Star Wars Zero Company: Bit Reactor Reportedly Furloughs 80 Percent of Its Workforce

There should really be cause for celebration at Star Wars Zero Company right now: The tactical RPG from Bit Reactor has been a genuine Steam bestseller since its release at the end of August and has been surprisingly well-received by critics and the community. Nevertheless, PC Gamer, Kotaku, and industry outlet Game File are all reporting that Bit Reactor has furloughed approximately 80 percent of its staff. The news originally came from Game File and has since been confirmed by several independent sources.

According to Game File, a large portion of permanent employees were furloughed weeks before the actual launch, and contracts for freelance employees were additionally terminated. Apparently, only a small core team remains, dedicated to bug fixes and ongoing operations. The furloughs reportedly came to light through court documents from a legal dispute between Bit Reactor co-founder Alison Kelly and studio head Greg Foertsch over company ownership shares — a dispute unrelated to the furloughs themselves, but one that exposed the studio's internal financial problems.

Why is Bit Reactor Laying Off Staff Despite Sales Success?

According to the reports, the issue isn't the game's success itself, but rather the studio's financial situation beforehand: Bit Reactor reportedly exhausted most of its financial reserves even before the release. According to the studio, the furloughs were an independent business decision — not a directive from publisher Electronic Arts or licensor Disney/Lucasfilm. Bit Reactor itself expressed hope of being able to bring employees back depending on Star Wars Zero Company's sales performance. How many of those affected will actually return, and when, remains to be seen.

What Does This Mean for the Future of Star Wars Zero Company?

For players, this is not a good sign: With a heavily reduced workforce, planned patches, balancing adjustments, or even additional content are likely to arrive slower than usual — if they are fully implemented at all. Anyone currently playing should check out our guide on important in-game menu settings to avoid technical frustrations while the extent of support remains uncertain.

Unfortunately, this pattern isn't entirely new: Layoffs or furloughs despite commercial success have repeatedly appeared in the gaming industry from 2024 to 2026 — think of studios that still had to cut staff shortly after acclaimed launches because development costs, advances, and publisher deals had been planned out long before the actual sales success. A good game, therefore, doesn't automatically protect a studio from economic pressure if the funding for the development years leading up to it was already tightly budgeted. For those affected at Bit Reactor, this is little comfort.

Source: PC Gamer, Game File

We will continue to follow this story and update the article as soon as there are further official statements from Bit Reactor.