Star Wars Zero Company devs said 'there were some fights' about its story-centric squadmates suffering permadeath, but accepting that 'Star Wars is about loss' made the game stronger

Our hands-on preview of Star Wars Zero Company might've left us convinced that it's more than just Star Wars XCOM, but just like with clone troopers and bounty hunters, there's clearly some crucial DNA being shared. As with XCOM, Zero Company's rogue padawans and plucky astromechs will risk permadeath whenever they take the field.

While permadeath provides some high stakes for Zero Company's heavier narrative focus, some—like Zero Company narrative lead Aaron Contreras—initially thought the stakes would be too high.