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Star Wars Zero Company developer Bit Reactor is made up of former XCOM veterans, a series which has a pretty lively modding scene, especially XCOM 2, which supports modding with official development tools. It’s even had its fair share of Star Wars mods over the years that completely transport it to a galaxy far, far away. Mod support is one of the reasons XCOM is still holding ground on players’ hard drives all these years later.
Despite the success this has brought to Firaxis’ series, Bit Reactor has confirmed in a new Discord Q&A that Zero Company won’t have official mod capabilities.
“We have a lot of respect for the modding community,” says lead producer Caydence Funk, “but there is no official mod support planned for Star Wars Zero Company.”
Of course, this could change post-launch if it proves a hit, but the devs have made it clear we’re not getting official modding tools at release. It’s a shame given all the creative XCOM Star Wars mods willing Zero Company into existence years ago. Plus, it’s also one of the most requested features in the game’s Discord server, so it’s not like there’s not an audience. My guess is it’s down to simple development priorities.
In a month-old Reddit post made before their hopes were crushed, one fan said that “without mods, [Zero Company] probably won’t surpass XCOM 2 in my rotation. But with them it could become my new favorite game.” Sorry, bud.
While there won’t be official mod support, it’s hard to stop those inclined—not that I think that’s Bit Reactor’s intention, especially since there won’t be microtransactions that could potentially be undermined by player creations, as was the case in Firaxis’ Marvel’s Midnight Suns. I’m sure we’ll still see some jerry-rigged creations even without official support.
I’m a sucker for customisation, so any alternative character models and gear would be a plus. Hopefully we’ll also see more extensive mods later down the line, like additional encounters or an equivalent of XCOM 2’s Long War 2 mod, which overhauls the game with new mechanics across a longer campaign.
