According to the developers, completing the main campaign of Star Wars Zero Company on Normal difficulty takes 30-40 hours. Completing all side missions will take 45-55 hours. A 100% completion with all 53 achievements will take approximately 60+ hours—repeat playthroughs are required.
Table of Contents
How long does the main campaign of Star Wars Zero Company last?
The storyline from Bit Reactor and Lucasfilm Games is designed to last 30-40 hours the first time you play the game on Normal difficulty. Lead producer Cadence Funk stated this figure directly in the official FAQ.
The story unfolds sequentially: it consists of 14 chapters that guide the squad through key operations without romantic distractions or branching paths. If your experience with the genre is limited to a couple of evenings playing other games, the timer will be pushed to the upper limit. Experienced tacticians will speed through the main storyline, but even they will run into cutscenes and mandatory briefings.
What determines playtime?
The total number of hours on the Steam or PS5 counter depends on specific settings before the start:
-
Difficulty level (Story, Normal, Hard, Expert): On “Expert,” every miss halts progress, and one enemy ambush forces you to restart the mission from scratch.
-
Permadeath mode: The loss of a valuable operator forces you to urgently find a replacement, forcing you to take unnecessary side missions.
-
Tactical preparation: The habit of meticulously calculating your line of sight and every tile you take slows down the pace of combat.
-
Exploring locations: Searching for containers with materials on maps takes up a significant amount of playtime.
Completion times on different difficulty levels
The official figures only cover the basic Normal mode, but the exact breakdown for the hardcore presets is currently being compiled by the community:
How long does it take to 100% complete Star Wars Zero Company?
Completing the project completely will require over 60 hours of intense concentration. The main reason for this lengthy time is that you won’t be able to collect all the trophies in one go.
What’s included in 100% completion?
Obtaining the “Legend of Zero Company” trophy involves a long list of requirements:
-
Successful completion of all 14 story chapters.
-
Completing 53 achievements on PlayStation 5 (52 trophies on Steam and Xbox Series X|S).
-
Maximizing Operator Bonds.
-
Completing closed missions, available only during limited time windows.
-
Victorious ending in the special Beskar Mode.
Why 100% completion requires two playthroughs
Developers at Electronic Arts have officially confirmed: the game does not have the usual New Game+ mode. You won’t be able to carry over your highly-leveled soldiers and top-tier gear to a new game.
Achieving platinum will require a clean start in Beskar Mode. This disables manual saves, forcing you to live with the consequences of every decision. Due to the extensive system of operational cycles, some content is guaranteed to fly by on the first try.
What is Beskar Mode and why play through the game twice?
Beskar Mode is a key challenge for trophy hunters. The game completely overhauls the save rules, forcing you to consider every squad move.
Beskar Mode and Permadeath Settings
Many confuse these systems, although they operate independently:
-
Beskar Mode: A strict limitation on a single autosave file. No rollbacks after unsuccessful moves. This setting is critical if you’re aiming for the “Legend” trophy.
-
Permadeath: A soldier’s death on the battlefield is permanent.
-
Optimal starting setup: Permadeath enabled and Beskar Mode disabled. This will give you a sense of tactical risk-free play while still allowing for mistakes.
-
Extreme setup: Run both modes together on Expert difficulty.
The Cycle System — Why You Can’t Complete Everything in One Go
The game’s calendar is tied to so-called cycles — local in-game days. Time is limited, so you can only complete one operation per day, while other tasks are irrevocably lost.
Mission Types in the Cycle System
You’ll constantly have to choose which unit to send on a mission based on priorities:
-
Crisis Missions: Ignoring these points will instantly grant the enemy faction map buffs.
-
Crewmate Missions: Unique personal chains that reveal the stories of soldiers and level up Operator Bonds.
-
Critical Missions: Key story missions that remain in the active mission list for several cycles in a row.
All 53 achievements — how much time is added by trophy hunting
Achieving a complete collection of awards requires pinpoint precision and iron discipline. 29 of the 53 achievements are hidden—the developers hid them to maintain suspense until the end.
Key achievements that affect time
Prepare yourself for these achievements to eat up a significant portion of your time:
-
Zero Company Legend: Earn all other trophies (Platinum trophy on PS5).
-
Captain: Complete the entire campaign on Expert difficulty.
-
Legend: Win a game on Expert with Beskar Mode enabled.
-
Active Service: Complete a total of 50 side missions.
-
Thick as Thieves: Maximize the bond between your squad.
-
Full Roster: Recruit 20 operatives.
-
Time Skip: Complete Chapter 8 in a lightning-fast manner within 4 cycles.
Comparison with other tactical strategy games – XCOM 2, Gears Tactics, Midnight Suns
To understand the scale of Bit Reactor’s work, it’s enough to look at its neighbors in the turn-based tactics genre.
Star Wars Zero Company vs. XCOM 2
While the cult classic XCOM 2 holds the record for peak online player count on Steam, the new Star Wars game places a much deeper emphasis on storytelling. There are no romances, but the narrative is delivered with surgical precision.
Star Wars Zero Company vs Gears Tactics
Compared to the fast-paced game from Splash Damage, Zero Company is noticeably longer in terms of story progression. However, earning the platinum in Gears Tactics is a bit quicker—there’s no strict requirement to replay the entire game for one difficult achievement.
Star Wars Zero Company vs Marvel’s Midnight Suns
Firaxis’s Tactics required nearly 70 hours to complete due to endless wanderings through the Abbey. EA’s game achieves the same amount of time in a different way—through dense tactical gameplay and the Beskar mode.
Is Star Wars Zero Company worth replaying?
One playthrough is perfectly sufficient if your main goal is simply to follow the squad’s story and roll the credits. The linear storyline doesn’t offer any radically different endings upon replay.
Platinum hunters and hardcore fans will have to make this journey twice. Only in the second run will you be able to earn the “Legend” trophy and appreciate the newly unlocked squad customization options.
How does permadeath affect playtime?
The death of a key soldier isn’t just the loss of a unit; it’s a significant blow to the time economy. Losing a highly skilled veteran will force you to spend additional cycles recruiting and grinding out rookies in side missions. If you don’t want to inflate your timer by another 15-20 hours of unnecessary replays, disable this option when you first try out the game.
Frequently Asked Questions about the Length of Star Wars Zero Company
Is there a New Game+ mode in the game?
No, the developers officially confirmed the absence of New Game+ at launch.
How many chapters are in the story campaign?
The main campaign is strictly divided into 14 story chapters.
Can I earn all the achievements in a single playthrough?
This is impossible: the mission cycle system burns out some missions, and the Legendary trophy requires Beskar Mode.
What is Beskar Mode?
It’s a higher difficulty mode with a single autosave slot and a complete ban on manual saves and loads.
How many achievements are there in the game?
The game has 53 trophies on PlayStation 5 and 52 achievements on Xbox Series X|S and Steam.
How does the cycle system work?
Missions appear for a limited number of in-game days. Completing one task automatically skips time forward, causing some alternative missions to disappear.
