XCOM

Last updated
XCOM
X-COM series logo.png
Genre(s)
Developer(s)
Publisher(s)
  • MicroProse (1994–1998)
  • Hasbro Interactive (1998–2001)
  • Infogrames (2001–2005)
  • 2K Games (2005–present)
Creator(s) Julian Gollop
Platform(s) MS-DOS, Amiga, Amiga CD32, PlayStation, Windows, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, OS X, iOS, Android, Linux, PlayStation Vita, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch
First release UFO: Enemy Unknown
March 1, 1994
Latest release XCOM: Chimera Squad
April 24, 2020

XCOM (originally called X-COM), is a science fiction video game franchise featuring an elite international organization tasked with countering alien invasions of Earth. The series began with the strategy video game X-COM: UFO Defense created by Julian Gollop's Mythos Games and MicroProse in 1994. The original lineup by MicroProse included six published and at least two canceled games, as well as two novels. The X-COM series, in particular its original entry, achieved a sizable cult following and has influenced many other video games; including the creation of a number of clones, spiritual successors, and unofficial remakes.

Contents

A reboot series was published by 2K Games, beginning with the strategy video game XCOM: Enemy Unknown , developed by Firaxis Games and released in 2012 to critical and commercial success. It was followed by the prequel The Bureau: XCOM Declassified and the sequels XCOM 2 and XCOM: Chimera Squad .

Games

Released

 X-COM series (1994–2001)
 XCOM series (2012–present)

TitleRelease Developer Publisher
UFO: Enemy Unknown
(a.k.a. X-COM: UFO Defense)		1994 Mythos Games
MicroProse 		MicroProse
X-COM: Terror from the Deep 1995MicroProseMicroProse
X-COM: Apocalypse 1997Mythos Games
MicroProse		MicroProse
X-COM: Interceptor 1998MicroProseMicroProse
X-COM: First Alien Invasion 1999 Hasbro Interactive Hasbro
X-COM: Enforcer 2001Hasbro Interactive Infogrames
XCOM: Enemy Unknown 2012 Firaxis Games 2K Games
The Bureau: XCOM Declassified
(previously known as XCOM)		2013 Irrational Games
2K Australia
2K Marin 		2K Games
XCOM: Enemy Within
(expansion of XCOM: Enemy Unknown)		2013Firaxis Games2K Games
XCOM 2
(sequel to XCOM: Enemy Unknown) [1] 		2016Firaxis Games2K Games
XCOM 2: War of the Chosen
(expansion of XCOM 2)		2017Firaxis Games2K Games
XCOM: Chimera Squad 2020Firaxis Games2K Games
XCOM: Legends [2] 2021Iridium Starfish2K Games

Cancelled

TitleDeveloper
X-COM: Genesis Hasbro Interactive
X-COM: Alliance Hasbro Interactive
Infogrames

Original X-COM series (1994–2001)

Aggregate review scores
As of November 17, 2011.
Game GameRankings
UFO: Enemy Unknown
(X-COM: UFO Defense)		(PC) 94% [3]
(PS) 93% [4]
X-COM: Terror from the Deep (PS) 100% [5]
(PC) 86% [6]
X-COM: Apocalypse (PC) 87% [7]
X-COM: Interceptor (PC) 70% [8]

The X-COM core series consisted of four main games published by MicroProse: UFO: Enemy Unknown (also known as X-COM: UFO Defense, PC and Amiga in 1994, Sony PlayStation in 1995), X-COM: Terror from the Deep (PC in 1995, PlayStation in 1996), X-COM: Apocalypse (PC in 1997) and X-COM: Interceptor (PC in 1998). The premise of the franchise is that an alien invasion beginning in 1999 prompts the creation of a clandestine paramilitary organization codenamed X-COM (an abbreviation of "Extraterrestrial Combat") by a coalition of funding nations. The player is charged with leading this force and tasked to secretly engage and research the alien threat. The sequels, against new alien invasions, are set underwater (Terror from the Deep, set in 2040), in a futuristic megacity (Apocalypse, set in 2084), and in space (Interceptor, set in 2067 and making it a prequel to Apocalypse).

UFO: Enemy Unknown, featuring a turn-based ground combat system, remains the most popular and successful game in the series, having been often featured on various lists of best video games of all time. [9] The first sequel, Terror from the Deep, was quickly created by MicroProse's internal team; based on the same game engine and used largely identical gameplay mechanics. Apocalypse took several new directions with the series, introducing an optional real-time combat system and shifting the aesthetics to a retro-futuristic style. A spin-off game, Interceptor, constitutes a hybrid of a strategy game and a space combat flight simulator.

After Interceptor, Hasbro Interactive purchased MicroProse, acquiring its studios and the X-COM brand. There were talks of X-COM toys, comics, and even a cartoon show. [10] A budget range, turn-based tactical play-by-mail multiplayer game Em@il Games: X-COM was released in 1999. In 2001, Hasbro published X-COM: Enforcer , a poorly received third-person shooter loosely based on the events of Enemy Unknown, marking a low point in the series. The X-COM games were also released as part of four compilation releases: X-COM (Collector's Edition) (1998), [11] X-COM Collection (1999) [12] and X-COM: Complete Pack (2008), [13] as well as in 2K Huge Games Pack in 2009.

At least two more major titles have been planned for this series. One of them was X-COM: Genesis , a real-time strategy and tactics game "going back to the roots but in full 3D." [14] Another was X-COM: Alliance (also known as X-COM 4 and the project Fox Force Five), an Aliens -inspired mix of strategy game and first-person perspective tactical shooter, using the licensed original Unreal Engine. However, both of these projects were cancelled after ex-MicroProse Hasbro Interactive studios were all shut down in 1999–2000 (with Alliance being later abortively reactivated in 2001-2002 before being quietly cancelled again without any official announcement). Terry Greer, a former senior artist and head of game design at MicroProse UK, disclosed: "We'd also discussed other avenues for future games including time travel, retaking the solar system (with interplanetary distances playing a significant role in recruitment and resources), and resistance movement concept where you had to fight back after the world was taken and humanity was totally under the alien yoke." [14]

OpenXcom is an open source re-implementation of the first game in the series intended to fix all the bugs and enable modding. [15] [16] OpenApoc is a similar open source project for X-COM: Apocalypse. [17]

XCOM series (2012–present)

Aggregate review scores
As of September 27, 2016.
Game Metacritic
XCOM: Enemy Unknown (360) 90 [18]
(PC) 89 [19]
(PS3) 89 [20]
The Bureau: XCOM Declassified (PS3) 69 [21]
(360) 68 [22]
(PC) 66 [23]
XCOM: Enemy Within (iOS) 92 [24]
(360) 88 [25]
(PS3) 88 [26]
(PC) 86 [27]
XCOM 2 (PC) 88 [28]
(PS4) 88 [29]
(XONE) 87 [30]
XCOM: Chimera Squad (PC) 77 [31]

In 2010, 2K Marin announced they were working on re-imagining of X-COM, relabeled as XCOM. [32] It was described as a tactical and strategic first-person shooter that would combine elements from the original X-COM alongside a new setting and viewpoint while keeping some main concepts from the original game series. The setting received a complete overhaul, now based in the early 1960s, with the original XCOM organization being a secret U.S. federal agency. Originally planned for 2011, the game was repeatedly redesigned by different studios before being finally released in 2013 as The Bureau: XCOM Declassified for Windows, OS X, PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360.

In 2012, Firaxis Games (led by MicroProse co-founder Sid Meier) announced the development of a Windows, PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 strategy game XCOM: Enemy Unknown , a "re-imagination" of UFO: Enemy Unknown with real-time strategic view, turn-based combat and destructible tactical environments more in vein of the original X-COM game and set in a more contemporary setting than the XCOM game by 2K Marin. [33] XCOM: Enemy Unknown was released later that same year to critical acclaim, winning multiple "Game of the Year" awards. X-COM creator Julian Gollop hailed it as "a phoenix rising from the ashes of the X-COM disaster," saying that "it’s amazing that after 20 years, a brand that had gone so badly in the wrong direction has finally been put right." [34] It was also ported to Android, iOS, OS X, Linux, and PlayStation Vita.

In 2013, Firaxis released a downloadable content for the base game XCOM: Enemy Unknown titled XCOM: Enemy Within . [35] It was made available on Steam (which requires Enemy Unknown to play), [36] as well as for iOS, the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 (those versions are standalone and do not require Enemy Unknown).

In 2015, Firaxis announced a sequel, XCOM 2 . [1] It was released in 2016 for Windows, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, OS X, and Linux (Later ported to several other platforms, including the Nintendo Switch, but not iOS). Its expansion, XCOM 2: War of the Chosen , followed in 2017. The next game in the series, XCOM: Chimera Squad , was released in April 2020, for Windows. Unlike the global scale of previous games, Chimera Squad focused on a specific city, giving the player control of a diverse squad of humans and aliens. The game introduced several changes to game mechanics, such as replacing randomly generated and customizable squad members with preset and unique soldiers, and utilizing "interleaved turns" (mixing turn order between the opposing teams during combat) instead of a team-by-team turn system. [37]

Julian Gollop's unofficial games

The Dreamland Chronicles: Freedom Ridge was a game for the PC and PlayStation 2 by Julian Gollop's Mythos Games (creators of UFO: Enemy Unknown and X-COM: Apocalypse), claimed to having been "essentially a remake of the first X-Com with 3D graphics." [38] The Dreamland Chronicles was canceled in 2001 and Mythos Games soon ceased to exist.

Laser Squad Nemesis is a 2002 low-budget PC turn-based tactics game developed by Gollop's next company Codo Technologies and very similar to the turn-based Battlescape combat system of the first X-COM. In 2005, Codo Technologies and publisher Namco also released Rebelstar: Tactical Command , a Game Boy Advance turn-based tactical role-playing game that too was reminiscent of the early Battlescape system.

Phoenix Point is a strategy and turn-based tactics video game for Windows, and OS X that has the open world, strategic layers of the X-COM style games of the 1990s like Enemy Unknown and Apocalypse together with the presentation and tactical mechanics of the more recent Firaxis reboot games. [39] The game was developed by Gollop with Snapshot Games, an independent game studio in Bulgaria. Phoenix Point, described as a spiritual successor to X-COM, was released in December 2019. [40]

Other media

The board game at the GDC 2015 Xcom the board game at 2015 gdc.jpg
The board game at the GDC 2015

Literature

Two X-COM novels have been published based on the first game in the series: Diane Duane's X-COM: UFO Defense - A Novel (1995, ISBN   0-7615-0235-1) and Vladimir Vasilyev's Enemy Unknown (1997). The reboot series' novel is titled XCOM 2: Resurrection by Greg Keyes and was published in 2015, bridging the plots of XCOM and its sequel. [41] In 2017, a second novel was published with the title XCOM 2: Escalation by Rick Barba.

MicroProse's manual/documentation writer John Possidente also wrote three short stories, "Decommissioning", "Manley's Deposition", and "Moray in the Wreck", taking place between the events of the first two games in the series. More recently, X-COM co-designer Dave Ellis and artist Jon McCoy released a free online tribute digital comic titled Deep Rising, with music created by X-COM composer John Broomhall. [42]

Board game

A board game entitled XCOM: The Board Game , designed by Eric M. Lang and based on the 2012 reboot, was released on January 28, 2015, by Fantasy Flight Games. [43]

Intellectual property rights

The trademark for the X-COM name was filed on May 25, 1995, by MicroProse Software. According to Julian Gollop, "They wanted us to do a deal where we would sign over any rights that we might have in return for some cash plus a high royalty on X-COM: Apocalypse. They more or less insisted on it, otherwise they were threatening to cancel the Apocalypse project, so there was a lot of bluff involved." [44] Following the acquisition and subsequent merger of MicroProse with Hasbro, the X-COM intellectual property (IP) was also transferred to Hasbro Interactive on August 19, 1998. Due to financial difficulties, Hasbro Interactive was sold to Infogrames Entertainment SA on January 29, 2001. As part of this transfer, the X-COM IP was legally transferred to Infogrames on December 21, 2001 (shortly thereafter, Infogrames was renamed Atari SA). In 2005, Atari SA transferred several IPs to Take-Two Interactive Software Inc. [45] and X-COM was transferred with them on June 12, 2005.

The X-COM IP is currently owned by Take-Two and its subsidiaries; [46] by 2007, first rumors emerged that Irrational Games (who are owned by Take-Two) were developing a new X-COM title [47] (this game eventually became The Bureau: XCOM Declassified). In May 2007, 2K Games (a subsidiary of Take-Two) inherited the X-COM franchise and re-released Terror from the Deep on Steam. In September 2008, UFO: Enemy Unknown, Apocalypse, Interceptor and Enforcer were also re-released as downloadable titles. 2K Games' XCOM, which had been in development since 2003 (prior to the IP acquisition), [48] was finally completed and released in 2012.

Inspired titles

Because of the series' popularity, various other developers have created spiritual successor games similar in theme and tone of the X-COM games (sometimes called "X-COM clones"; [49] [50] Julian Gollop also himself called turn-based tactical game genre in general as "sons of Rebelstar " in a reference to one of his earlier games [51] ). The level to which they borrow from the original series varies.

Commercial games

The franchise was also referenced in the Civilization series of strategy video games that had partially inspired X-COM in first place. The original game received an unofficial sequel in the 1997 expansion set Civ II: Fantastic Worlds for MicroProse's Civilization II , in a scenario set on the Phobos moon of Mars. [67] Firaxis' Civilization V features a unit type named XCOM Squad.

Fan games

Fan-remake projects for UFO: Enemy Unknown have included X-com - Last Hope (a mod of Half-Life 2 released in 2006), [68] UFO: The Two Sides (development halted in 2011 due to copyright issues), [69] UFO: Cydonia's Fall (canceled in 2012), [70] X-COM: Origin (canceled in 2013), [71] and The Rebel Squad (an also defunct project by Sam Liu). [72]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">MicroProse</span> American video game company

MicroProse is an American video game publisher and developer founded by Bill Stealey, Sid Meier, and Andy Hollis in 1982. It developed and published numerous games, including starting the Civilization and X-COM series. Most of their internally developed titles were vehicle simulation and strategy games.

<i>X-COM: Apocalypse</i> 1997 video game

X-COM: Apocalypse is a 1997 science fiction tactical strategy game. It is the third game in the X-COM video game series. It was developed by Mythos Games, and published by MicroProse in 1997 for DOS and Microsoft Windows.

<i>X-COM: Terror from the Deep</i> 1995 video game

X-COM: Terror from the Deep is a strategy video game developed and published by MicroProse for the PC in 1995 and for the PlayStation in 1996. It is a sequel to X-COM: UFO Defense and the second game of the X-COM series, this time taking the war against a renewed alien invasion into the Earth's oceans.

<i>X-COM: UFO Defense</i> 1994 video game

UFO: Enemy Unknown, also known as X-COM: UFO Defense in North America, is a 1994 science fiction strategy video game developed by Mythos Games and MicroProse. It was published by MicroProse for DOS and Amiga computers, the Amiga CD32 console, and the PlayStation. Originally planned by Julian Gollop as a sequel to Mythos Games' 1988 Laser Squad, the game mixes real-time management simulation with turn-based tactics. The player takes the role of commander of X-COM – an international paramilitary and scientific organization secretly defending Earth from an alien invasion. Through the game, the player is tasked with issuing orders to individual X-COM troops in a series of turn-based tactical missions. At strategic scale, the player directs the research and development of new technologies, builds and expands X-COM's bases, manages the organization's finances and personnel, and monitors and responds to UFO activity.

<i>X-COM: Alliance</i> Cancelled video game

X-COM: Alliance is a cancelled video game in the X-COM series. The game was developed by two different teams of MicroProse developers between 1995 and 2002. It had the player assume the role of commander of the militarized scientific mission lost in space during the aftermath of X-COM: Terror from the Deep.

<i>Laser Squad</i> 1988 video game

Laser Squad is a turn-based tactics video game, originally released for the ZX Spectrum and later for the Commodore 64, Amstrad CPC, MSX, Amiga, Sharp MZ-800 and Atari ST and PC computers between 1988 and 1992. It was designed by Julian Gollop and his team at Target Games and published by Blade Software, expanding on the ideas applied in their earlier Rebelstar series. Laser Squad originally came with five mission scenarios, with an expansion pack released for the 8-bit versions, containing a further two scenarios.

Julian Gollop is a British video game designer and producer specialising in strategy games, who has founded and led Mythos Games, Codo Technologies and Snapshot Games. He is known best as the "man who gave birth to the X-COM franchise."

<i>UFO: Aftermath</i> 2003 video game

UFO: Aftermath is a 2003 real-time tactics/turn-based strategy video game created by ALTAR Interactive. It is a homage to the X-COM game series, with roots in the unfinished game The Dreamland Chronicles: Freedom Ridge. It was followed by two sequels, UFO: Aftershock (2005) and UFO: Afterlight (2007).

<i>Rebelstar: Tactical Command</i> 2005 video game

Rebelstar: Tactical Command is a turn-based tactics video game developed by Codo Technologies and published by Namco and Atari Europe for the Game Boy Advance in 2005. It's the fourth game in the Rebelstar series. The game was created by Julian Gollop, who previously designed X-COM: UFO Defense, Laser Squad and the original Rebelstar games.

<i>The Bureau: XCOM Declassified</i> 2013 tactical shooter game

The Bureau: XCOM Declassified is a 2013 tactical third-person shooter video game. It was developed by 2K Marin and published by 2K. As the eighth title in the turn-based strategy series X-COM and a narrative prequel to XCOM: Enemy Unknown, the game was released for PlayStation 3, Windows, and Xbox 360 in August 2013. Set in late 1962 at the height of the Cold War, the game's premise mainly revolves around The Bureau, the predecessor of the Extraterrestrial Combat Unit (XCOM), as they attempt to repel an alien invasion. As a tactical shooter, players can use the battle focus mode to issue commands to two other agents accompanying the protagonist, William Carter. Players can permanently lose their squad members so they must make good tactical decisions.

<i>The Dreamland Chronicles: Freedom Ridge</i> Video game

The Dreamland Chronicles: Freedom Ridge is an unreleased video game for Microsoft Windows and PlayStation 2 by Mythos Games. Developed by the team which produced X-COM: UFO Defense, including lead designer Julian Gollop, the game was planned to be "a remake of the first X-COM with 3D graphics," as the first of four games planned in the new series. Cancelled in 2001, the unfinished game was later bought and partially turned into UFO: Aftermath by Altar Interactive, which was in turn itself followed by two sequels. Some elements of the game are also present in Gollop's own Phoenix Point.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mythos Games</span> UK video game developer

Mythos Games was a British video game developer company founded by Julian Gollop and Nick Gollop in 1988 as Target Games. It is best known for its 1994 strategy game X-COM: UFO Defense, which went on to become the first installment in the later XCOM series. Following the closing of Mythos Games in 2001, the brothers founded Codo Technologies.

<i>XCOM: Enemy Unknown</i> 2012 video game

XCOM: Enemy Unknown is a 2012 turn-based tactics video game that was developed by Firaxis Games and published by 2K. It presents a "reimagined" version of the 1994 strategy game X-COM: UFO Defense—also known as UFO: Enemy Unknown. XCOM: Enemy Unknown is set during an alien invasion of Earth in an alternative version of 2015; the player controls an elite, multinational, paramilitary organization called XCOM and commands troops in a series of turn-based tactical missions. Between missions, the player directs the research and development of technologies from recovered alien technology and captured prisoners, expands XCOM's base of operations, manages finances, and monitors and responds to alien activity.

<i>XCOM: Enemy Within</i> 2013 video game

XCOM: Enemy Within is an expansion pack for the turn-based tactical video game XCOM: Enemy Unknown. The expansion pack primarily adds new gameplay elements to the base game, as well as introducing new themes of transhumanism via aggressive gene therapy.

<i>XCOM 2</i> 2016 turn-based tactics video game

XCOM 2 is a 2016 turn-based tactics video game developed by Firaxis Games and published by 2K. It is the sequel to 2012's reboot of the series, XCOM: Enemy Unknown; it takes place 20 years after the events of Enemy Unknown. XCOM, a military organization trying to fight off an alien invasion, has lost the war and is now a resistance force against the occupation of Earth and the established totalitarian regime and military dictatorship. Gameplay is split between turn-based combat in which players command a squad of soldiers to fight enemies, and strategy elements in which players manage and control the operations of the Avenger, an alien ship that is used as a mobile base for XCOM.

Long War is a fan-made partial conversion mod for the turn-based tactics video game XCOM: Enemy Unknown and its expansion, XCOM: Enemy Within. It was first released in early 2013, and it exited beta at the end of 2015. Almost every aspect of the original game is altered, creating a longer, more complex campaign that presents players with more strategic choices and customization options. Long War adds a significant number of new soldier classes, abilities, weapons, armors, and usable items, and also introduces new features, including soldier fatigue and improvements to alien units over the course of the game.

<i>Phoenix Point</i> 2019 video game

Phoenix Point is a strategy video game featuring a turn-based tactics system that is developed by Bulgaria-based independent developer Snapshot Games. It was released on December 3, 2019, for macOS and Microsoft Windows, for Stadia on January 26, 2021, and Xbox One and PlayStation 4 on October 1, 2021. Phoenix Point is intended to be a spiritual successor to the X-COM series that had been originally created by Snapshot Games head Julian Gollop during the 1990s.

<i>XCOM: Chimera Squad</i> 2020 video game

XCOM: Chimera Squad is a turn-based tactical video game developed by Firaxis Games and published by 2K as part of the XCOM series. It is set as a sequel to XCOM 2: War of the Chosen, after a tenuous peace accord between warring human and alien forces has been achieved. The player controls a mixed squad of human and alien special forces soldiers that help maintain the fragile peace of City 31, an experimental city where humans and aliens are attempting cohabitation. While Chimera Squad follows similar tactical elements of the XCOM series, it introduces new gameplay concepts to accelerate the pace of gameplay.

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