Star Wars: Zero Company launched on August 27 and promptly claimed the number one spot on Steam's global top-selling games chart. It is receiving praise for capturing the essence of XCOM, though optimisation issues have dragged its user reviews down to 'Mostly Positive'.

As Star Wars: Zero Company was built around core developers from the XCOM team, the developer took the foundational framework of XCOM and sped up the tempo by increasing action points. The developer also added strategic layers by removing the fog of war and introducing squad special skills. Being a spiritual successor to XCOM infused with the Star Wars IP, the title drew massive attention even before launch.

User reviews posted after launch overflowed with praise for the core gameplay. The blend of XCOM mechanics and the Star Wars universe works well, while cutscenes, voice acting, and troop management elements successfully boost immersion. That being said, the developer could not dodge optimisation issues, with frame drops occurring even on high-end hardware. Players also slammed the shallow customisation for the main character, heavy-handed forced elements, and clunky controls. As a makeshift fix, players are sharing Tips on lowering graphics options in specific environments to claw back frames.

The game is set during the Clone Wars era of the Star Wars universe. Hawks, a former Republic officer, leads a special unit to carry out numerous tactical operations. Players can mix and match various species and classes to execute tactics, while outside of combat, wandering around the base and interacting with squadmates is also implemented.

Elsewhere, Metal Gear Solid: Master Collection Vol. 2, released on August 27, took fourth place with 'Mixed' early user reviews. Meanwhile, Elden Ring launched a new DLC pack titled 'Faded' that adds gear and origins, pushing both the base game and the DLC into the absolute top tiers.

In the daily peak Concurrent Players top 20, War Thunder grabbed 18th place with 81,771 players. This bump likely stems from the launch of sales for a new event box, the military survival kit.