XCOM Returns to PC, Consoles as FPS in 2012
Friday 2K Games announced that its 2K Marin studio is bringing the XCOM franchise back to the PC on March 6, 2012 in the form of an FPS. Also slated for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3, the new XCOM installment will be a "gripping tactical action experience" set in mid-century America.
Previously spelled "X-COM," the franchise began its supernatural existence with the release of UFO: Enemy Unknown (aka X-COM: UFO Defense here in the States) back in 1994, developed by Julian Gollop and Mythos Games, and published by MicroProse Software. It was followed by two sequels featuring the same tactical gameplay in 1995 and 1997.
The series took a new direction in 1998 with the release of X-COM: Interceptor, an action-based space combat/strategy game, after Hasbro Interactive purchased publisher MicroProse Software and acquired the X-COM brand. Hasbro released one final and fifth installment in 2001, and then canned its next X-COM themed RTS and tactical FPS projects when it shut down Hasbro Interactive studios.
Nine years passed without a new X-COM release until 2K Games announced in April 2010 that it acquired the rights to the X-COM franchise and would reboot the series as XCOM. The publisher and its 2K Marin studio promised to stay true to the X-COM roots even though the new installment would be a first-person shooter.
"Every time I think of XCOM it gives me the chills, the kind that come from standing witness to the corruption and destruction of your world as you stand powerless to prevent it," said Christoph Hartmann, president of 2K, in a statement on Friday. "I’m pleased to announce today that we will be bringing this experience to an even broader audience when XCOM comes to the Xbox 360, PS3 and PC in March 2012."
According to 2K Games, XCOM pits Special Agent William Carter and his veteran team against the threat of human extinction. "But every enemy is an opportunity – players will strike surgically against the alien menace, capture their technology, and by the science of desperation – turn the invaders’ weapons against them. Armed with these lethal new tools of war, players will command their squad on XCOM’s front lines: Main Street, USA."
More is expected to be revealed next week at E3 2011. In the meantime, here's the official E3 trailer:
Get Tom's Hardware's best news and in-depth reviews, straight to your inbox.
Kevin Parrish has over a decade of experience as a writer, editor, and product tester. His work focused on computer hardware, networking equipment, smartphones, tablets, gaming consoles, and other internet-connected devices. His work has appeared in Tom's Hardware, Tom's Guide, Maximum PC, Digital Trends, Android Authority, How-To Geek, Lifewire, and others.
-
Kryan "Also slated for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3..."Reply
that's all I needed to read before I didn't care about this. So much for innovation and improving graphics...why are AMD and NVidia even bothering with newer cards? nobody will need them if this keep up. My old pc with a HD4850 could play this game... -
wintermint Not everybody has moved on to pc gaming... there's still money to be made in consolesReply -
MoulaZX Makes me sick to my stomach every time I hear about this game. How dare they label this piece of shite "XCOM"... The graphics in that trailer were horrible, not to mention the whole move to FPS and the presumably 1950s era. Its like they held a meeting one day prior to making this crap and went 'well lets see, how can we go in the opposite direction of everything XCOM every stood for?'Reply -
n1k0 sptylerI feel your pain brother. All we can do is keep supporting pc exclusive titles.Reply
the best way to "send a message" is actually to make sure to buy PC versions of non-exclusive games so sales are better on PC than consoles.
-
jsc MoulaZXMakes me sick to my stomach ...Well then, you should have bought the rights to the game and done it "right".Reply
You had plenty of time.
-
gm0n3y I've only ever played the original (and still play a game once a year or so). Making an FPS means that it won't really be anything like the original, but whatever, its not like they're making turn based strategy games anymore (Heroes of Might and Magic 6 not withstanding).Reply -
gm0n3y n1k0the best way to "send a message" is actually to make sure to buy PC versions of non-exclusive games so sales are better on PC than consoles.But then you're just telling them that you're OK with crappy console ports. Now if the game is a PC game ported to consoles, then by all means purchase away.Reply -
house70 now THAT looks awful... and yeah, the powerful aliens WILL engage in trench warfare, because that's what they do... never mind the weaponry they have.Reply
...stupid...
I believe Unreal 2 looked better.