XCOM: Chimera Squad

Lore & Background

Chimera Squad is set in City 31, a model city with humans and aliens living alongside one another. It takes place in 2040, five years after the events of XCOM 2: War of the Chosen, in which the titular organization defeated ADVENT, the alien-led puppet government that ruled Earth for 20 years following an invasion. The game puts players in control of the eponymous squad, an elite peacekeeper force pitted against unknown elements that seek to destabilize City 31.

City 31's Mayor Nightingale is killed in a terrorist attack and Chimera Squad is tasked to find the culprit. During their investigation, Chimera Squad confronts three criminal factions: The Progeny, Gray Phoenix, and Sacred Coil. They eventually discover that these groups are backed by a fourth, mysterious faction, which they codename as 'Atlas.' Once all three criminal groups are defeated, Atlas launch an attack on City 31's Town Hall and Chimera Squad rescues Deputy Mayor Parata.

Soon after, they learn that Atlas was responsible for Mayor Nightingale's assassination and supported the other factions to destabilize City 31. In response, Chimera Squad storms Atlas' hideout and defeat their leader. One month later, as Chimera Squad celebrates their victory, two individuals watching their headquarters from a monitor note that by the time XCOM realizes that they are in a new war with the mysterious new threat they represent, it will be too late to stop them.

Reader's Guide

Each character has unique abilities, replacing character classes from previous installments. The strategy layer shows the level of unrest in each district. Once players initiate a combat mission, they choose which characters will participate. Missions start in a planning phase called 'breach mode', which allows players to position their units at designated entry points.

Different entry points present different bonuses and challenges. Once combat starts, player-controlled units and computer-controlled enemies take turns based on their position through a mixed player-enemy turn order called 'interleaved turns'. Some agents have abilities that enable them to modify the turn order, and once per mission the player can force one of their units to act next regardless of the turn order. Units have similar options as in previous XCOM games, including moving, attacking, taking defensive cover, or using special abilities.

Characters can be downed during combat, requiring another character to stabilize them; if any character is not revived in time and dies, the mission fails and has to be restarted. Players have the option of enabling 'ironman mode', which limits them to a single save slot and imposes permadeath. Like its predecessor, Chimera Squad has extensive support for mods.

Did You Know?

• The interleaved turns mechanic was advocated for by Firaxis founder Sid Meier, who developed a prototype in an engine he had been building for around twenty years, but the mechanic was refined by the team.
• The Breach system is based on the past XCOM games' Ambush system.
• There are no plans for console versions of the title, nor for any downloadable content or expansions.