Studio Reportedly Ran Low on Money and Furloughed Staff Right Before Launch

Star Wars Zero Company may be enjoying a strong launch, but things apparently got pretty rough at developer Bit Reactor before the game ever reached players.

According to a report from Game File, the studio furloughed a large portion of the development team just weeks before Star Wars Zero Company launched. Bit Reactor reportedly ran low on money while finishing the strategy game, forcing the company to temporarily let much of its staff go.

Exactly how many employees were affected remains unclear. One source claimed roughly 80% of Bit Reactor's staff was furloughed, while another described the developer as operating with a skeleton crew.

Former Bit Reactor artist Zachariah Scott publicly accused studio management of "concealing the fact that the team was furloughed weeks ago," in a LinkedIn post published only days after the game's release.

Bit Reactor co-founder Alison Kelly, who has been involved in a legal dispute with the studio since 2024, also referenced the furloughs in an August 12 court filing.

A Bit Reactor representative confirmed to Game File that furloughs took place but didn't provide specific numbers. The representative also said the decision came from Bit Reactor rather than EA or Disney.

The studio reportedly intends to bring employees back, although that appears to depend heavily on how the game performs. Scott told Game File that many of the employees he's spoken with aren't confident the entire team will return regardless of the game's success.

The good news for those employees is that Star Wars Zero Company appears to be off to a solid start. The game currently sits as the third top-selling game on Steam and holds an 85 Metacritic score.

Bit Reactor co-founder Greg Foertsch was also discussing future plans for the studio during Gamescom 2026 interviews, so the developer clearly has ambitions beyond its first release. Whether it has the financial resources and staff to pursue those plans is now a much bigger question.

There's also a messy legal fight playing out alongside all of this. Kelly is suing for $20 million in damages over allegations surrounding her departure from Bit Reactor in 2024 and claims she was pushed out of the company.

Foertsch has countered that Kelly was never a co-owner of Bit Reactor and has made allegations concerning her performance at the studio, which Kelly denies.

It's an ugly situation surrounding what should have been a major moment for a new developer. Star Wars Zero Company is Bit Reactor's first game, and having most of the team reportedly furloughed shortly before launch puts a pretty significant cloud over its early success.

Hopefully the game's strong start translates into the developers who built it getting back to work. For now, Star Wars Zero Company may be performing well, but the future of the studio responsible for it remains uncertain.