Bit Reactor is bringing staff back from unpaid leave on STAR WARS Zero Company, but the number recalled is not disclosed and a lawsuit between CEO Greg Foertsch and co-founder Alison Kelly is still running.
Bit Reactor put roughly 80 percent of its STAR WARS Zero Company development team on unpaid furlough weeks before the game launched, according to a September 1 report from Game File. A Bit Reactor representative confirmed the furloughs, called the decision difficult, and said the studio made it alone, not at the direction of publisher EA or Star Wars licensor Disney. EA released the game on August 28 for PS5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC. Zachariah Scott, a former senior technical artist laid off in May, told Game File he contacted about ten former employees and each said they had been furloughed three weeks prior. Scott said the studio concealed the fact that the team had been furloughed.
By October 8, CEO Greg Foertsch said the studio had started returning employees who were placed on temporary unpaid leave. Game File, citing people familiar with the matter, reported that paid staffing had recovered to more than half its level before the leave. The number who have returned is not disclosed. During the furlough period, minimal staff handled bug fixes on the game, which drew more than 77,000 concurrent Steam players at launch.
The recall moves the studio past the point where rehiring depended on sales performance, a condition the Bit Reactor representative had described in September when he said the game's success could influence the outcome and that the studio wanted to bring furloughed staff back with pay restored. The same September report noted a $50 million funding contract with EA from 2021 and an ownership dispute between the co-founders headed to trial in early 2027. Some people familiar with the situation doubted all furloughed staff would return to their jobs. As of the October recall, the studio is only partway back to a full team.
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Oct 8
Bit Reactor has started returning employees who were placed on temporary unpaid leave, CEO Greg Foertsch said on October 8. Roughly 80 percent of the STAR WARS Zero Company development team had been on leave, with minimal staff handling bug fixes. Game File, citing people familiar with the matter, reported that paid staffing has recovered to more than half its level before the leave. The number who have returned is not disclosed.
Sep 1
Bit Reactor, the studio behind the turn-based strategy game STAR WARS Zero Company, placed roughly 80 percent of its development team on unpaid furlough weeks before the game launched, according to a report from Game File. EA released the game on August 28 for PS5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC. A Bit Reactor representative confirmed the furloughs to Game File, called the decision difficult, and said it was made by the studio alone, not at the direction of publisher EA or Star Wars licensor Disney. The representative said the studio wants to bring furloughed staff back with pay restored, and that the game's success could influence the outcome. Some people familiar with the situation doubt all furloughed staff will return to their jobs. Zachariah Scott, a former senior technical artist laid off in May, told Game File he contacted about ten former employees and each said they had been furloughed three weeks prior. Scott said the studio concealed the fact that the team had been furloughed.