The campaign
Can you turn off permadeath in Zero Company?
Yes. Permadeath is on by default and can be disabled in the settings.
- Confidence
- Confirmed
- Verified
- 15 August 2026
- Version
- pre-release (no retail build)
The short answer
Yes. Permadeath is on by default and can be disabled in the settings.
In full
What that means when you are planning
With it on, an Operator reduced to zero health takes an Injury, and three Injuries kill them permanently on standard difficulty. Injuries persist between missions until treated at the Den — a standard Medbay bed costs a cycle, a Bacta Tank is instant and costs Credits.
A dead Operator takes their experience and their Bonds with them. That is the expensive part: Bonds are the main source of Focus Points, so losing a well-bonded Operator sets back the progression of whoever they were bonded with, not just your roster.
An Ironman-style option that disables save reloading is described separately. The two are different switches, so you can run permadeath with the ability to reload, or not.
Hawks is the exception in every configuration — he cannot permanently die, and his falling ends the mission instead.
What we don't know yet
The game has not been released. These are open questions we have chosen not to guess at.
- Whether permadeath can be toggled mid-campaign or only at the start.
- Whether the three-Injury threshold changes on other difficulties.
Next
Related questions
- How many Injuries kill an Operator?
- Three, on standard difficulty.
- Can you revive a downed Operator?
- Yes — allies can Rally a downed Operator, and Trick can revive himself.
- What happens if Hawks is downed?
- The mission ends. Hawks is the only Operator who cannot permanently die.
Where this is covered properly
Sources
- Answering the Internet's Biggest Questions about Star Wars Zero Company
Electronic Arts · Tier 1 — Official · accessed 6 August 2026
Supports: Squad limit of 4, with additional characters controllable in certain missions; roster starting at 7 and capped at 20, raised by Den upgrades, story progression and authored Operators joining; no species or faction weapon-proficiency advantage; Clone Trooper and astromech recruitment; permadeath default and toggleable; Hawks required on story missions. The headline itself is the evidence for the game's abbreviation: "Answering the Internet’s Biggest Questions about SWZC"
- Star Wars Zero Company: How Some of the Greatest Minds in Tactics Games are Pushing the Genre, Again
Xbox Wire · Tier 2 — Developer interview · accessed 6 August 2026
Supports: Greg Foertsch and James Brawley on the eight Specializations, Combat Stim + Gunslinger synergy, Advantage, and Specialization changes on authored characters
- Star Wars Zero Company — official game page
Electronic Arts · Tier 1 — Official · accessed 15 August 2026
Supports: Release date of August 27; platforms given as PC, PlayStation and Xbox, without a console generation; "Turn-Based Tactics" in the page title; premise