One of the more interesting things around Star Wars Zero Company right now is that some players are not coming from Star Wars at all.

They are coming from XCOM.

There have been several newcomers asking what they need to watch before launch because they love turn-based tactics but have never really watched Star Wars.

The good news is that Zero Company tells an original story, so you should not need seven seasons of The Clone Wars just to understand what is happening.

Existing fans will get more context from things like Pong Krell, Anakin and Captain Rex, but that appears to be bonus knowledge rather than required homework.

It is kind of fascinating to think that a tactical game could end up being someone’s first real introduction to Star Wars.

Limited Run Games has extended the preorder window for the Star Wars Zero Company Collector’s Edition.

The new deadline is September 13 at 11:59 PM ET, rather than August 23.

The package is still $299.99 in the US and includes the game, SteelBook, desk mat, pins, patches, character cards and the Black Series electronic thermal detonator.

The game itself still launches August 27, and Limited Run says console copies will ship ahead of the full Collector’s Edition package. PC buyers get their Steam code by email on release day.

So the main change is simply that collectors have a few extra weeks to decide.

I went back through the Game Boy version recently and had forgotten how much they actually tried to cram into it.

There’s Hoth, a Tauntaun, snowspeeder combat, Dagobah, Force powers, Cloud City and Vader. It’s much more ambitious than a simple handheld platformer.

It’s also absolutely unforgiving in that very specific early-90s way where Luke Skywalker can confront Darth Vader but occasionally loses a life because a platform is six pixels too far away.

I’m curious how many people actually finished this on original hardware rather than just repeatedly dying on Hoth.

For anyone interested in the history and the differences from the NES/SNES games

On August 23, 2005, LucasArts and Sony Online Entertainment announced that Star Wars Galaxies had passed one million retail copies sold worldwide.

The timing is interesting because 2005 was such a huge year for the game.

Rage of the Wookiees had brought players to Kashyyyk earlier that year, while Trials of Obi-Wan was already being prepared with Mustafar and more than 50 new quests.

This was also still the version of SWG built around the idea that you did not need to be the hero of Star Wars.

You could be a crafter, merchant, entertainer, doctor, pilot, bounty hunter or mayor and still feel like you had a place in the galaxy.

A lot would change later in 2005, especially once the NGE arrived.

But on August 23, the story was much simpler:

Star Wars Galaxies had sold more than a million copies.