Star Wars Zero Company launched to a 79% positive rating on Steam. Most of the people who built it are not getting paid. Around 80% of Bit Reactor’s developers were furloughed before the game went live, according to a report from Stephen Totilo at Game File. A skeleton crew stayed on to handle post-launch issues. Everyone else was already off the payroll on launch day.
Bit Reactor Ran Out of Money Before Star Wars Zero Company Launched
A Bit Reactor rep reached out to Totilo directly and confirmed the situation. The studio ran out of money shortly before Star Wars Zero Company launched. Nearly 80% of the development team went off payroll before release. No detailed explanation for the financial shortfall was given, only the confirmation that it happened.
A 2024 court filing referenced a 2021 EA funding agreement worth $50 million for Bit Reactor’s Star Wars game. That figure has not been confirmed as the final budget — but if it was the intended amount, it clearly fell short of what finishing and launching the game actually cost.
Furloughed developer Zachariah Scott posted on LinkedIn the day after launch. His words were direct — Bit Reactor was “concealing the fact that the team was furloughed weeks ago.” The context that made it worse: senior Bit Reactor team members, including executives, were publicly praising the developers for their hard work on Zero Company right around the same time the furloughs had already happened.
Source: Star Wars Zero Company — Official / EA
The Co-Founder Lawsuit Running Alongside Star Wars Zero Company
Bit Reactor is also fighting an internal legal battle. Co-founder Alison Kelly claims she was a co-owner of the company and that Greg Foertsch gradually pushed her out. Kelly is seeking more than $20 million in damages. The lawsuit was expected to go to trial in June 2026 but was postponed to 2027.
The delay gives Bit Reactor more time to generate revenue from Zero Company before facing a potential payout. Whether the game’s sales are strong enough to cover both the legal liability and bring back the furloughed staff is the question sitting over the studio right now.
Bit Reactor said it hopes to bring back furloughed employees with restored pay once the studio’s financial situation improves. That intent is in the public statement — but not everyone is confident it will happen. Zero Company is a tactics game in a niche genre. Strong reviews help but do not guarantee the sales volume needed to fund a full team rehire.
Source: Star Wars Zero Company — Official / EA
What This Says About the Industry Right Now
Star Wars Zero Company is a positive-reviewed game with a development team that cannot celebrate it. Bit Reactor is not the first studio to hit this situation. Games go over budget, funding runs out, and staff pay the price while the game ships with whatever is left. The difference here is the transparency — a developer posting publicly on LinkedIn put the story outside Bit Reactor’s control.
Final Thoughts
Star Wars Zero Company is doing well. Most of the people who made it are off the payroll. Bit Reactor ran out of money before launch, a furloughed dev went public on LinkedIn, and a co-founder lawsuit is heading to trial in 2027. The studio hopes game revenue brings the team back. That outcome is not certain yet.
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