Star Wars Zero Company developer Bit Reactor is actively "returning more of our team back to work" after furloughing staff right before launch due to apparent budget issues.

In a post on Bluesky, Bit Reactor CEO Greg Foertsch confirms the great de-furloughing began this week, which it calls "an important step in our continued support for Zero Company."

The statement confirms much of what was reported around the launch. "Having to ask team members to step away after we navigated unexpected business developments out of our control and so close to launch was an incredibly difficult decision, but one that was necessary to help us eventually bring as many people back as possible," Foertsch continues.

It's unclear how many, if any, developers may be laid off at the end of this return process. Whereas layoffs result in immediate job cuts, a furlough is essentially a period of unpaid absence or reduced hours which is generally enacted to lower costs and overhead during a period of some kind of financial hardship.

Game File's Stephen Totilo reports "over half" of the team has now returned.

"This team means a tremendous amount to me, and I am incredibly proud of what we have accomplished together," Foertsch adds. "Thank you to our fans for the incredible response to the game and for supporting us along this journey. We look forward to sharing more updates regarding Bit Reactor and Zero Company soon."

Star Wars Zero Company saw some of the strongest reviews of any Star Wars game in recent years. We called it a solid strategy RPG after getting our feet wet, and it's sitting comfortably at a score of 84 on Metacritic. On Steam, Zero Company has "very positive" reviews. It was an utter shame to see the team behind it struggling even after shipping a great game, and it's good to see them getting back on their feet.

I've learned to love Star Wars Zero Company's permadeath – by letting the new hires die.

The Blood of Dawnwalker managed to stir up quite a controversy with its time restrictions, but that's not scaring indie developers away from instilling some good ol' FOMO in players – in fact, some are leaning well into it.

If you're old enough to remember Majora's Mask, one of the best Zelda games of all time, then you're also (un)lucky enough to have grappled with its three-day cycle. It's stressful, sure, but it's what makes the game as fun and unique as it is – if you ask me, anyway.

I'm not the only one who thinks so, apparently, as Studio Zubio is cooking up a stealth RPG with a similar feature… Bunderkin: The Ocular Eclipse. You can back it on Kickstarter right now, where it's already racked up nearly four times its initial $44,444 goal with nearly $175,000 raised so far.

So, what is Bunderkin? Well, like I said, it finds players "trapped in a three-day time loop" as the ever-unpopular Beedee the Bunderdragon (yes, you read that right). Beedee is desperate to get into the Ocular Eclipse festival, which just so happens to be a "once-in-a-lifetime" event.

There's a catch, though: a villain is plotting to freeze said eclipse, but Beedee discovers a mysterious device that transports him back in time so that he can do it all again and stop the chaotic foe.

It sounds fun as heck, honestly, with Studio Zubio noting it's "inspired by stealth classics like Metal Gear Solid and Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell" – and, of course, Majora's Mask – with puzzles, stealth mechanics, and secrets galore.

There's no release date set for Bunderkin: The Ocular Eclipse just yet, but its Steam page is live, so you can wishlist it if you're just as intrigued as I am.

It's entering the limelight at an interesting time for sure, considering how The Blood of Dawnwalker's time restriction was so controversial that its biggest mod reworks it altogether and Baldur's Gate 3 publishing director Michael "Cromwelp" Douse had to step in to defend it.

Regardless, I'm not afraid of a little fear of missing out myself, and Studio Zubio appears to be conjurin' up quite the fun little gem. Fingers crossed its launch window drops soon so I can relive my Majora's Mask days once again.

Searching for some new games to play? Browse through our roundup of the most exciting upcoming indie games set to arrive this year and beyond.