XCOM 2

XCOM 2 is a turn-based tactics game from 2016, developed by Firaxis Games and published by 2K. It follows the 2012 reboot of the series, XCOM: Enemy Unknown, and is set two decades after that game’s events. In this timeline, the military organization XCOM lost the war against the alien invasion and now operates as a resistance force fighting a totalitarian regime and military dictatorship that occupies Earth. The gameplay alternates between turn-based combat, where players command a squad of soldiers against enemies, and strategic management of the Avenger, an alien ship serving as XCOM’s mobile base.

Based on player feedback from Enemy Unknown, Firaxis added procedurally generated maps and mod support. The developers chose to set the game after the bad ending of the 2012 reboot, which allowed them to change gameplay, introduce new features, and redesign some enemies. To encourage more aggressive play, they included time-based objectives that speed up the pacing. XCOM 2 places a stronger emphasis on narrative than its predecessor. The artists drew inspiration from sci-fi films like Elysium and Oblivion for the game’s look. It runs on Unreal Engine 3.5.

The game launched for personal computers in February 2016, with PlayStation 4 and Xbox One versions arriving in September 2016. It received critical acclaim, with reviewers praising the new concealment system for adding depth and the procedural map generation. Its difficulty and modding tools were also lauded, though criticism focused on poor performance at release. It earned multiple year-end award nominations from gaming outlets. Firaxis supported it with downloadable content and released the expansion XCOM 2: War of the Chosen in 2017. The game came to Nintendo Switch and iOS in 2020, and Android in 2021.

**Gameplay**

**Turn-based combat**

Players take on the role of XCOM’s commander, leading a resistance force against the alien occupation. The game is viewed from a top-down perspective and uses turn-based tactics: players issue orders to a squad of human soldiers to eliminate aliens on a map, often while completing secondary objectives. Many missions are timed, requiring completion within a set number of turns. Maps are procedurally generated, offering different terrain and buildings each playthrough. There are four difficulty settings: Rookie, Veteran, Commander, and Legend.