Star Wars Zero Company hits 1 million copies sold as Disney's licensing strategy produces back-to-back hits

A second Star Wars game, Galactic Racer, launched this week, as Disney's open licensing approach yields consecutive commercial successes

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Version 1.2, a forthcoming patch, is also on the way, with the companies indicating it will drop next week. Following the game’s commercial performance, Bit Reactor has begun bringing back employees who had been furloughed, according to Push Square $SQ.

Zero Company's sales milestone arrives in the same week that a second Star Wars title, Star Wars: Galactic Racer, launched on PS5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC. The racing game, which became available worldwide on Tuesday, draws on the franchise's podracing lore and features veteran racer Sebulba as a character alongside a new protagonist named Shade.

The two 2026 releases reflect a shift in Disney $DIS's approach to Star Wars game licensing, according to Bloomberg. After shutting down internal developer LucasArts in 2013 and granting Electronic Arts $EA an exclusive licensing deal, Disney opened Star Wars to multiple external studios when that arrangement concluded in 2023. Both Zero Company and Galactic Racer brought defined genre templates — XCOM-style strategy and Burnout-style racing, respectively — developed by teams with prior experience in those genres, according to Bloomberg.

The strategy has not been without setbacks. Bit Reactor went through a turbulent development period and is involved in a legal dispute between its cofounders, according to Bloomberg. Among the Star Wars projects that have stalled, Star Wars Eclipse and a Knights of the Old Republic remake are among those still stuck in development limbo.

Disney's broader licensing record under the post-EA framework has been mixed. Ubisoft Entertainment's open-world game Star Wars Outlaws, released in 2024, drew critical notice but fell short of sales expectations, and Ubisoft subsequently canceled a planned sequel, according to Bloomberg.

Still, the consecutive commercial performances of Zero Company mark a notable run for the franchise in games. Bloomberg noted that both titles rely on genre mechanics rather than franchise nostalgia, a contrast with Lucasfilm's recent film and television output, which has faced criticism for oversaturation.

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