This page is designed to provide you with the most up-to-date information on any future games in the X-Com series.
"XCOM is the re-imagining of the classic tale of humanity's struggle against an unknown enemy that puts players directly into the shoes of an FBI agent tasked with identifying and eliminating the growing threat. True to the roots of the franchise, players will be placed in charge of overcoming high-stake odds through risky strategic gambits coupled with heart-stopping combat experiences that pit human ingenuity - and frailty - against a foe beyond comprehension. By setting the game in a first-person perspective, players will be able to feel the tension and fear that comes with combating a faceless enemy that is violently probing and plotting its way into our world." - XCOM Press Release
Announced in April of 2010, XCOM is a new First Person shooter being developed by 2k Marin (makers of Bioshock 2) for release on what would be assumed the Playstation 3, XBox 360, and PC. In it, the player assumes the role of a 1950s FBI Agent named William Carter who is somehow tasked with dealing with an unknown alien threat.
Since it's initial showing in 2010, little information has been released regarding this title, which has already been pushed back from it's original fall 2011 release date multiple times.
Platforms: XBox 360, Playstation 3, PC
Current Release Date: Late 2012 / Early 2013
Related Links:
"It’s been a dream of ours to recreate X-COM with our unique creative vision. We’re huge fans of the original game and it’s a once in a lifetime opportunity to re-envision a game that is as beloved as X-COM. We were careful to keep XCOM: Enemy Unknown true to the elements that made X-COM such a revered game while delivering an entirely new story and gameplay experience for both die-hard X-COM fans and newcomers to the franchise." - Steve Martin, Firaxis Games
Announced in January of 2012, XCOM: Enemy Unknown is a strategy game in development at Firaxis Games, the studio behind Civilization and home to legendary designer Sid Meier.
Platforms: XBox 360, Playstation 3, PC
Current Release Date: Fall 2012
Related Links:
In X-Com's absence, many have created projects in the vein of X-Com. Due to the increasing amount of these projects that are actually well done, I have decided to list them here.
| Name: | Started: | Information: |
| EDF: Earth Defense Force |
2000 | The EDF project has been in product for many years, and is
probably the oldest of the projects. EDF, however, is mostly just concept. >> No Working version available. No Screenshots available. |
| UFO2000 | 2000 | UFO2000 is a multiplayer version of X-Com that uses X-Com's
original graphics files. Works with UFO and now TFTD files. >> Working version available. Screenshots available. Requires: X-Com or TFTD |
| Aussie Defence Squad |
2001 |
ADS is Byron Schubert of X-Command's game featuring terrorists versus counter terrorists. >> Working version available. Screenshots available. |
| Invasion 2021 |
2002 | Invasion 2021 is a X-Com styled game that is promising to not just copy X-Com, but to offer some original touches of it's own. >> No Working version available. Screenshots available. |
| Xenocide |
2002 | Xenocide is a 3d version of an X-Com styled game. It started as just a geoscape view, but now full tactical parts are in development. >> Alpha version available. Screenshots available. |
| Project: Talon | 2003 | Project: Talon is an configurable strategy wargame inspired by the X-Com series of games. >> Working version available. No Screenshots available. |
| X |
2003 |
X is a freedom force modification that allows you to do story based missions against aliens. >> Working version available. Screenshots available. Requires: Freedom Force |
| UFO Alien Invasion | 2003 | UFO Alien Invasion is one of the newer fan
projects, but is easily one of the best looking. Made with the Quake
engine, UFO:AI has full 3d tactical combat in the style of X-Com with
support for OpenGL and multiplayer support. UFO AI later went open source and is open to contribution. >> Playable demo available. Screenshots available. |
| Xenowar | 2010 | X-Com like game for Android and PC |
Since X-Com's release in 1994, many people have tried to capitalize on it's success, though few have been sucessful. Here's a few games that have similar gameplay to X-Com, be it with tactical squad based missions or full "save the world" style global commanding.
| Name: | Platform: | Year: | Publisher: | Information: |
| Jagged Alliance | PC | 1994 | Sir-tech | Jagged Alliance game out around the same time of X-Com and featured turn based squad tactical battles. The game had you leading a band of mercenaries in a fictional Atlantic island. |
| Guardians: Agents of Justice | PC | 1998 | Microprose | A game that featured comic book heroes that fought evil, Guardians was set to be, well, X-Com with superheroes. Unfortunately, this game never saw the light of day, as it was being canned after several delays. |
| Abomination: Nemesis Project | PC | 1999 | Eidos | A real-time tactical strategy game by some former members at Microprose. |
| Fallout Tactics | PC | 2001 | Interplay | Fallout Tactics took Fallout and added a little bit of tactical gameplay to it, which brought many comparisons to X-Com. Lead your squad through the wastes, fighting for the Brotherhood of Steel. |
| Laser Squad Nemesis | PC | 2001 | Mythos | Laser Squad Nemesis actually is a sequel to a game that predates X-Com. The original Laser Squad design is what Mythos based X-Com on. The new Laser Squad is set to provide PBEM multiplayer and turn-based strategic gameplay. |
| UFO Aftermath | PC | 2003 | ALTAR | After Mythos Games' collapse, the rights to 'Dreamland Cronicles' went to a company called Altar, where it became 'UFO Aftermath'. Set in the style of X-Com, UFO Aftermath follows an organization that sets out to reclaim the planet after it has been ravaged by an alien attack. Available on Steam. |
| Silent Storm | PC | 2004 | Nival | Silent Storm is a WWII turn based tactical wargame with full 3d and deformable terrain. |
| Rebelstar: Tactical Command | Gameboy Advance | 2005 | Namco | A remake of the Gollop brothers' earlier title Rebelstar for the GBA. |
| UFO: Aftershock | PC | 2005 | ALTAR | The sequel to ALTAR's UFO Aftermath promises to have the inside of buildings, new techs, base management, better AI, and loads of other features. Available on Steam. |
| UFO: Afterlight | PC | 2007 | ALTAR | The third in the UFO series by ALTAR, Afterlight sees a desperate group of humans start a colony on Mars. Available on Steam. |
| UFO: Extraterrestials | PC | 2007 | Chaos Concept | UFO: Extraterrestials is another turn based X-com game that promises to have deformable terrain, advanced AI, and good looking graphics. Available on Steam. |
| Isocron | iPhone | 2010 | JSeuss | Isocron is an X-Com inspired iPhone game under development |
| Xenonauts | PC | 2010 | Goldhawk Interactive | Xenonauts is an X-Com inspired game made by a group of Crysis modders who formed a new Game studio. Looking to recreate the classic X-Com feel, Xenonauts is set to release in late 2010 with both global and tactical strategy sections. |
| Ghost Recon: Shadow Wars | Nintendo 3DS | 2011 | Ubisoft | Ghost Recon: Shadow Wars is a turn based tactical strategy game designed by X-Com creator Julian Gollop. |
| UFO2 Extraterrestials: Shadows Over Earth | PC | 2012 (?) | Chaos Concept | UFO2 Extraterrestials: Shadows Over Earth is the sequel to Chaos Concept's 2007 game. Unlike the first game, UFO2E is set to be a full 3d game while still keeping the turn based strategy and destructable terrain intact. Unlike the first game, which was set on a different colonized planet, UFO2E is set on Earth. |
Due to certain games in the X-Com series being canceled after the Hasbro
buy-out, it was necessary to make this section. Many X-Com games have gotten
the axe, and others are left in a state of flux.
X-Com Genesis was to be a return to what X-Com orginally was.
In many
ways, the game was to be very similar to X-Com: UFO Defense (UFO: Enemy
Unknown). It featured a nearly complete 3D engine that supported 3D
acceleration
and the like. In the storyline, Genesis would have been set AFTER
Interceptor
and Apocalypse. No other details were available. Sadly, in
December
1999 Hasbro closed the studio that Genesis was in production at, and as
such Genesis can never be released in any way, shape, or form.
|
| Not an actual X-Com game, Dreamland was a game
similar to the original X-Com that is being created by Mythos.
-- from the Bethesda
Softworks press
release... Throughout the game, players will take part in a deep, involving plot and uncover the truth about Area 51, alien abductions, and the mysterious Men in Black. Players must create new bases to supply forces, protect the surviving civilian population, and fight for every resource they need, since money is now worthless. Working with anything from scavenged F16 aircraft and M16s to mystifying alien technology, troops will need to master all manner of weaponry and vehicles for tactical squad-based combat against alien foes at hotspots around the globe. "Mythos Games is known for creating strategy games that redefine how gamers look at a particular genre," said Vlatko Andonov, president of Bethesda Softworks. "The original X-COM changed the way we looked at turn-based games, and Magic & Mayhem turned real-time strategy gaming on its ear. We believe Freedom Ridge is going to have an even greater impact." Unfortunately, there was a falling out between Mythos and Virgin Interactive
(who owned the rights above Bethesda), and Mythos was forced to abandon
the project. Since then, it was given over to Altar Interactive and
ended up being completely rewritten. The game based on this (UFO
Aftermath) is now available.
|
| X-Com Alliance was a 3d shooter based on the
Unreal engine (which features all the latest features of 3d acceleration).
The game is squad based, played from a first person perspective. Small
on-screen displays at the top of the screen allow you to track your teammates,
of which you can have up to four. Multiplayer should be supported, and
since the Unreal engine has a client/server model, permanent XCA servers
should appear around the games' release.
The game apparently takes place after the first X-Com war. A mission is sent to Cydonia on Mars to retrieve alien artifacts. However, an unexpected dimensional gate transports the X-Com personal sixty light-years away. The X-Com soldiers find themselves in the middle of a war between the Grey Alliance and a race called the Ascidians. X-Com teams up with the friendly Ascidians and attacks the Greys. The strategic element is still in place. The soldiers' home base is the USS Patton and between missions you will make decisions on retrieval of items, research, outfitting squadrons, and other mission choices. Unfortunately, there were a number of setbacks during the production,
including the main programmer leaving/being canned from Microprose. At
this point, it does not look like the game will ever see the light of
day.
|
| Said to be in production during Microprose's time at Hasbro,
was rumored
to be a 'pure' X-Com game of turn-based strategy and Global protection.
At this point, there is no information about the game.
The only thing we have to go on right now is the message "I hear
you guys......and have sent your concerns to the appropriate folks here."
that was posted by an administrator on the Infogrames forum. However, it
has been at least a year since that comment, so whatever is happening to
X-Com is anyone's guess. It has been reported that Sid Meier's company Firaxis
reportedly owns the rights to many of the old Microprose titles, but it is
unknown if they specifically own the rights to X-Com or are planning another
game in the series. However, if it were to happen, Sid Meier would be the
optimal person to be in charge of the project.
|
