The developer behind the tactical title Star Wars Zero Company, Bit Reactor, has laid off several staff members as it continues its effort to achieve financial stability. Back in August, the company furloughed around 80% of their staff without pay shortly before the release of their game, as the company was running out of money. Last month, the CEO of the studio, Greg Foertsch, stated that some of these sidelined staff were set to return to work, bringing the staff to just above half of what it was previously.
Now, according to a new report from Bespin Bulletin, several previously employed staff of Bit Reactor have been posting messages on LinkedIn over the past few days, stating that they were laid off from the studio. Senior environment artist Ryan Lopez, UI engineer Tyler Eichten, producer Michael Blackard, and senior QA analyst Ryan Mosher are all among the people who have posted that they have been let go.
What remains unclear at this time is whether all of those terminated employees were among those previously furloughed who were brought back, or if they were terminated from furlough. Ryan Lopez did post that he was one of the latter, stating:
I was laid off from Bit Reactor this week after a three-month furlough, and while it stings, I’m really proud of what we built together.
Star Wars Zero Company was released back in August, receiving a fairly positive reception, sitting at an 84 on Metacritic. EA announced that the title hit 1 million units sold around a month and a half after launch. While that might be low for the typical Star Wars title, that is a strong showing for a tactical RPG. In our review, our reviewer stated, “For a franchise that by now has even more games than movies, it appears that there was a glaring omission until now. Star Wars Zero Company tells a gritty narrative with seasoned characters that take no prisoners, and it does so with a confidence that makes it among the best media in a galaxy far, far away.”
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