Just in time for the holidays, we're excited to announce the Firaxis Tactical Legends special offer, featuring must-play hits from the strategy masterminds at Firaxis Games. Buy Marvels Midnight Suns and get XCOM 2 and XCOM: Enemy Unknown at special pricing* in this offer!

MARVEL'S MIDNIGHT SUNS

XCOM ENEMY UNKNOWN

XCOM 2

[previewyoutube=NviOMIR_U-0;full][/previewyoutube] https://store.steampowered.com/app/368260/Marvels_Midnight_Suns/ The time is finally upon us for the Midnight Suns to rise up and save the world from Hydra and Lilith's demonic forces! Marvel's Midnight Suns is now available for Steam. Set in the darker, supernatural side of the Marvel Universe, Marvel's Midnight Suns is a tactical role-playing game that blends rich storytelling and relationship building with a revolutionary card-based combat system. As the Hunter, the only hero ever to have defeated Lilith eons ago, you get to fight alongside and forge friendships with Blade, Doctor Strange, Nico Minoru, and Spider-Man, as well as other members of The Avengers, X-Men, and Runaways. Turn-based tactical missions fought on constantly changing battlefields require you to think strategically every step of the way. Whether you're repositioning one of your heroes, playing one of their unique ability cards, or looking for opportunities to use the environment to your advantage, every decision counts. The choices you make when hanging out and chatting with other heroes in and around the Abbey between missions also have consequences, as befriending heroes is a great way to unlock powerful combo abilities and passive bonuses that come into play when you fight alongside them. From hanging out with iconic Super Heroes in the Abbey to taking on Hydra and the demonic forces of Lilith in tactical combat, there is much to discover in Marvels Midnight Suns. We hope you enjoy every minute of your experience with the game!

https://store.steampowered.com/app/368260/Marvels_Midnight_Suns/ Marvels Midnight Suns is the ultimate crossover event combining the rich story, character relationships, customization and progression of an RPG with the tactical strategy and combat mechanics of a revolutionary new card-based tactics game. Everything You Need To Know with Christopher Odd [previewyoutube=0UGXIRcliOM;full][/previewyoutube] Live Among Legends Gameplay Trailer [previewyoutube=LZDalw6r-XA;full][/previewyoutube] Welcome to the Abbey Trailer [previewyoutube=9NiuqaiYpWE;full][/previewyoutube] Darkness Falls Trailer [previewyoutube=Ox5VgIaBSUk;full][/previewyoutube]

Miscellaneous bug fixes

Fixed issue: 2K Launcher fails to open on Steam Deck, preventing games from being launched.

We are continuously working to make the experience better:

• Improved User experience in the Launcher and Error Reporter
• Misc Bug fixes

Updates in the 2k Launcher v1.5.0 release include:

• New and improved user interface to play and browse games
• Improved Launcher Update Management
• General performance improvements
• Miscellaneous bug fixes

As a heads up to the XCOM 2 community, we wanted to share that we will be retiring services for Multiplayer and Challenge Mode for the Steam version of the game. On March 28, an update to the Steam version of XCOM 2 will remove the functionalities; this wont affect XCOM 2 on Mac. The decision to retire these services isnt something done lightly, but it does allow us to refocus our resources. We appreciate your support and thank you for your understanding.

Play XCOM 2: WAR OF THE CHOSEN for FREE on Steam this weekend. Reclaim Earth from alien invaders and save humanity! XCOM 2 available to buy at a discounted price through 2/14/22 https://store.steampowered.com/app/268500/XCOM_2/ Twenty years have passed since Earth's leaders offered an unconditional surrender to alien forces. XCOM, the planets last line of defense, was left decimated and scattered. The aliens rule Earth, building shining cities that promise a brilliant future for humanity on the surface, while concealing a sinister agenda and eliminating all who dissent from their new order. Always on the run, and facing impossible odds, the remnant XCOM forces must find a way to eliminate the alien threat once and for all. That's where you come in: TAKE COMMAND of the Avenger, an alien supply craft converted to serve as XCOM's mobile and customizable headquarters. RECRUIT RESISTANCE FIGHTERS with five distinct skill trees and assemble the perfect squad to fit your playstyle and execute your tactical plans. RESEARCH, DEVELOP AND UPGRADE weapons and armor for your soldiers aboard the Avenger. Turn the aliens' technology against them! TACKLE UNIQUE MISSIONS around the world, from wildlands to the hearts of alien-controlled megacities and the depths of alien installations. Countless combinations of maps, missions, and goals await. EMPLOY GUERRILLA TACTICS to ambush alien patrols, loot enemy gear and artifacts, and rescue fallen comrades and VIPs. CONFRONT POWERFUL ENEMIES including previously unseen alien species and the regime's ADVENT peacekeeping forces. TEST YOUR SKILLS in head-to-head multiplayer battles that pit squids of humans and aliens against each other on randomly generated maps.

Play XCOM 2 for FREE on Steam this weekend. Reclaim Earth from alien invaders and save humanity! XCOM 2 available to buy at a discounted price through 12/16/21 https://store.steampowered.com/app/268500/XCOM_2/ Twenty years have passed since Earth's leaders offered an unconditional surrender to alien forces. XCOM, the planets last line of defense, was left decimated and scattered. The aliens rule Earth, building shining cities that promise a brilliant future for humanity on the surface, while concealing a sinister agenda and eliminating all who dissent from their new order. Always on the run, and facing impossible odds, the remnant XCOM forces must find a way to eliminate the alien threat once and for all. That's where you come in: TAKE COMMAND of the Avenger, an alien supply craft converted to serve as XCOM's mobile and customizable headquarters. RECRUIT RESISTANCE FIGHTERS with five distinct skill trees and assemble the perfect squad to fit your playstyle and execute your tactical plans. RESEARCH, DEVELOP AND UPGRADE weapons and armor for your soldiers aboard the Avenger. Turn the aliens' technology against them! TACKLE UNIQUE MISSIONS around the world, from wildlands to the hearts of alien-controlled megacities and the depths of alien installations. Countless combinations of maps, missions, and goals await. EMPLOY GUERRILLA TACTICS to ambush alien patrols, loot enemy gear and artifacts, and rescue fallen comrades and VIPs. CONFRONT POWERFUL ENEMIES including previously unseen alien species and the regime's ADVENT peacekeeping forces. TEST YOUR SKILLS in head-to-head multiplayer battles that pit squids of humans and aliens against each other on randomly generated maps.

Features An Option to check for new 2K Launcher Updates - In the Application Settings, click on "Check for Updates" which will get a new update if available. Please note, the 2K Launcher will need a restart to apply the update. 2K Launcher is using the new 2K Logo Added trouble-shooting to clear cache by pressing key 'c' during app loading Bug-Fixes Launcher app files are not being extracted to %LocalAppData%\T2GP Launcher Fixed Missing 2K icon on the Launcher window fixed in the Alt-Tab overlay and taskbar Fixed Incorrect string translations in Error Reporter Game play is now fixed using Steam Streaming mod launch

Marvel's Midnight Suns is a new tactical RPG set in the darker side of the Marvel Universe, putting you face-to-face against demonic forces of the underworld as you team up with and live among the Midnight Suns, Earth's last line of defense. Wishlist Marvel's Midnight Suns today! https://store.steampowered.com/app/368260/Marvels_Midnight_Suns/ Learn more here: https://midnightsuns.2k.com/

Were excited to share that XCOM: Chimera Squad, an exciting new story set within the XCOM universe, is now available on Steam. To celebrate the launch, were offering the game at an awesome discount. This deal wont last forever so if youre interested in taking a trip to City 31, nows the time! https://store.steampowered.com/app/882100 Your actions in XCOM: Chimera Squad will shape the fate of City 31. Five years after the events of XCOM 2, humanity has driven back the Overlords and City 31 has emerged as a beacon for cooperation and coexistence. Its home to a melting pot of humans, hybrids and aliens - all trying to find their way in this new post-war world. Many have chosen the path of peace, but there are sinister agents lurking in the shadows who work to destroy the fragile peace forged in City 31. [previewyoutube=39fhpegVBQQ;full][/previewyoutube] Enter Chimera Squad, an elite group of agents tasked with keeping the peace in City 31. Each agent in Chimera Squad has their own story, unique set of skills and motivations driving them, all of which youll learn in XCOM: Chimera Squad as you uncover conspiracies, breach enemy strongholds and work to keep City 31 from descending into chaos. The future of City 31 depends on you. [previewyoutube=TiMQ3qxUpRw;full]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=39fhpegVBQQ[/previewyoutube] Be sure to follow the XCOM: Chimera Squad community hub and add the game to your wishlist here on Steam. Follow the XCOM social channels below to keep up to date with all things XCOM. You can play XCOM: Chimera Squad when it launches here on Steam on April 24, 2020.

Welcome to City 31, the epicenter of XCOM: Chimera Squad -- a new game set in the XCOM universe. [previewyoutube=aZnpl3hWfVM;full][/previewyoutube] Five years after the events of XCOM 2, humanity has driven back the Overlords and reclaimed Earth. Now humans and former alien soldiers work and live together as they strive to forge a civilization of cooperation and coexistence. City 31, the setting for XCOM: Chimera Squad, has become a model of peace in the post-invasion world; however, not all who dwell here support interspecies alliance. Enter Chimera Squad, an elite force of human and alien agents who must work together to identify and thwart the hidden threats that seek to upend this fragile peace in City 31. [previewyoutube=39fhpegVBQQ;full][/previewyoutube] Each agent in Chimera Squad has their own story, unique set of skills and motivations driving them, all of which youll learn in XCOM: Chimera Squad as you uncover conspiracies, breach enemy strongholds and work to keep City 31 from descending into chaos. The future of City 31 depends on you.

Features:

• Unique Alien and Human Agents: Each of the 11 agents have their own distinct personality and tactical abilities, including species-specific attacks like the Vipers tongue pull.
• Specialized and Complementary Classes: Execute devastating combos by teaming the right agents and utilizing cooperative actions. The difference between mission success and failure can depend wholly on team composition.
• Re-Envisioned Tactical Combat: Missions are structured as a series of discrete, explosive encounters, keeping the action intense and unpredictable.
• Breach Mode: Shape the battlefield to your advantage with a new combat phase that injects your squad right into action. Strategically assign your agents to different entry points and coordinate their assault with a range of Breach-specific skills.
• Interleaved Turns: An automatic initiative system slots individual agents and enemies into an alternating turn order, creating new strategic possibilities based on what unit is queued to act nextand what unit is at the greatest risk when they do.
• Suspenseful Strategy Layer: Outside of combat, manage the operations of a high-tech HQ, where you must prioritize competing tasks, investigations, and agent assignments in the face of a ticking clock: the constantly rising unrest in the citys various districts, driving City 31 closer and closer to total anarchy.

The Steam Summer Sale is upon us and with it comes a whole bunch of great deals! XCOM 2 is 75% off and its expansion, XCOM 2: War of the Chosen, is 67% off - the lowest price it's ever been! https://store.steampowered.com/app/593380/XCOM_2_War_of_the_Chosen/ You can even grab some XCOM 2 DLC for up to 50% off, or save even more by picking up all content in the XCOM 2 Collection, available for 77% off. Click the image below to check out the bundle contents.
Whether you're completing your own XCOM 2 content collection or gifting a friend, we thank you for your support.

Play XCOM® 2 for FREE starting now through Sunday at 1PM Pacific Time. You can also pickup XCOM® 2 at 75% off the regular price!*

If you already have Steam installed, click here to install or play XCOM® 2. If you don't have Steam, you can download it here.

*Offer ends Monday at 10AM Pacific Time

Save 75% on XCOM® 2 during this week's Midweek Madness*!

*Offer ends Thursday at 10AM Pacific Time

XCOM 2: War of the Chosen - Tactical Legacy Pack is now available on PC, Mac and Linux. As a gift to the fans, the XCOM 2: War of the Chosen Tactical Legacy Pack will be available for free to all owners of XCOM 2: War of the Chosen until 12:59pm ET on December 3. If you're having issues downloading the DLC, please restart your Steam client.

This content requires ownership of both the base game XCOM 2, as well as the XCOM 2: War of the Chosen expansion.

Watch the Legacy Ops Content Overview video:

Watch the Tactical Legacy Pack Content Overview video:

• NEW MAPS: Engage in battle across 28 new maps including remastered maps and scenes from XCOM: Enemy Unknown and XCOM: Enemy Within. These new maps will be featured in Centrals Archives.
• NEW WEAPONS AND ARMOR: Equip your soldiers with reimagined versions of the conventional, laser, and plasma weapons, as well as Kevlar, Carapace, and Titan armor from XCOM: Enemy Unknown. Complete Centrals Archives to unlock these new additions for use in the main single player campaign.
• NEW CUSTOMIZATION AND PHOTOBOOTH OPTIONS: Customize your soldiers with new attitudes and helmets. Create new images in the Photobooth with additional backgrounds, colors, and character poses.
• NEW SOUNDTRACK OPTIONS: With the new Soundtrack Selector you can choose to play the XCOM 2: War of the Chosen campaign with the existing score, the score from XCOM: Enemy Unknown, or an all-new soundtrack inspired by the music from the original X-COM: UFO Defense.
• OFFLINE CHALLENGE MODE: Play through all 100+ War of the Chosen challenges as often as you want.

New DLC is coming! Next Tuesday, October 9, 2018, we’re launching the XCOM 2: War of the Chosen – Tactical Legacy Pack DLC on Steam. This DLC will be free to download for all owners of XCOM 2: War of the Chosen on PC on Steam until 12:59pm ET on December 3, 2018.

This content requires ownership of both the base game XCOM 2, as well as the XCOM 2: War of the Chosen expansion.

• NEW MAPS: Engage in battle across 28 new maps including remastered maps and scenes from XCOM: Enemy Unknown and XCOM: Enemy Within. These new maps will be featured in Central’s Archives.
• NEW WEAPONS AND ARMOR: Equip your soldiers with reimagined versions of the conventional, laser, and plasma weapons, as well as Kevlar, Carapace, and Titan armor from XCOM: Enemy Unknown. Complete Central’s Archives to unlock these new additions for use in the main single player campaign.
• NEW CUSTOMIZATION AND PHOTOBOOTH OPTIONS: Customize your soldiers with new attitudes and helmets. Create new images in the Photobooth with additional backgrounds, colors, and character poses.
• NEW SOUNDTRACK OPTIONS: With the new Soundtrack Selector you can choose to play the XCOM 2: War of the Chosen campaign with the existing score, the score from XCOM: Enemy Unknown, or an all-new soundtrack inspired by the music from the original X-COM: UFO Defense.
• OFFLINE CHALLENGE MODE: Play through all 100+ War of the Chosen challenges as often as you want.

XCOM: Enemy Unknown turns six years old on October 9. In the weeks leading up to its birthday, we'll be celebrating XCOM with a series of livestreams. Join us this week on Thursday, September 27 at 12pm PT / 3pm ET / 7pm GMT, as Jake and Garth pull back the curtain for a behind-the-scenes look at XCOM, with Firaxis employees who have given years to our beloved series. If you're an XCOM fan, you don't want to miss this!

What: XCOM Retrospective - Legacy Devs Livestream When: Thursday, September 27 at 12pm PT / 3pm ET / 7pm GMT Where: XCOM: Enemy Unknown Steam page, Twitch and YouTube

• Twitch: http://twitch.tv/firaxisgames
• YouTube: http://youtube.com/xcom

XCOM: Enemy Unknown turns six years old on October 9. We're kicking off the celebration this Thursday at 8pm CET / 3pm ET / 12pm ET with the first in a series of XCOM retrospectives. Join Jake Solomon and other devs at twitch.tv/firaxisgames! We may even have a few surprises to come.

What: XCOM Retrospective Livestream When: Thursday, September 20 at 12pm PT / 3pm ET / 8pm CET Where: http://twitch.tv/firaxisgames

Save 67% on XCOM® 2 as part of this week's Weekend Deal*!

*Offer ends Monday at 10AM Pacific Time

Come join us for a special livestream on Monday, July 2, at 10am PDT / 1pm EDT / 7pm CEST. This will be a long one, featuring numerous developers from Firaxis Games. Tune in right here on our Steam page! Full details are below. We hope to see you there!

What: XCOM Summer Sale Marathon Livestream When: Monday, July 2 at 10am PDT / 1pm EDT / 7pm CEST Where: XCOM 2 Steam page here ➜ http://2kgam.es/XCOM2

Play XCOM 2 for FREE starting now through Sunday at 1PM Pacific Time. You can also pickup XCOM 2 at up to 67% off the regular price!*

If you already have Steam installed, click here to install or play XCOM 2. If you don't have Steam, you can download it here.

*Offer ends Monday at 10AM Pacific Time

Today's Deal: Save 67% on XCOM® 2!*

Look for the deals each day on the front page of Steam. Or follow us on twitter or Facebook for instant notifications wherever you are!

*Offer ends Saturday at 10AM Pacific Time

We have issued a minor update for XCOM 2: War of the Chosen, which addresses a few known bugs and stability issues. The full update notes are as follows:

Fixes

• Fixed a hang caused by a soldier suffering from an incapacitating status effect transitioning to the Avatar showdown
• Fixed an issue where XCOM soldiers became permanently nonfunctional after ending a mission where they are actively bound.
• Fixed crashes related to object destruction.
• Stability improvements

The Fall 2017 update for XCOM 2: War of the Chosen is available now on PC and coming soon for Mac, Linux, Xbox One and PlayStation 4. This new update institutes multiple bug fixes and optimizations that will facilitate a better overall experience for players. Challenge Mode has been updated to include new stats on the leaderboard, new player-to-player tracked events and retooled notifications. Head below for the full list of changes. Good luck, Commander.    Gameplay – Strategy Layer

• Beta Strike now is applied to XCOM soldiers if the tutorial is enabled
• Scientists and engineers can no longer be used while deployed on Covert Actions
• Fixed base game soldier promotion abilities not being free in the Training Center if a cross-class ability is purchased first
• Fixed a visual issue with the inventory menu after selecting a Grenadier's utility item or grenade slot in the Hangar
• Fixed Resistance Order card duplication
• Fixed a navigation issue caused by empty Resistance Order card slots
• Tutorial: Players can now re-enter the Research screen if they’ve tried to exit during the tutorial.
• Fixed an issue that prevented soldiers from being dismissible after completing Lost and Abandoned with the Tutorial enabled
• Fixed the conventional weapon breakthrough tech causing "+1 Damage" to display on the claymore when viewed in the Armory
• Soldiers in the Character Pool now generate with a background
• Scavengers Resistance Order now only applies to resource-based POI rewards
• Weapon color defaults to 20 now instead of -1 to prevent mismatched color previews
• Camera outline and poster display update on screen change
• Fixed an issue with SPARKs getting permanently stuck in a wounded yet "Available" state after going on Chosen Stronghold missions
• Fixed the Lost World Dark Event to expire correctly
• Fixed lingering cohesion glow after creating a new bond
• Fixed an issue where faction soldiers in the Training Center promotion screen would not appear when cycling through soldiers
• Removed references to Resistance HQ from strategy notifications
• Removed the ability for soldiers to gain positive traits as part of the AWC post-mission negative trait recovery mechanic
• Soldiers on Covert Actions no longer drop their equipped items when the player enters the squad select screen
• Fixed Rescue Soldier missions sometimes appearing with no reward if you fail it the first time
• Adding additional text to the Reaper's Silent Killer ability description
• Fixed weapons with mods attached not upgrading to the next tier for soldiers who are deployed on ambush-able Covert Actions

• Chosen will be activated only if someone on XCOM team has been revealed
• Fixed a bug where the fog of war fails to update or disappear when the player's Codex creates a clone during a mission
• Fixed an issue where detection tiles would disappear for faction soldiers after loading a save while in concealment
• VIPs using hunker down no longer break concealment
• Berserk Rangers no longer attack squadmates
• Fixed visualization of Archon patrol pathing
• Units now take claymore damage when a claymore is detonated underneath them while on a destructible floor during tactical gameplay
• ADVENT Priests triggering Sustain while standing in the evac zone no longer fails the mission
• Alien Rulers get a 1.5X HP boost when Beta Strike is enabled
• Fixed an issue where Purifiers became unresponsive after their clone made from Shadowbind was destroyed
• Bladestorm and Retribution excludes teammates as valid targets
• Enemy reinforcement visual indicator no longer disappears
• Chosen can no longer turn into cocoons from Chryssalid poison
• Spectres hit with Stasis will no longer prevent shadowbound units from recovering when the Spectre is killed
• Fixed missing flyover for Lightning Reflexes
• Gremlins only reveal hidden units after a hack attempt is made
• Changed Skirmisher Ionic Ripjack stun chance to 25%
• Darkclaw now gains the effects of equipped ammo
• Brutal Chosen strength temporarily decreases soldier Will
• Fixed ambient lighting not being applied in some non-tactical areas
• Targetable enemy indicator refreshes correctly after navigating tactical menus
• Fixed an issue where help text and other pop-ups would not trigger during the tutorial
• Units provided by the Volunteer Army & Double Agent Resistance Orders will no longer count as units lost during a campaign
• Updated Mimic Beacon behavior for Purifier, Priest, Spectre, and shadowbound units
• Added AI AoE finder updates to enable AoE attacks on Mimic Beacons
• Fixed an issue preventing Mimic Beacons from being attacked more than once by purifiers
• Skulljack now kills units instantly if Beta Strike is enabled
• Shredded armor no longer reappears after reloading a save
• Fixed an issue where Skirmishers could use Wrath to move to an area, but not perform a melee attack
• Fixed infinite visualization hang when X2Action_WaitForAnotherAction fails to receive the event trigger it is registered for
• Fixed issue with claymores not being immediately targetable by the Reaper
• Reduced Chosen Hunter pistol range
• Skulljack no longer prevents a unit from becoming concealed
• Supply Extraction loot now recovered if XCOM evacs from the mission
• Fixed a loss of functionality caused by simultaneously entering a rescue circle and triggering a Lost pod during a Rescue Stranded Resistance Agents mission
• Fixed crash caused by too many Lost on screen at one time
• Restricting spawns in the corners of some parcels to prevent Chosen from being stuck if they spawn in the corner of a map
• Slightly reducing the aim of Retaliation civilian militia and Volunteer Army soldiers
• Shadowbound units don't get abilities granted from Sustaining Spheres.  This matches up with shadowbound units not getting built in Sustain ability from units either
• Prevent Chosen Kidnap / Extract on special units that come from HQ via Double Agent or Volunteer Army
• Fix for an indefinite hang when a unit gets the burning status effect when moving for a Skullmine action during tactical gameplay
• Holy Warrior effects no longer persist after the Priest is removed from the mission
• Chosen Sarcophagus health displays correctly after loading a save game while the shield is up
• Bluescreen Rounds no longer affect destructibles
• Updated Shadowbind to remove the Parthenogenic Poison from the target
• Decoupled GameStateUnit and asynchronous pawn load requests to prevent hung levels and crashes on level load
• Fixed crashes related to GetAllViewersOfTarget
• Fixed crashes related to GetAllVisibleToSource
• Fixed crashes related to GetAllViewersOfLocation
• Fixed crashes caused by for large block of LoadMap crashes
• Fixed GetWorldInfo crashes on RenderThread
• FixedProtection against IsAudible crashes from effects

• Added new event notifications:  5 Enemy Kills, Concealment Broken, First Soldier Wounded, Killed a Sectopod or Gatekeeper, Lost a Sectopod or Gatekeeper, and Completed Mission
• Challenge Mode replay improvements: show the reaper roll, skip challenge points banners, disable mission narratives
• Added user score and total players to Challenge Mode squad select screen
• Changed Challenge events to display completion percentages of total players for an event
• ADVENT soldiers now take an action when their shadowbound clone is killed
• Enemy units will now move or take actions when the player Shadowbinds another enemy unit in the same pod
• Challenge Mode replays will now automatically start playing
• Fixed an issue where Focus drops were not occurring in Challenge mode
• Additional score break down and stats to leaderboard
• Consolidated the objective and enemy score decrease messages into one message when appropriate
• Fixed an issue causing Challenges to auto-complete

• Modding - Added files to improve compatibility between the game and uncooked content
• Character Pool now checks base game and expansion directories for available pools
• Fixed Character Pool lighting when on Stronghold shell screen
• Fixed a crash with the Character Pool trying to access a version of a unit that no longer exists
• Added a button to open the local Photobooth directory from the game
• Class pose filtering is skipped when doing a memorial shot

• Additional crash and bug fixes

In the XCOM games, you are up against impossible odds. Seemingly insurmountable hordes of alien and ADVENT forces. One thing that the Chosen bring to the fight in XCOM 2: War of the Chosen – a face to face foe. Singular adversaries that are plotting against you, the Chosen even taunt you as you try to stop them. It’s just one of the many ingenious additions to this massive expansion. We asked Lead Producer Griffin Funk what went on behind-the-scenes to make this happen.  
One of the things the Chosen do is give the enemy a “face” beyond the mysterious elders or waves of foes your squads are up against. Was this something recognized early on in the creation of XCOM 2: War of the Chosen? What made you think of going in this direction in the first place?   Griffin F. There are always two stories happening in XCOM. There’s the narrative of the campaign and then there’s the personal story the player experiences in the game. We always try to advance both of those stories which can be incredibly challenging. They’re opposing ideas, so advancing one can easily take away from the other. The Chosen naturally advance both stories by existing in all parts of the game. They are named characters with personality and ideology that affect the overall story. They also directly interact with the player based on the decisions made. They fight you on the tactical layer and then play the strategy layer alongside you.    What were the main objectives for the creation of the Chosen?   Griffin F. We wanted to give the player an adversary that felt alive. In XCOM 2, the campaign was a race against the Avatar Project clock. Players knew the Elders were in the background and were the ultimate bad guys of the campaign, but they don’t show up until the end. We thought this aspect of the game felt a little cold. We wanted them with you the whole way. The Chosen are looking for you, taunting you, and directly engaging with you. They’re basically playing the game right next to you. As you create upgrades, they’re in their base doing the same. You can check on their progress to see what they’re up to and I like to think they have a little computer where they can see what you’re doing as well.   Sounds a little creepy when you put it that way. What are some of the challenges that come with naming the enemy and giving it a face?   Griffin F. Creating a new major adversary that has a specified name, personality, face, voice, etc. that is always the same was risky. Thankfully, War of the Chosen is such a big and dynamic game that it’s not a problem. It also helped that we made aspects of the Chosen procedural like their strengths and weaknesses. This makes fighting them in two different campaigns feel incredibly different. Hell, it makes fighting them on different missions feel different.
How does this carry over into a game that’s also largely procedural?   Griffin F. Even though the Chosen each have a distinct personality, they’ll still perform actions that are unique to your playthrough. It’s similar to how the actions taken in a mission create a personal story between the player and their soldiers. When the Hunter hits a soldier with a tranquillizer, which leads to another soldier panicking, which leads to the soldier killing another soldier, and so forth it creates a story about the Hunter unique to that campaign. To the player, that could be the moment that defines the Hunter more so than any of the cinematics.   What are you basing the Chosen on beyond archetypes?   Griffin F. Creating the different roles for the Chosen was similar to how we create the classes for XCOM soldiers. We want the individuals to feel powerful, but make up a bigger more fearsome collective that cover manycombat styles. This helps make each Chosen feel unique and fun to play against.   What was the toughest decision you had to make in regards to the Chosen?   Griffin F. One of the toughest challenges was the balance and evaluation of the Chosen’s procedural strengths and weaknesses.  Since they were able to have any permutation of these perks, we had to work on balancing them based on pairings. Certain combinations of perks would make a Chosen an unstoppable killing machine. .  
Really? How about an example of how one needed to be altered?   Griffin F.  When those perks were totally random you could get a Chosen who was both weak against and invulnerable to certain kinds of attacks like explosives, for example.   Have any funny anecdotes from during the creation or tweaking of the Chosen?   There was a funny point in development when we had placeholder VO for the Chosen. We always use people around the office willing to record for our early game scratch VO. During development you would be playing and then hear one of our incredibly nice producers, Rosie Kofsky-Schumpert, making fun of you in her most evil voice.   Besides a Rosie-voiced Chosen, which one has given you the toughest time while playing – and why?   Griffin F. I always have a small heart attack when the Assassin turns invisible and hides. Losing track of any enemy while in the midst of fighting a bunch of others is always scary.  You also know that when the Assassin hides, she’s going to come at you hard with her katana on the next turn. You either get line of sight back on her to disrupt the attack or start praying to the RNG god.   Any Easter eggs regarding the Chosen that people should keep an eye out for when playing?   Griffin F. More to keep an ear out for than an eye.  If you defeat one of the Chosen and gain their weapons, try bringing them in to combat against one of the other Chosen and you might hear them comment about your acquisition of the items or their thoughts about the fall of one of their kin.     http://store.steampowered.com/app/593380/XCOM_2_War_of_the_Chosen/ Do you have questions for the team? Be sure to follow XCOM on Twitter and Like XCOM on Facebook to keep up to date with the latest information on XCOM 2: War of the Chosen. If you’re looking to enlist with the Resistance, join the 2K Forums!
   
      
  

XCOM works on multiple levels. There’s the tactical squad combat where you pray your troops make it home. There’s the strategic layer where you need to make tough decisions that’ll impact the whole war effort. But what happens when you add whole new complex systems on top of XCOM’s strategic layer? It makes the world feel even more alive in XCOM 2: War of the Chosen. Joe Weinhoffer, designer on War of the Chosen, explains how it works and how it came about.   From the beginning, what was the goal of adding new systems to the strategy layer? And how close do you think War of the Chosen got to that original vision? Joe W. Our primary goal for the strategy layer in War of the Chosen was to make the player feel more connected to the world and the resistance, both mechanically and narratively. We wanted to make the world feel more alive, responsive, and engaging by increasing direct player interaction with the resistance through strategy systems. We also wanted to add more characters and personalities to the game to give a relatable face and emotional attachment to the resistance. And of course, we were looking to add ways to increase player investment in their soldiers. Overall, I think the new strategy systems in War of the Chosen definitely achieve those goals. Covert Actions and Resistance Orders give the player new ways to constantly interact with the factions and dynamically craft their strategic game plan. The Chosen also have strategic agendas, and their monthly actions, like using Retribution on regions or sabotaging sections of the Avenger, provide new challenges to work around. And Soldier Bonds, Negative Traits, and the Photobooth allow players to push their head canon soldier narratives even further. The faction leaders and Chosen are obviously the biggest narrative elements which help make the Geoscape livelier, but even smaller additions like the post-mission ADVENT propaganda announcements or the Resistance Radio in the bar add a lot of personality to the game. The Radio DJ is a very off-the-wall character compared to traditional XCOM personalities, so that was a bit of risk, but we’re really happy with how he turned out. Did you have any concerns about adding all of these new complex systems to the strategy layer? Joe W. Absolutely, especially once we realized how many systems we were thinking of adding on top of everything in the base game, and all the potential complexity that could come from their interactions! We tried to keep the new systems relatively isolated from the base game mechanics, while still allowing them to have a meaningful impact. Covert Actions are a great example of a feature which is self-contained but provides many interesting decisions. Sending soldiers away on a mission for a few days doesn’t break any other strategy systems, but allows the player to frequently make tough choices about which soldiers to send (especially if there are risks), and which reward is most important at that moment. They also have small but important consequences in the tactical layer by encouraging players to not bring the same squad of soldiers on every mission.  
You added activities there that didn’t touch the base game, but you did change others. Can you go into that a little? Joe W. We changed or cut some of the base game mechanics to add some flexibility for the new features. One example of this is Resistance HQ. In the base game, you could purchase different scanning modes at Res HQ, and every month the resistance would sell a scientist, engineer, or soldier. The War of the Chosen Factions each also have their own personal HQ, and the player has plenty of opportunities to recruit additional staff through Covert Actions. Four HQs felt too crowded, and Covert Actions made shopping at the base game Res HQ redundant, so we cut the original Res HQ and moved the scanning bonuses to the Faction HQs. Where did you draw inspiration from for the new systems? Board games? Card games? Something else?  Joe W. The new Resistance Orders system is heavily influenced by the Policy system in Civilization VI (*waves down the hall*), but we also looked at a lot of trading card games when designing the user interface and determining how the player interacts with the cards. Sending units away on remote missions for a set time is a system that pops up in a lot of video games and that was an inspiration for Covert Actions. Soldier Bonds are a feature we have wanted to add to the game for a long time, but we looked at a lot of modern RPGs with relationship systems for ideas on how to make it best fit XCOM. How did you initially plan and test these new systems? Joe W. Lots and lots of iteration and playtesting! Once we have the idea and a design for a new system, we start by implementing a very small piece of it to get the framework established and the core gameplay elements working properly. For Covert Actions, that was a simple mission with one soldier being sent away, and a basic reward of supplies. For Resistance Orders, it was setting up the code to allow the player to select a single card and activate its effects. Once those core components are set up and feel fun, we start adding complexity to include all the planned features of the system. Risks, individual soldier rewards, and missions for multiple soldiers were all set up at this point for Covert Actions. This is normally where the bulk of design iteration will take place, as we discover certain pieces that work or don’t work well with each other, or with other systems in the game. The final piece is to add variety into the system, which involves creating the full scope of content for the feature. This is where we implement all the different types of Covert Actions, or the individual Resistance Orders with their unique effects. The final UI assets also generally don’t get created until this point, since the design is likely to change many times throughout development as we test and play with the feature.
What was the most difficult part of the design process for War of the Chosen? Joe W. I think the most difficult of part of designing War of the Chosen was figuring out how far we could push the new systems before they became too complicated and overwhelming for the player, or created too much complexity with systems from the base game. We always have a ton of great ideas for each game, but at a certain point we need to step back and really think about what is going to create the best player experience, and then modify or cut features to reach that desired outcome. How about an example of when you got to that stopping point? Joe W. This was particularly true in War of the Chosen for the strategy systems which impact tactical combat. We already had Dark Events in the base game, but we added Resistance Orders, SITREPs, the Lost, and the Chosen on top of them for the expansion. There are so many possible combinations that can occur, and some would create very frustrating missions if left unchecked, so we added restrictions to try and limit those moments. However, unpredictability is one of the hallmarks of XCOM, so we still leave plenty of room for crazy situations to keep players on their toes. What do you think these new features add to the strategy layer? Can you go a little into how you feel this changes the way that you’d have played XCOM prior to War of the Chosen? Joe W. Overall, I think the features give the player a lot more flexibility in how to implement their personal strategy for taking down ADVENT and the Chosen. Resistance Orders and Covert Actions each let the player take an active role in choosing how to strategically counter their enemies, and allow for quickly shifting tactics to counter a new threat. It makes the strategy layer a lot more dynamic than the base game, and much more engaging. The new features also have some elements of XCOM randomness for variety, which further increases the value of replaying the game. If your core strategy in one playthrough focused on having a few specific Resistance Orders, you might need to completely reevaluate in a new game where those Orders aren’t available! What’s the one thing you hope players take out of the experience of playing XCOM 2: War of the Chosen? Joe W. We hope all the new systems, characters, and narrative elements really augment the XCOM 2 experience, and help the player truly feel like the commander of a global resistance force which responds to your decisions and plans, and has a real impact on the world you are trying to save. And, as Officer Bradford will likely remind you, it is vitally important that you have a plan, because with the Chosen bolstering ADVENT’s forces and putting their own schemes into play, taking back Earth is going to be more challenging than ever before!   http://store.steampowered.com/app/593380/XCOM_2_War_of_the_Chosen/ Do you have questions for the team? Be sure to follow XCOM on Twitter and Like XCOM on Facebook to keep up to date with the latest information on XCOM 2: War of the Chosen. If you’re looking to enlist with the Resistance, join the 2K Forums!
   
      
  

In XCOM: Enemy Unknown, we fought hard to save a world – pretty much like the world we know today. XCOM 2, and the expansion XCOM 2: War of The Chosen, fast forward us 20 years to a time long after the first war was lost and the world has changed. How did the Firaxis team first envision this enslaved new world? We asked Chris Sulzbach, Art Director for War of the Chosen, and Aaron Yamada-Hanff, Lead Concept Artist, to give us a quick tour of a typical abandoned city you now navigate in the game. Let’s start with the cities that were first assaulted by the aliens in Enemy Unknown. Were there specific cities – or aspects of cities – you looked at as a guiding light for the initial designs? Chris S. No specific cities were referenced. We looked at a lot of what makes a city look “lived in” like paved over streets, graffiti, concrete repairs, and just took it from there. We wanted to make it look like it could remind you of any city that you’d ever visited.
Now, building off that, how did you look to tear down and degrade those cities 20 years in? Did you look to real world examples of deteriorating cities? Chris S. Since the fog pods emit a gas that suffocates organic matter, using cities that were reclaimed by nature wasn’t really an option. We had a Pinterest board that I shared with our concept team and on that we would look at many different dilapidated cities, abandoned rooms and warehouses, and places forgotten in time. These gave us a good direction to go off of as if the residents of the city just vanished but really we all know they were gassed and turned into the Lost. How was concept art used to tell the story of what happened in the cities first attacked by the aliens, but 20 years later? Chris S. Because we wanted these spaces to give you a feeling of returning to the lost cities from Enemy Unknown, we actually painted over some those original interiors and gave them the abandoned city treatment as a guide for keeping the same vibe. For the Fog Pod impact sites and the non-Lost humans killed in the initial attack, we referenced the photos from the Pompeii eruption to get a sense of what a sudden overtaking of hot gas looked like. The bodies around the fog pods have unique faces differentiating them from the Lost and look more human and pained. We wanted the player to feel for them if they got a glimpse of them in a glam cam.
What are some of the qualities that a concept artist needs when looking to create art for a game – and, specifically, XCOM games? Aaron YH. Given that concept artists are visual problem solvers I think it’s important to be consistently inquisitive; repeatedly asking questions to isolate problems and subsequently asking follow-up questions to determine whether the resulting solutions are adequately answering those initial questions. Have enough options been explored? Does an idea create other unforeseen problems? Is the final result helping find meaningful solutions for the game itself? It’s a continuous analytical process that requires a lot of patience and persistence through many changes and countless revisions. Because game development is a collaborative process, clarity is particularly important as an idea or asset is developed and moved through the pipeline. For XCOM specifically I’d add versatility to the list of necessary qualities. Because our team on XCOM is relatively small, the concept team has picked up certain skills along the way to make visualization more efficient and to be able to help out other departments when necessary. In recent years, that’s included implementing a more 3D-intensive process, as well as learning how to use the game engine itself to develop images and assets that get us as close as possible to seeing our work in the game.
Can you give one example, specific to XCOM’s environment, where you had to do multiple revisions before you hit upon the solution? And can you give an example how that process has changed since you started with a more 3D-intensive process? When we designed interiors for the restaurant in the abandoned city we did a number of experiments to see what treatment worked best. With the muted palette of the abandoned city, we wanted to explore spaces that had a more vibrant color palette and wilder use of texture in addition to spaces that had a more subtle use of color. In these concepts we exported existing level designs from the engine and painted over the shot, modeling extra pieces when necessary. XCOM relies so much on the grid that we always have to be aware of how a given visual decision will affect readability from game camera or change design rules. Approaching things in this way helps us make sure we’re concepting in ways that serve the game first, whether dealing with environments (including props and vehicles), weapons, or characters. We also explored concepting exclusively in the game engine by taking assets that we already had, arranging them in ways that implied more of a narrative, and lighting them dramatically. Later in the process this approach ended up being immensely time efficient. Where painting over a screenshot or making a new illustration might have introduced new assets or unforeseen issues, utilizing the vast library of existing assets allowed us to set a visual bar for the level while staying as close as possible to the game itself.   What is the most indispensable tool you use when creating imagery for XCOM? Aaron YH. While we have access to some amazing software that enables us to create polished work in a very short amount of time, I still find myself coming back to pencil and paper to start most of my ideas. The simplicity and immediacy of that medium allows for a low maintenance way of developing an idea. My desk is consistently littered with sheets of paper where I jot down thoughts in the form of sketches. It’s quick and effective, and is absolutely a core element of my working method.  
What aspects of the concept art absolutely had to make it over to the final game assets? Chris S. Both in our game and in real life, types of buildings, like retail stores, share similar features. Every store will have shelves, counters, and other display structures. In the game, we only have to make a couple different shelves which we can use as many times as we need. To create a city that feels real, we have to create several different kinds of stores. To do this, we reuse the same structural assets (shelves, counters, etc) and then focus on creating unique branding (posters, signage, merchandise) for each store. Are there any pieces / aspects hidden in the final art of the game people should be looking for? Give some details, if possible. Chris S. Since these cities were lost in the first invasion, we used a lot of signage we had created for Enemy Unknown. The elevated train has the same signage as the train in Enemy Unknown and we also called back to the initial announce trailer for Enemy Unknown in one of the Lost and Abandoned loading screens. Here’s a couple examples of what I’m talking about…


What makes you say, “This is why I love my job!”? Chris S. Seeing the spaces go from grey box layouts to final lit with ambient effects is just so cool and never gets old. The last few months of any project, though usually stressful with deadlines, is really rewarding because all the work from all the disciplines come together and everything just clicks into place. It is such a cool feeling.   http://store.steampowered.com/app/593380/XCOM_2_War_of_the_Chosen/ Do you have questions for the team? Be sure to follow XCOM on Twitter and Like XCOM on Facebook to keep up to date with the latest information on XCOM 2: War of the Chosen. If you’re looking to enlist with the Resistance, join the 2K Forums!
   
      
  

There’s a lot that goes into the creation of any story, but how do you balance that out in a franchise like XCOM where so many of the memorable moments come from the personalized experiences your avatars have on-mission? XCOM 2: War of the Chosen introduces new factions, The Chosen and a whole series of narrative experiences that previously hadn’t shown up in the franchise. How did it come about? We asked Scott Wittbecker, Lead Writer on XCOM 2. How do you approach creating a fixed story that also allows for a wide-open player experience? This is probably the biggest overall challenge we face narratively, introducing a fixed storyline with actual characters that doesn’t throw off the natural emergent storytelling that XCOM is known for. Personally, I think the most important aspect of that is leaving the soldiers alone, allowing their physical appearance, background, attitude, etc. to be decided by the player. Even with the fixed heroes we’ve introduced over the years (Annette, Zhang, Jane, Mox, Elena, and so on), at the very least we want there to be enough choice and customization involved that you never feel like we’ve forced a persona on one of your favorite soldiers. That’s meant to be entirely up to your imagination, and there’s no denying it’s one of XCOM’s greatest strengths. And that imagination was shifted dramatically with XCOM 2. It went from hoping to repel an alien invasion to starting the sequel knowing that we lost. https://youtu.be/n3bENBYSucQ Narratively, the XCOM franchise has always been campy, going back to the original opening of X-COM: UFO Defense. It can be difficult to get away from that tone with such a wild variety of outlandish enemies and technologies. While Enemy Unknown had a darker theme tied to the idea that we’re experiencing the invasion and discovering these aliens for the first time, XCOM 2 exists in a world where the aliens have been around for years. On the surface, that mystery is gone for most of the surviving human population. Although there are a lot of over-the-top sequences, I think we’ve been successful in introducing the occasional thoughtful moments along the way. The nature of XCOM in general makes it difficult to wrap a story—a soldier who is alive now might not be after the next mission, so we can’t make any assumptions about who will appear in an upcoming scene. Do you feel the introduction of elements like Soldier Bonds (and the Photobooth feature) help tell more of those stories that personally affect the player’s choices? How? Absolutely. Soldier Bonds, Photobooth, and how the Chosen interact with the player are just a few ways the gameplay promotes the player’s personal story. The features that are designed to enhance the player’s connection to their soldiers are usually left somewhat vague on purpose. With Soldier Bonds, the idea of a “bond” between two people could mean many different things. It’s up to the player to decide if the bond two soldiers share is friendly, professional, romantic, etc. Photobooth is about giving the player 100% total creative control in their personal story. They have an idea of who these soldiers are and what they mean to each other. Now they can illustrate their stories and share them with the world. When you were developing the dialogue, what comes first? Were you leaning heavily into the voice actors that were cast? Or did you have a clear idea of the main characters coming in? https://youtu.be/yRLOkk-Lhdw Jake and the designers had a specific archetype in mind for each of the Chosen by the time I really dug into their personalities, so they were shaped more by the gameplay requirements than the actors who eventually played them (all of whom did an amazing job.) For the remaining parts, we admittedly saw a great opportunity to work with a great cast of actors. Knowing each of them so well from their past work, this group had a much greater influence on the tone of their characters (resistance leaders and faction soldiers). War of the Chosen introduces three nemesis that personally taunt the player. Explain how this is a big shift from how the XCOM series has worked in the past and why you took it in this direction. The Chosen are the most narratively involved characters we’ve ever developed in a Firaxis title, and there’s certainly been a learning curve internally as we experiment with introducing more personality and flavor into the XCOM franchise and the studio’s games in general. There aren’t many strategy games, particularly turn-based games, that focus on a cinematic narrative component. It would be easier to develop a strictly text-based system, but as it stands each of the Chosen have roughly 600 lines of unique dialogue. And that’s saying nothing of the 10,000-someodd lines of new voice over going into the expansion overall. Taken together, I think it helps set XCOM 2: War of the Chosen apart in terms of our polish and presentation. Speaking of all those lines of dialogue, was there a particular line or an exchange between characters that is your favorite moment? Why? The Resistance Radio DJ (played by Jake Busey) is probably some of the craziest dialogue we’ve put out there, it was a lot of fun to write and record. You only really hear him in the Bar area, so I’m guessing it will take a while before the fans hear the full extent of his stories. I don’t want to spoil it, though. You’ll have to just play the game to hear it for yourself. Avoiding spoilers, can you talk about some of the inspirations for the story in War of the Chosen? We really wanted to build on the feeling of a worldwide resistance effort while also pushing the idea that the aliens (and now the Chosen) are out there working towards their goals just as eagerly as you. While the core game always referenced a fledging resistance growing across the planet, with the introduction of the factions we were finally able to put a face on these otherwise mysterious survivors. We’ve already announced there’s a new book coming that tells more about the world of XCOM 2. Want to share any additional insights about the process – or about the upcoming book? We typically end up with a decent amount of background history and lore that doesn’t make it into the game itself for various reasons. Fortunately for our fans who do enjoy the narrative, there are a number of supplements planned that should fill in some of those story gaps we couldn’t cover during the campaign. But you’ll have to stay tuned for more details there. ***** In the coming weeks, we’re going to continue chatting with the team about all aspects of the game and the work that went into creating XCOM 2: War of The Chosen. And we plan to answer your questions – and more – right here. http://store.steampowered.com/app/593380/XCOM_2_War_of_the_Chosen/ Do you have questions for the team? Be sure to follow XCOM on Twitter and Like XCOM on Facebook to keep up to date with the latest information on XCOM 2: War of the Chosen. If you’re looking to enlist with the Resistance, join the 2K Forums!
   
      
  

Welcome back, Commander. In XCOM 2: War of The Chosen, new objectives and incoming Intel are being fed to us every day. All you need to do is open up Challenge Mode on the main menu and accept the day’s mission. To help ready the troops, we are declassifying the missions that will be available online next week. This week, the odds may seem stacked against your smaller squads, so be smart with how you deploy the troops. Just be aware that some objectives may change. After all, in war, no plan survives first contact. WEEK OF SEPTEMBER 25   9/25 OBJECTIVE: Plant X4 charges on the Psionic Transmitter ENVIRONMENT: Small town TEAM: A heavily-armed squad of Sectoid, ADVENT Priest and Codex units. ENEMY FORCES: A complement of ADVENT soldiers and a number of alien units including Archons and Vipers are providing local support to protect the transmitter.   9/26 OBJECTIVE: Neutralize the alien strike force ENVIRONMENT: Shanty Town TEAM: A small group of well-armed Skirmishers and Specialists. ENEMY FORCES: Brace for a major Chryssalid infestation.   9/27 OBJECTIVE: Plant X4 charges on the Psionic Transmitter ENVIRONMENT: Slums TEAM: Command a couple Andromedons and an ADVENT MEC. ENEMY FORCES: A combination of Sectoid, ADVENT Priest and Codex units are protecting this installation.   9/28 OBJECTIVE: Locate and Neutralize the ADVENT Field Commander ENVIRONMENT: Subway Tunnels TEAM: A full detachment of Specialists. ENEMY FORCES: Defending the Field Commander are ADVENT troops, Sectopods and MEC units. Proceed with caution.   9/29 OBJECTIVE: Plant X4 charges on the Psionic Transmitter ENVIRONMENT: Small Town TEAM: A small squad of ADVENT MECs, a Ranger and Specialist. ENEMY FORCES: Intel suggests that beyond the ADVENT troops, Sectoids and at least one Codex are protecting the Transmitter   9/30 OBJECTIVE: Recover the ADVENT Power Converter ENVIRONMENT: Abandoned City TEAM: A small team of well-equipped Rangers. ENEMY FORCES: Expect a tough fight against Andromedons, Archons and ADVENT Purifiers.    10/1 OBJECTIVE: Extract the VIP at the designated location ENVIRONMENT: City Center TEAM: A team of Vipers have been dispatched to see the VIP makes it to safety. ENEMY FORCES: A number of ADVENT troops, Vipers and Sectoids will be trying to intercept your squad as you make your way to the extraction zone.     Are you ready to deploy? Tell us which sorties you’re looking forward to the most. Be sure to follow XCOM on Twitter and Like XCOM on Facebook to keep up to date with the latest information on XCOM 2: War of the Chosen. If you’re looking to enlist with the Resistance, join the 2K Forums! [url=http://store.steampowered.com/app/268500]              

Today, we’ve got a treat for you. This could be a simple Q&A interview with Tim Wynn, Composer of the XCOM 2: War of The Chosen soundtrack. But we also put together the entire score for your listening pleasure and uploaded it to YouTube. So, go ahead and click the embedded link, kick back and listen while we discuss what into crafting the game’s music. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RfyK8iK71Pg When you’re doing the score for a game like XCOM, what are some of your inspirations for pulling it all together? For XCOM, the inspiration mainly came from the story.  I like to start by creating the themes, and then look for ways to incorporate them into the game.  For War of the Chosen, the story has numerous defined themes.  I started with the Chosen theme and then wrote individual themes for the Warlock, Hunter and Assassin. How is it working on the score for something like XCOM compared to other projects you’ve worked upon? Each project is unique and every project needs their own sound and voice.  With games, I really like to find the emotion in the story.  In XCOM 2 that mainly comes from Shen and her following in her father's footsteps. Let’s explore that for a second. What were you thinking about Shen and how did you want to bring that out? Any other moments that also inspired you? I was focused on Lily’s feeling about carrying on her father’s life work.  There is a certain amount of melancholy in that. I was also thinking about the bond between a father and his daughter. Being a father myself, I understand how powerful that can be.  Some of the other things that inspired me were the new characters.  Each of the Chosen have their own unique personalities and I tried to bring that out in the music.  The lost were also fun to cover.  Who doesn’t like zombies? What piece are you most proud of composing from this score – and why? It’s always hard to pick one piece of music but if I have to choose it would be the track called “War of the Chosen”.  I like that it has both the Chosen and XCOM themes in it. A close second would be “Metal and Steel”.  Fans of XCOM know how important the squad loadout screen is and I really like how the XCOM theme blends with some of the motifs from the Chosen. How do you go about composing music – can you tell us about some of your process?   When I start writing for a game, I like to immerse myself in the story.  I like to see all of the concept art and read as much of the story as possible.  Once I have watched, read and sometimes play through the game, I will start to write.  My best ideas usually come away from the keyboard. Inspiration can come all times of the day and in all settings.  I like to sing the melodies and ideas into my phone and translate from there.   Can you go further into the creation process? You hum a melody into your phone…and what happens next? I wish it was that easy!  From there I take my recordings to the piano and start to sketch out a composition.  Then usually comes more singing into my phone, and time and the piano.  All of that gets poured into my computer where it comes to life. We are looking to include the soundtrack / score with this story, so as we’re listening – what are some of the things people should be listening for? The first thing to listen to may be the main theme “War of the Chosen”. I was looking to create a hybrid orchestral/analog synth sound for the game. It opens with what I call the Chosen motif in the analog synths. It was the first idea I had when writing but I felt that it wasn’t enough of a theme but I love how it works inside of the Chosen theme.  Another thing of note is at 2:20 when the XCOM theme comes in dark, somber tone. “Shen’s Hope” comes from the DLC Shen’s Last Gift.  I like the otherworldly voice in Shen’s theme and how the emotion plays in the story. As I mentioned before, I am really happy how “Metal and Steel” turned out for War of the Chosen.  I was looking for a way to use the XCOM theme in 6/8 meter and I like the results.  This piece of music is really meant to pump you up for the next mission, and I think it succeeds.  Listen for the Chosen motif at :52 and when the XCOM B theme comes back at 1:09. Track 7 “Vox Prima” is another cue to listen for.  It’s the first time you hear the theme for the Skirmishers in the game. The theme works great for the Skirmishers and Mox is voiced by actor Michael Dorn – which makes it come together that much better. Any things you’re hoping people take away from hearing the game’s score. For me, I really wanted this score to be all about themes.  I wanted the player to know when the one of the Chosen were stalking them.  Also, XCOM 2: War of the Chosen is not your typical DLC.  The story is so rich and well thought out it feels more like a whole new XCOM game.  I tried to reflect the complexity of it in my score. ****** We’re going to continue chatting with the team about all aspects of the game and the work that went into creating XCOM 2: War of The Chosen. And we plan to answer your questions – and more – right here. Do you have questions for the team? Be sure to follow XCOM on Twitter and Like XCOM on Facebook to keep up to date with the latest information on XCOM 2: War of the Chosen. If you’re looking to enlist with the Resistance, join the 2K Forums!

Welcome back, Commander. In XCOM 2: War of The Chosen, new objectives and incoming Intel are being fed to us every day. All you need to do is open up Challenge Mode on the main menu and accept the day’s mission. To help ready the troops, we are declassifying the missions that will be available online next week. This week, prepare to fight alongside a cadre of ADVENT and alien forces including Andromedons, Spectres and Faceless. Just be aware that some objectives may change. After all, in war, no plan survives first contact. WEEK OF SEPTEMBER 18   9/18 OBJECTIVE:  Locate and neutralize the ADVENT Field Commander. ENVIRONMENT: Sewer tunnels TEAM: Mixed Alien / ADVENT force comprised of a Sectoid, Codex and ADVENT Priests ENEMY FORCES: A contingent of ADVENT troops supported by multiple Sectoids.   9/19 OBJECTIVE:  Recover the cryogenic experiments ENVIRONMENT: Slums TEAM: An alien wrecking crew consisting of a Berserker, Andromedon, Chryssalid, Sectoid and Spectre units. ENEMY FORCES: Expect heavy resistance from Mutons and Berserkers protecting the experiments.     9/20 OBJECTIVE:  Recover ADVENT power converter ENVIRONMENT: Waterfront TEAM: Small squad consisting of an ADVENT Shieldbearer, Specialist and Skirmisher ENEMY FORCES: Be ready for a combination of ADVENT forces, MECs, Sectoids, Mutons and Archons.   9/21 OBJECTIVE:  Download Cryogenic Experiments from the exposed access point ENVIRONMENT: Slums TEAM: A team of Specialists and Skirmishers ENEMY FORCES: ADVENT troops, Purifiers, Archons and Andromedons have been spotted in the vicinity.   9/22 OBJECTIVE:  Rescue VIP from ADVENT Prison ENVIRONMENT: Subway Tunnels TEAM: A groups of Andromedons, Spectres and an ADVENT MEC ENEMY FORCES: Spectres and Sectoids are known to have patrol routes in the area.   9/23 OBJECTIVE:  Protect Data Interceptor Device ENVIRONMENT: Abandoned City TEAM: Rangers ENEMY FORCES: Closing in on the device’s location are a detachment of ADVENT troops, MECs and Codices.   9/24 OBJECTIVE: Rescue VIP from an ADVENT vehicle ENVIRONMENT: City Center TEAM: A Ranger and Reaper partner up with a Muton and Viper. ENEMY FORCES: A number of ADVENT Priests and Sectoids have set up a perimeter around the location.     Are you ready to deploy? Tell us which sorties you’re looking forward to the most. http://store.steampowered.com/app/593380/XCOM_2_War_of_the_Chosen/
   
      
          

The new factions in XCOM 2: War of The Chosen are much more than just additional soldier classes to command. They are groups with goals and ideologies that flesh out the world you’re fighting to save. The new gameplay features introduced with these factions expand the strategies available to the player. They also play a huge part in a brand new narrative experience. For the developers, the factions provided the opportunity to develop and evolve many of the features they introduced in XCOM 2. Joe Weinhoffer (Designer) and Scott Wittbecker (Lead Writer) from Firaxis’ XCOM 2: War of The Chosen team sat down recently to share some of what went into creating the three new factions.

Let’s start off easy. What were the first questions that the team asked themselves as they started working on these new Factions?

What’s an example of one of those “holes” that the new factions helped solve?

Going back at the beginning of the process. What laid the groundwork for these awesome ideas?

So after you have this rough framework, you start filling the in gaps. What were some of the inspirations for the new factions and their heroes?

You’ve got your world lore, you’ve determined the gameplay mechanics for each faction. What comes next?

Obviously, it’s an iterative process as you’re developing - what are some of the more interesting things that didn’t find their way into the final factions?

Not that you play favorites in the office, but is there a favorite faction amongst the Firaxis staff?

Welcome back, Commander. In XCOM 2: War of The Chosen, new objectives and incoming Intel are being fed to us every day. All you need to do is open up Challenge Mode in the main game menu and accept latest scenario. https://youtu.be/4YxIFTbKB3c SUBSCRIBE to XCOM on YouTube ➜ http://2kgam.es/XCOMYT To help ready the troops, we are declassifying the missions that will be available online next week. Just be aware that some objectives may change. After all, in war, no plan survives first contact.

WEEK OF SEPTEMBER 11

XCOM 2: War of the Chosen, all new content for XCOM ® 2 is Now Available on Steam!

XCOM ® 2: War of the Chosen adds extensive new content in the fight against ADVENT including new soldier classes, enemies, missions, maps and more.

PC gamers, the wait is over. XCOM 2: War of The Chosen deploys to PC today! The Xbox One and PS4 versions are also on the way, launching shortly on September 12. From what we’ve seen so far, though, critics are already taking up arms to join the fight. Game Informer says XCOM 2: War of The Chosen (9.25/10; “The Pièce De Alien Résistance”) is “One of the most rewarding strategy games in years” and that it’s got “Nearly a game’s worth of new content.” Rock Paper Shotgun (Recommended) declared it’s “The first time that an XCOM or X-COM game can be truly described as an epic.” Meanwhile IGN (8.8/10) loves how the game “Restores a fear of the unknown.” For those of you who’ve been following along since we announced the XCOM 2 expansion in June, we hope that you enjoy it. It’s a whole new experience we’re layering on top of the game that had already racked up numerous Strategy Game of the Year awards in 2016. https://youtu.be/dujS8L7qWAU

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Here’s the situation, people: in Challenge Mode, you’re competing with players around the world to achieve the best score on special missions in XCOM 2: War of the Chosen. Some challenges will tax your tactical skills. Others will offer up unique situations you won’t experience in the campaign. Most importantly, there will be a new Challenge waiting for you every day. https://youtu.be/4YxIFTbKB3c

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CHALLENGE MODE: THE ACTION-STRATEGY XCOM

ON CREATING THE MISSIONS

THE CHALLENGES AHEAD

This massive expansion to XCOM 2 introduces three new Factions – each with their own unique strengths and play styles. Of course, the developers at Firaxis Games have their favorites. We asked Joe Weinhofferand Mark Nauta (Designers) as well as Griffin Funk (Lead Producer) to explain theirs to us and give you some key survival tips.
The Templars, in their isolation, developed an almost religious zeal for collecting Psionic energy. Experimenting upon themselves, they even created weaponry that taps into their latent skills.

WHY JOE WEINHOFFER CHOSE THE TEMPLARS

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TEMPLAR TIPS

• Templars start missions underpowered and gain Focus from defeating enemies, so it’s important to set up their attacks as killing blows. Use other soldiers to inflict some damage, then send in the Templar to finish them off. The kill will increase the Templar’s Focus level, improving the effectiveness of their abilities and making them more powerful on the next attack.
• Take advantage of a Templar’s Invert and Exchange abilities to reposition units on the battlefield. One of my favorite tactics is to use Invert on an enemy within single-movement range of the Templar, which will swap their positions. The Templar can then immediately run back to where they started and Rend the target, returning to a safe location while also leaving the target exposed to easy flanking shots from the rest of the squad.
• Templars are fantastic early in a campaign, since their powerful melee attacks rip through Sectoids, and extra mobility from Momentum lets them safely return to cover. Or, you can activate Parry and leave the Templar out of cover as bait to draw fire from the rest of the squad, since the first attack made against them is guaranteed to miss!

WHY MARK NAUTA CHOSE THE REAPER

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MARK’S REAPER SKILL CHOICES

REAPER TIPS

• Sometimes it’s easy to forget that Reapers are not actually invisible. The increased mobility and smaller detection radii while in Shadow can lead you to move far away from the rest of the squad. You need to be careful with this however because you’re just one Muton walking around a corner away from being in a whole mess of trouble.
• I don’t think there is anything more satisfying than using Remote Start on a car with a few ADVENT huddled behind it. They thought they were safe there? FOOLS!
• I find Reapers to be a good source of guaranteed (or almost guaranteed) damage, with their ability to move long distances and get close to enemies undetected. This allows the Reaper to finish a lot of kills when you really need it, instead of using Combat Protocol or a grenade which can then be used more optimally in the future.

WHY GRIFFIN FUNK CHOSE THE SKIRMISHER

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GRIFFIN’S SKIRMISHER SKILL CHOICES

SKIRMISHER TIPS

• Use the Skirmisher’s grappling hook to reposition as much as possible. That way, you can save your actions for attacks.
• Position aggressively to take advantage of flanking shots.  The bullpup has a high critical rating and has the added benefit of being able to fire twice in a round.
• Get in close with Skirmisher when you want to take a target alive, but unconscious. A Skirmisher’s melee strikes have a high chance to inflict stuns – very handy when suppressing a Codex that you want to prevent from cloning itself.
• The Wrath ability allows the Skirmisher to move to their target, but always have a backup plan. If you’re grappling across the map, you may stumble into a trap. Leave yourself an extra move to deal with whatever comes next.
• Given a Skirmisher’s ability to use both actions to attack and skills that can give them additional actions, they are well-suited to deal with the Lost. They can get a backup if they miss, but to get even more Lost cleared out, equip a Skirmisher’s weapon with an Extended Magazine (more ammo) and Autoloaders (free Reloads).

While XCOM 2: War of The Chosen launches on August 29, start recruiting efforts today! You can create some war-and-meme-worthy posters right now, through a free download on Steam. Welcome to the XCOM 2: War of the Chosen Propaganda Center. Now available for free on Steam, the XCOM 2: War of the Chosen Propaganda Center contains the Photobooth application included in XCOM 2: War of the Chosen. With it, create your own propaganda posters using a variety of backgrounds, filters and soldier poses of your favorite XCOM troops. http://store.steampowered.com/app/433050/XCOM_2_War_of_the_Chosen__Propaganda_Center Even if you haven’t signed up for duty yet, you can get a jump by creating your new troopers in the Propaganda Center. Then designate them as soldiers or VIPs that you might find in your XCOM 2: War of The Chosen campaign. Let’s walk you through this…

DOWNLOAD PROPAGANDA CENTER

HOW PROPAGANDA CENTER WORKS

• Starting from the top, you can select the formation. Get your squad lined up, in a wedge formation, as a small mob, posing with a pal or going solo.
• From there, select up to six soldiers to set up their position and pose (there are loads of different poses for all the soldiers and number of class-specific ones as well.) From there, tweak with your mouse to zoom in and around what you’ve put together. Not sure how you want to compose the shots? There are six pre-sets to get you going.
• Next up, select from 23 different background images. Want to make yours stand out more? Go ahead and tint it with two color variants.
• From the 16 different layouts you can choose how – and if – you want to stylize your propaganda art. Do you want to make it look like you’re taking a snapshot or drafting a recruitment poster? It’s up to you.
• Select from a few different fonts, filters and effects to complete the look of your images.
• When you’re ready, tap the “Take Photo” button. By default, it saves a poster-sized image (720 by 1080 pixels) to the following directory:
  • Documents / XCOM2 Propaganda Center /XComGame/Photobooth

The new Factions in XCOM 2: War of The Chosen aren’t just single heroic units you use in battle, they are part of a larger organized force. You’ll work with each of the Factions, perform Covert Actions and use Resistance Orders to improve your odds of success. It’s a whole new addition that resonates in both the tactical and the strategic layer and will shake up your decisions on each playthrough. And it was inspired, in part, by collectible card games. Today, we’ll explain how it all ties together into the larger Geoscape in XCOM 2: War of the Chosen’s expanded campaign. https://youtu.be/e4z7HT-UJiI?list=PL8mfplD2jGg8vQN0HZrwJxfDrg7eOq1rD

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THE FACTIONS

COVERT ACTIONS

RESISTANCE ORDERS

Reaper

Skirmisher

Templar

Ever since we announced XCOM 2: War of The Chosen, people have been fascinated by the introduction of Soldier Bonds. With the upcoming expansion, you’ll see soldiers bond in the heat of battle and if they make it out alive, come out stronger – and closer than before. That’s saying nothing of how soldiers can now develop additional abilities.

HOW SOLDIERS BOND

NEEDING SOME R&R

NEW SOLDIER ABILITY POINTS

As the fight against ADVENT continues, XCOM returns to the outlying areas and abandoned cities lost 20 years ago during the first invasion. It is here we start encountering new enemy units in XCOM 2: War of the Chosen. Following is a quick debrief on three new unit types you’ll face throughout the new XCOM 2 expansion: The flame-throwing Purifiers, the stealthy Spectres and the Psionically-amped Priests. https://youtu.be/e4z7HT-UJiI

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ADVENT PURIFIER

ADVENT PRIEST

SPECTRE

When the Aliens invaded Earth, many of the world’s great cities were devastated by bombardment and bioweapons. Those mass graveyards and abandoned buildings have been left alone for 20 years. In War of the Chosen, XCOM forces go back … and find the Lost. https://youtu.be/PfHWzevw7bI

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The Elders are desperate to recapture the Commander in XCOM 2’s expansion. Among the Chosen tasked with finding the Commander: The Hunter, a ranged unit that can stalk its prey from across the map. https://youtu.be/CTOrnMdFTQE

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XCOM 2’s expansion introduces new Factions, unique pockets of resistance unaffiliated with XCOM. Today we’re introducing the Templars, a reclusive, monastic group of soldiers that has dedicated themselves to pushing their minds and bodies with psionic energy to the brink of humanity. https://youtu.be/XyAQdUn46Sk

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Get an in-depth look at new gameplay from an all new mission in XCOM 2: War of the Chosen. SUBSCRIBE to our YouTube channel for Inside Looks at new characters and enemies, features and insights from the XCOM 2 development team: http://2kgam.es/XCOMYT Watch here: https://youtu.be/74fhO9SCD2U http://store.steampowered.com/app/593380/XCOM_2_War_of_the_Chosen/ That’s it for this update, Commander. Be sure to follow XCOM on Twitter and Like XCOM on Facebook to keep up to date with the latest information on XCOM 2: War of the Chosen. If you’re looking to enlist with the Resistance, join the 2K Forums!
   
      
  

XCOM 2’s expansion introduces the Chosen, unique ADVENT enemies tasked by the Elders to recapture the Commander at all costs. Today, we’re introducing the Warlock, perhaps the Elders’ most arrogant child, who has sacrificed his sanity by drinking too deeply from the psionic well of power. https://youtu.be/6wIoESZnkQ0

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XCOM 2’s expansion introduces new Factions, unique pockets of resistance that the Commander recruits to fight alongside XCOM. Today we’re introducing the Skirmishers, former ADVENT soldiers who have chosen to rebel against their masters. https://youtu.be/eUW2a3yoUHM

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XCOM 2’s expansion introduces new Factions, unique pockets of resistance unaffiliated with XCOM. Today we’re introducing the Reapers, a scrappy cell of human loyalists who live on the fringes of society and keep mainly to themselves. https://youtu.be/xVJg_KrLzBA

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XCOM 2’s expansion introduces the Chosen, unique ADVENT enemies tasked by the Elders to recapture the Commander at all costs. Today, we’re introducing the Assassin, a stealth-based melee unit who prefers to fight at close range. https://youtu.be/yRLOkk-Lhdw SUBSCRIBE ➜ http://2kgam.es/XCOMYT The Assassin considers her tactics honorable, but often exudes a demeanor of self-importance. She believes humanity to be beneath her, and this inflated sense of self-worth is in part due to her status among the Elders but also due to her unmatched skills in combat. http://store.steampowered.com/app/593380/XCOM_2_War_of_the_Chosen/ The Assassin, and her siblings, present some persistent threats to War of the Chosen’s expanded campaign. They kidnap your soldiers, grow stronger over a campaign, and can even sabotage the Avenger. Each Chosen presents its own set of tactical strengths and weaknesses that dynamically generate with each new campaign. They’ll even taunt you if they’ve managed to escape a previous scuffle and come back for more.
The Assassin has mastered the katana and almost exclusively fights with it alone. Her ability to vanish from sight allows her to get in close on unsuspecting soldiers for a powerful slash. The Assassin can also stun and disorient groups of soldiers with Harbor Wave, an ability that sends a flood of psionic force from a distance.     That’s it for this update, Commander. Be sure to follow XCOM on Twitter and Like XCOM on Facebook to keep up to date with the latest information on XCOM 2: War of the Chosen. If you’re looking to enlist with the Resistance, join the 2K Forums!
   
      
  

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We’re excited to announce XCOM 2: War of the Chosen, the expansion to the 2016 award-winning strategy game of the year, is launching on PC, Xbox One and PlayStation® 4 on August 29, 2017. XCOM 2: War of the Chosen greatly expands upon the XCOM 2 campaign by adding three new resistance factions, each with its own Hero class, to aid XCOM in its fight to liberate Earth. ADVENT, in its bid to recapture the Commander, responds by deploying a deadly new enemy force called the “Chosen.” The expansion also includes other new enemies, missions, environments and increased depth in strategic gameplay. https://youtu.be/n3bENBYSucQ SUBSCRIBE to XCOM on YouTube: http://2kgam.es/XCOMYT http://store.steampowered.com/app/593380/ Here is a list of XCOM 2: War of the Chosen’s key features: NEW FACTIONS & HERO CLASSES Three additional factions have emerged to strengthen Earth's resistance – the Reapers, Skirmishers and Templars – each with its own unique abilities and contrasting philosophies. These factions provide powerful hero class soldiers to aid in missions and new opportunities for the strategy layer.  THE CHOSEN The Chosen are the most cunning enemies XCOM has ever faced, each with unique strengths and weaknesses that will be introduced with each new campaign. The Chosen are on the hunt for the Commander and will kidnap, interrogate, and kill XCOM’s soldiers to complete their objective. The Chosen can also invade the strategy layer and ravage XCOM’s global operations. Find and raid the Chosen’s strongholds to defeat the enemy for good. NEW ALIEN & ADVENT THREATS A deadly new alien known as the Spectre, capable of creating dark copies of XCOM soldiers, has snuck onto the battlefield. Adopt new tactics to counter it as well as  the explosive attacks of the ADVENT Purifier and the psionically charged ADVENT Priest. NEW ENVIRONMENTS AND MISSION OBJECTIVES Engage in tactical missions across new environments from abandoned cities devastated by alien bioweapons during the original invasion, to underground tunnels and xenoformed wilderness regions. ENHANCED STRATEGY LAYER Manage XCOM’s relations with factions and counter The Chosen’s operations from the Avenger. Employ new Resistance Orders to prioritize your personal strategy. Soldiers, scientists, and engineers can now be deployed for Covert Actions that award supplies and boost faction favor if successfully completed. GREATER CUSTOMIZATION & REPLAYABILITY Soldiers can develop bonds with compatible teammates for new abilities and perks. The SITREP system dynamically adds new modifiers to the tactical layer to make sure every mission provides a unique challenge. Advanced campaign options allow for finer adjustments to game length and difficulty. CHALLENGE MODE Utilize the perfect strategy in new regular one-shot community challenges to claim the top spot on the global leaderboard. SHARE THE RESISTANCE Customize and pose your soldiers, then add filters, text and backgrounds to generate your own unique resistance posters that appear in-game and can be shared with friends. Follow the conversation on social media by using the hashtag #XCOM2, and be sure to follow XCOM on social media to keep up to date with the latest news and information on War of the Chosen.
   
   
  

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Long War 2, the total conversion mod for XCOM 2, is available right now! We wanted to find out more about its creator, Pavonis Interactive (formerly known as Long War Studios). Thankfully, John Lumpkin, design lead and managing partner, was kind enough to answer a few questions for us! http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=844674609 Thanks for doing this, John. First, can you tell us what your exact position at Pavonis Interactive is? We got to make up our own titles! I’m the design lead. Also a managing partner. And public relations coordinator. And rookie-killing sadist.
How did Pavonis Interactive form? Its informal beginning was when my partner Rachel “Amineri” Norman contacted me in early 2013 with some suggestions on how to dig into XCOM Enemy Unknown's code to make grenades a little less reliable. We started modding EU and then EW together with the help of several other talented programmers. We formed Long War Studios as a company as we got to work on our own title and shortly before signing a contract to develop the release-day mods for XCOM 2. With the release of Long War 2, we are rechristening our company Pavonis Interactive to capture that our future work will range beyond modding XCOM and toward developing our own independent titles. “Long War” will be indelibly linked with XCOM. What are you and your team most proud of in Long War 2? We think we’ve recreated a lot of the “Long War” feel in the XCOM 2 engine, although we tried to peg full campaigns at around 100 to 120 missions, which isn’t quite as many as the original. In your own words, can you briefly describe how you’ve changed the Strategy Layer? We’ve made a lot of changes. ADVENT now has a certain strength in each region on Earth, and it will move troops around in response to XCOM activity. This strength will determine how hard missions will be. This encourages XCOM to build a global Resistance and strike where ADVENT is weakest, just as a proper insurgency should. In addition, in each region you’ve made contact with, you assign Resistance members to various jobs in a Haven: scavenging supplies, recruiting more rebels and soldiers, or gathering intelligence to generate missions. Many missions have set durations, and you must send a squad to infiltrate the target site over several days. The longer you infiltrate, the fewer enemies you will face, but larger squads need more time to sneak into the mission area. Finally, it is now possible to liberate regions entirely from ADVENT control. Doing so will grant bonuses in resource gathering and more importantly trigger the AVATAR plot missions, but ADVENT will try to take them back.
How did you conceptualize and execute on these changes? Did you always have a vision in mind or is it something you guys stumbled upon by testing out different mechanics? The general ideas of a hit-and-run insurgency and having mission difficulty scale both with strategic conditions as well as squad size are things we’ve had from the start. The general idea behind the infiltration mechanic was to replace our fatigue mechanic from the original Long War – we want to tie up your soldiers and force you to develop a deeper roster, and frankly the infiltration mechanic works better narratively than fatigue to fulfill this purpose, especially in a guerrilla war narrative. We also wanted to make squad size something organically determined rather than a straight set of upgrades you acquire over a campaign. Now, the extra flexibility provided by bringing 10 soldiers on a mission has costs, so it’s ultimately up to the player to decide how they want to take on a mission. In your own words, can you briefly describe how you’ve changed the Tactical Mission gameplay? We’ve implemented, and in many cases improved on, most of the content from our prior mods . We’ve also added an additional soldier class, the Technical, who can specialize in either the rocket launcher or flamethrower wrist weapons, which are available from the start. Each of our new classes has its own secondary weapon: The Sharpshooter has a holo-targeter, the Ranger a sawed-off shotgun, the Assault an arc thrower, and the Gunner a combat knife for self-defense. (We’re allowing all classes to equip pistols.) In addition, we’ve reworked the AWC bonus perk system to give each soldier a randomized mini-tree of offensive, defensive and pistol perks they can train, but they have to spend several days in the training tube to acquire the additional abilities. We’ve added several mission types – ambushing a troop column, attacking an ADVENT military base, and rescuing multiple rebels from a jail, to name a few. We did try to add more pitched battles alongside the timed missions. We’ve also made officers more integral to tactical play. They have the Command ability from Long War; they also provide bonuses to soldiers whom they have been on several missions with, and they have the ability to spend the intel resource to extend the timers on timed missions. What else? All of Alien Pack is in there, plus some new ADVENT bad guys, sometimes in pods of up to eight enemies. Uncontacted enemy pods will now behave differently, sometimes trying to flank your squad or moving to defend the objective. The Skyranger now takes several turns to arrive when you throw the flare.
Which of the new mission types is your favorite and why? Probably a toss-up between our alternate Haven defense mission, in which you have to defend an extraction zone in the center of the map while holding off increasingly strong Alien reinforcements and rescuing your rebels, and the invasion, when ADVENT tries to re-take a region. It functions something like a retaliation mission, but in a city. What are you and the team most proud of in your changes to the Tactical gameplay? I polled our playtesters, led by the illustrious Tim “Bilfdoffle” Evans, and they offered the following:

• The AWC/officer perks creating unique soldiers
• Corpse reanimation by unactivated sectoids
• Yellow alert and pod job mechanics
• The coil cannon
• All the new missions
• Changes to evac timer and meta around stealthier missions/
• Controlling Rebels and Civs
• Defending the Evac
• The new Arc Thrower

Long War 2, the upcoming XCOM 2 mod for PC from Pavonis Interactive, presents a series of changes to the gameâ

Long War 2, the upcoming XCOM 2 mod for PC from Pavonis Interactive, includes some dramatic changes to the strategic gameplay side of the game. This mod completely overhauls the Geoscape and how you engage in XCOMâ

Long War 2, the upcoming XCOM 2 mod for PC from Pavonis Interactive, includes some dramatic changes to all facets of the game. One such change is the introduction of a brand-new class of XCOM soldier: the Technical.

The versatile Technical takes some of the heavy weapons from Shen’s workshop in the base game – the rocket launcher and flamethrower – and combines them in an innovative Gauntlet secondary weapon. The soldier’s ability tree allows specializing in one or the other. The rocket launcher initially has a single shot, useful for ambushes or escaping from dangerous situations, and the flamethrower is best at close-in cone attacks that leave enemies aflame and unable to take many actions.

That’s it for this update, Commander. Be sure to follow XCOM on Twitter and Like XCOM on Facebook to keep up to date with the latest information on XCOM 2. If you’re looking to enlist with the Resistance, join the 2K Forums! Pavonis Interactive, formerly Long War Studios, is the development outfit responsible for great XCOM 2 PC content such as the “Alien Pack” and the “Perk” and “Laser Pack” mods.   http://store.steampowered.com/app/268500
   
   
 

The engineers at Pavonis Interactive, creators of the upcoming Long War 2 mod for XCOM 2 on PC, have created a new suite of weapons for your soldiers, Commander. They’re calling these new armaments “Coilguns.”

Coilguns represent a new tier of weaponry available to research during the XCOM 2 campaign on PC. This line of advanced magnetic hardware rests above the current Mag weapon tier offered by Chief Shen and her team, and directly under our top-tier Beam offerings.

Outfit your soldiers with these Coilguns and they’ll represent a very serious threat to any ADVENT or alien overlords you come across in your efforts to reclaim Earth; however, Coilguns aren’t cheap. Obviously, as the second-best weapon tier available to our soldiers, Coilguns will require a considerable investment before you can add them to your weapons cache.
Be sure to follow XCOM on Twitter and Like XCOM on Facebook to keep up to date with the latest information on XCOM 2. If you’re looking to enlist with the Resistance, join the 2K Forums! http://store.steampowered.com/app/268500/

Long War Studios, the development outfit responsible for great XCOM 2 PC content such as the Alien Pack and the Perk and Laser Pack mods, has a new name: Pavonis Interactive, and a new web site. And the team has been working on something ambitious. We’ll be sharing more in the coming weeks so stay tuned. In the meanwhile, make sure you’re following the XCOM 2 Steam Community hub so you don’t miss any future announcements on XCOM 2. Knowledge is power, Commander. Be sure to follow XCOM on Twitter and Like XCOM on Facebook to keep up to date with the latest information on XCOM 2. If you’re looking to enlist with the Resistance, join the 2K Forums! http://store.steampowered.com/app/268500/

A hotfix to address a targeting issue that was introduced in the XCOM 2 Controller Support Update has been released. All users should automatically receive the hotfix through Steam. If your Steam client isn’t downloading the update, please restart Steam. http://store.steampowered.com/app/268500/ Be sure to follow XCOM on Twitter and Like XCOM on Facebook to keep up to date with the latest information on XCOM 2. If you’re looking to enlist with the Resistance, join the 2K Forums! http://twitter.com/xcom http://facebook.com/xcom http://youtube.com/xcom

Starting today, XCOM 2 on PC can now be played using a controller. XCOM 2 has plug & play compatibility with both the Xbox One and Xbox 360 controllers. Alternate controller options may require additional user adjustments. Fans have been requesting controller support and we’re glad to deliver. We have been hard at work tailoring the interface specifically for controllers so that it provides a level of comfort and accessibility that our players expect. The intel below shows exactly how controllers will work both in the strategy layer, as well as on the battlefield.

This update includes:

• Adds traditional (non-Steam Controller) controller support to the PC
• Fix config/upk file issues that prevent full conversion mods from being possible on the Steam Workshop and also allow mods to have Bink files.
• In Alien Hunters, the "Ruler Reaction" notification will stay on the screen after a unit fires at the Archon King while he is using Icarus Drop during combat.
• SPARKS cannot be healed by Medikits
• Additional minor bug fixes http://store.steampowered.com/app/268500 Be sure to follow XCOM on Twitter and Like XCOM on Facebook to keep up to date with the latest information on XCOM 2. If you’re looking to enlist with the Resistance, join the 2K Forums! http://twitter.com/xcom http://facebook.com/xcom http://youtube.com/xcom
  
  

Long War Studios, the developers behind the Long War mod for XCOM: Enemy Unknown and multiple XCOM 2 mods, has released the “Alien Pack” mod for XCOM 2 today. The “Alien Pack” mod adds a host of new enemies to the alien roster – some completely unique and new, while others are variations on existing enemy units. Here’s a rundown of what’s in the mod:

• Drone (two variations) – an ADVENT scout and crowd control unit
• Naja (three variations) – a subspecies of the Viper that serves as an alien sniper unit
• Muton Elite – a version of the Muton much more powerful than its predecessors
• Sectoid Commander – an enhanced Sectoid with even greater psionic capabilities
• Sidewinder (three variations) – a subspecies of the Viper that serves as a fast and agile flanker
• Chryssalid Soldier – a larger and more intimidating variation of the Chryssalid
• Hive Queen – an even larger Chryssalid all other Chryssalids bow down to
• MEC Archer (two variations) – an ADVENT MEC equipped with long-range weaponry
• ADVENT Sentry (three variations) – an ADVENT soldier that has great Overwatch abilities
• ADVENT Rocketeer (three variations) – an ADVENT soldier with explosive ordinance
• ADVENT Grenadier (three variations) – an ADVENT soldier equipped with flashbangs, fire grenades or acid grenades
• ADVENT Gunner (three variations) – an ADVENT soldier with a cannon and the ability to suppress multiple XCOM soldiers at once
• Muton Centurion – a variation on the Muton, previously made available in the “Muton Centurion” mod

Hello, Commander. One of our resistance cells, Long War Studios, has promised new tools to help us combat ADVENT and the alien menace. Starting today, XCOM soldiers will have new laser-based weapons to equip, as well as a complete reworking of classes and Abilities to employ in XCOM 2. The “Perk Pack” and “Laser Pack” mods are available for download through the XCOM 2 Steam Workshop right now. Simply head over to the Long War Studios section of Steam Workshop here and subscribe to the new mods. They will then be automatically downloaded through your Steam client. Here’s a rundown of the new mods:

“Perk Pack” Mod

• Choice of three perks per promotion rank instead of two
• More than 70 new and reworked Abilities that can be assigned to soldiers, gear or aliens
• Reworks the four base classes into seven, including the assault, gunner and shinobi, or create your own class
• Adds ten new PCS items, each granting a unique ability
• Support for more than 15 active abilities in the tactical UI

“Laser Pack” Mod

• Adds a new laser tier of XCOM weaponry, which includes a new variant for the assault rifle, shotgun, cannon, sniper rifle, pistol and SMG, plus all attachments
• Mod includes models, textures, particle effects and sounds
• Tier exists between magnetic and beam tiers, with two new technologies

Hello, Commander. XCOM has uncovered intel on a hidden ADVENT facility housing new high-tech weaponry. Lily Shen, Chief Engineer on the Avenger, has volunteered to accompany your most elite squad as they infiltrate this facility, so that she may help uncover and assess what impact this new alien tech will have in the battle to reclaim Earth. https://youtu.be/oHG_abjJLPM We’re still sifting through the data, but here’s what we know so far:

• The ADVENT test facility in question is housed within multiple skyscrapers, linked together by enclosed bridges
• The ADVENT MECs are based on a single prototype unit, which we believe to be somewhere within this ADVENT facility

A new patch for XCOM 2 is now live! The patch will automatically install when starting the Steam client. If it doesn't install automatically, restart Steam. The XCOM 2 team continues to work to improve your XCOM 2 experience and have fixed a number of bugs in both the base game and the Alien Hunters DLC. New balance changes have been added including additional bonuses to swords to make your Rangers more effective in combat. Downloading this patch will also install the hooks needed for players to access the new SPARK class and narrative-driven mission in Shen’s Last Gift. Stay tuned for more updates! Gameplay – Base Game • Fixed an issue where units would not have their mission starting abilities and Gremlins would not follow • Fixed an issue with Wet Work where kills were not being tracked for the correct unit • Fixed an issue where Burning and Poisoned damage was causing free kills • Damage caused by Psi abilities will now ignore armor • Faceoff may now only target units that are not mind-controlled (by the shooter’s team) • Fixed damage preview for abilities that modify damage based on incoming damage amount • Fixed an exploit where replacing a PCS would not always remove the value it gave when equipping • Magnetic Swords are now referred to “Magnetic” rather than “Conventional” • Fixed an issue where the unit flag would not properly show a unit as concealed when loading a save game • Fixed a crash that could occur after selecting an AOE ability and then another (disabled) ability • Fixed an issue where Proximity Mines were not damaging every unit in a group move situation • Blademaster grants +10 Aim to melee and Hunter’s Instinct grants +15 to melee crit • [MP] Matches will no longer immediately end for the user when winning during the transition before their turn Gameplay – Alien Hunters • Fixes instances of Alien Ruler soft hangs • Avenger Defense no longer fails if a Ruler is in the evac zone • Fixed an issue where the Skulljack objective caused MECs to stop appearing in tactical • Fixed a crash that would occur after the Archon King completes an Icarus Drop • Alien Hunter weapons have range bonuses/penalties applied • Fixed an issue where Alien Rulers were missing health after increasing the difficulty during a playthrough • Fixed an issue where Alien Hunter weapons would be lost after upgrading through GTS • Central can no longer bleed out on the Nest mission due to it causing a soft-fail state • Removed Freezing Lash’s minimum range of 3 tiles which prevented units from using the ability when standing next to an enemy • Berserker Queen’s Faithbreaker ability no long targets robotic units • Removed “Return to Resistance HQ” button from the Hunter Weapons POI complete popup to prevent players from getting into a state where project times are incorrect Performance Improvements • Fixed an issue with Effects being ticked twice a frame • Optimizations to path solving memory footprint and performance • Fixed an issue where unnecessary game states were created on the Geoscape System Support • Updates to allow Steam Workshop DLC to be enumerated before native script packages are loaded. Will allow mods that override XComGame.upk to work through Steam Workshop Steam Controller • Removed button labels in save/load list that are not hooked up to anything Modding • New flag bForceReselectAllGroupsForSpawn for use with multi-part mission schedules • Armor hit rolls have been deprecated as the game treats armor as 100% chance to absorb damage • Armor is now handled directly by ApplyWeaponDamage • ApplyWeaponDamage now has a bIgnoreArmor flag so that psionic abilities properly ignore armor • Tactical Quick Launch menu now supports the grenade slot correctly • Debug command X2ShowFullObject to display a game state object’s data • Bonus weapon ammo (e.g. Heavy Ordnance and Field Medic) is now handled through a delegate on ability templates: GetBonusWeaponAmmoFn • X2DownloadableContentInfo has new hooks: • AbilityTagExpandHandler, so new localization tags can be added • FinalizeUnitAbilitiesForInit, which allows special manipulation of a unit's ability list before the abilities are created in a tactical match • Effects now have the ability to be redirected from their initial target • EffectShouldRedirect figures out who gets the redirected effect • New character template flag, bDiesWhenCaptured • Character templates can now have forced first, last, and nick names • Character templates can implement the delegate GetPhotographerPawnNameFn so as not to be forced to use soldier pawns for pictures in the strategy game • Countries can now be hidden from character customization • Deprecated X2AbilityMultiTarget_SoldierBonusRadius (though it continues to work for now). Base classes X2AbilityMultiTarget_Radius, _Cone, and _Line now support increasing the AOE range based on passive abilities in a generic fashion. • Effects may add projectiles to a volley conditionally by registering in the EffectsForProjectileVolleys array and implementing the function GetProjectileVolleyTemplate. Effects that are always on should still use the perk system, but this callback allows for game state checks to add or not add the projectile to a volley. • X2Effect_GenerateCover can now generate cover for mobile units, instead of forcing it to disappear when the unit moves

For the first time since launch on February 5, XCOM 2 is discounted on Steam. You can grab the base version of the game, as well as the Digital Deluxe Edition (which includes all DLC and the soundtrack) for 33% off. Whether you've been holding out or want to gift it to a friend, now is a great time to pick up one of the best PC titles of the year! http://store.steampowered.com/app/268500/ Twenty years have passed since humanity lost the war against the alien invaders and a new world order now exists on Earth. After years of lurking in the shadows, XCOM forces must rise and eliminate the alien occupation. Join us or become them. Follow XCOM on social media: http://twitter.com/xcom http://facebook.com/xcom http://youtube.com/xcom

Save 33% on XCOM® 2 as part of this week's Weekend Deal*!

*Offer ends Monday at 10AM Pacific Time

Alien Hunters, the second DLC pack for XCOM 2, adds exciting new gameplay content to your campaign. Available now for $9.99 or as part of the Reinforcement Pack, Alien Hunters features a narrative-driven mission, new weapons and armor, a new “Hunter’s Lodge” update to the Avenger’s Armory, plus three new “Ruler” alien units to combat. These new Rulers, including the Viper King, are quite formidable, Commander. They will show up at random in your campaign, once you’ve completed the new narrative mission, and each will have their own unique behavior and tactics, so don’t expect them to act like their subordinates. If you can’t take out a ruler quick enough, the alien will escape to fight another day. We believe these rulers are incredibly intelligent and are pursuing your soldiers across the globe. You won’t be without help in this new fight, however, as Alien Hunters also includes four new one-of-a-kind weapons: the Bolt Caster, a high damage single-shot weapon; the Hunter’s Axe, a powerful new blade weapon that can be thrown at enemies or used to dispatch foes at close range; the ShadowKeeper pistol, which has the Shadowfall ability that is guaranteed to hit and will place its user in concealment if the enemy is killed; and the Frost Bomb grenade, which is able to temporarily freeze targets. Chief Shen has asked us to point out that each of these weapons is a prototype, so if a soldier equipping any of these weapons falls in battle, be sure to physically carry them to the Skyranger or else you’ll lose the weapons forever. On top of the new weapons, there are also three new suits of armor that can be unlocked in Alien Hunters. Each armor set is created from the corpse of a Ruler alien, and provides unique tactical abilities for the wearer. Each unique armor set also strikes fear into the subordinate alien caste. For example, the Icarus Suit is outfitted with powerful boosters that allow its wearer to fly around the map for maximum mobility. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5_mr3TBZd_Y Alien Hunters also includes a compatibility patch for XCOM 2. This patch will include authentication for Alien Hunters, as well as general bug fixes, balancing in the single player, performance optimizations and a rebalanced multiplayer experience for the base game. Alien Hunters requires XCOM 2 to play and is available now for $9.99. If you already own the Reinforcement Pack, do not purchase this DLC separately as you will be charged for it. http://store.steampowered.com/app/433090/

XCOM 2 May Patch

• Fixed an issue where the doom countdown timer was refilling after the Avatar bar filled up
• Repeater no longer triggers after Stock damage or damage done over time
• Mimic Beacons can no longer be reanimated
• Mimic Beacons can no longer be targeted by Aid Protocol
• Zombie Soldiers count towards “Soldiers Dead” counter
• Evac zones can no longer be placed on a soldier
• Fixed an issue where XCOM units were hitching after pod reveals
• Fixed an issue where armor was not resetting properly after restarting the Avenger Defense mission
• Fixed a crash that would occur after opening an ADVENT garage door
• Soldiers equipped with the Hazmat Vest will no longer be affected by Acid Burn when pathing over Acid
• Fixed an issue where loot was not being given to the player after killing an enemy next to a soldier with a hacked turret
• Fixed multiple issues that would occur when a Gatekeeper is killed while affected by Chryssalid poison
• Specialists can no longer receive the Phantom ability through the Advanced Warfare Center
• Fixed an issue where certain AOE attacks could be used when selected while the unit was in movement
• Grenade damage rebalance - Plasma Grenade Dmg: 5-6 -> 4-5 - Acid Bomb Dmg: 5-6 -> 4-5 - Fire Bomb Dmg: 6-7 -> 5-6 - Gas Bomb Dmg: 5-6 -> 4-5 - Proximity Mine Dmg: 8 -> 6 - Gas Grenade Radius: 5 -> 4 - Gas Bomb Radius: 6 -> 5 - Proximity Mine Radius: 5-> 4 - Volatile Mix Ability no longer grants grenade radius bonus

• MP balance changes (more details below)
• ADVENT and Alien units with weapons have been given range bonuses/penalties
• Fixed an issue where squads would be deleted when saving and editing Loadouts
• Fixed an issue where new squads were not being created upon selecting “Save As New Loadout” in the Edit Loadouts Menu
• Fixed an issue where weapon customizations were not saved when created in the Squad Loadout
• Fixed an issue where the Stun Lancer’s charge attack was causing players to desync

• Fixed an issue where Skulljacked units floated too high in the air
• Fixed an issue where weapons inappropriately remained in the hands of soldiers
• Fixed an issue where grenades were causing environmental damage on their way to the target
• Fixed an issue where XCOM soldiers and Psi-Zombies were able to share the same tile
• Fixed multiple animation issues caused when carrying an unconscious unit
• Fixed an issue where a soldier remained bound by a Viper’s Bind and Crush ability after killing it
• Fixed an issue where explosions would occur early

• Removed a hitch that would occur when building visibility is disabled/enabled
• Fixed an issue causing lighting to appear dark when launching the title on specific AMD setups

• Fixed an issue where the default setting for the Anarchy’s Children slider in the options menu was inconsistent between platforms
• Fixed an issue where enemy weapons would continuously ragdoll after a unit was killed
• Fixed an issue where the Loadout screen music plays after loading a Strategy save mid-mission
• Fixed a crash that would occur when accessing the ADVENT Broadcast Network mission while mods were active on the Geoscape

• Implemented a ‘Select All Mods’ button
• Extended the character length for bios
• Adjusted some prewritten soldier bios
• Fixed an issue where users could access locked customization options
• Fixed an issue where the wrong options were sometimes appearing in the Gameplay tab in the Options menu
• Fixed an issue where tooltips would not show when viewing the Options menu

• Game state classes can now be overridden
• The ‘static’ scope keyword now works with override classes, allowing static functions to be overridden
• The X2DownloadableContentInfo class has been extended to provide many new hooks for events such as mission start/end
• The X2DownloadableContent class can now route ‘exec’ functions (console commands) allowing mods to implement their own cheats

[img=https://downloads.2kgames.com/vnbh3gjdfkeit4utey6pdmds12/civ/img/CivilizationVI_keyart_horizontal_thm.jpg][/img] We’re excited to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the Civilization franchise by announcing Sid Meier’s Civilization VI, the next entry in the award-winning turn-based strategy franchise. Be sure to follow the Steam Community group here and add the game to your Steam wishlist! http://store.steampowered.com/app/289070 Sid Meier’s Civilization VI, set to launch on PC on October 21, 2016, offers new ways to interact with your world, expand your empire across the map, advance your culture and compete against history’s greatest leaders to build a civilization that will truly stand the test of time. Your story begins later this year! Sid Meier’s Civilization VI includes:

• EXPANSIVE EMPIRES: See the marvels of your empire spread across the map like never before. Each city spans multiple tiles so you can custom build your cities to take full advantage of the local terrain.
• ACTIVE RESEARCH: Unlock boosts that speed your civilization’s progress through history. To advance more quickly, use your units to actively explore, develop your environment, and discover new cultures.
• DYNAMIC DIPLOMACY: Interactions with other civilizations change over the course of the game, from primitive first interactions where conflict is a fact of life, to late game alliances and negotiations.
• COMBINED ARMS: Expanding on the “one unit per tile” design, support units can now be embedded with other units, like anti-tank support with infantry, or a warrior with settlers. Similar units can also be combined to form powerful “Corps” units.
• ENHANCED MULTIPLAYER: In addition to traditional multiplayer modes, cooperate and compete with your friends in a wide variety of situations all designed to be easily completed in a single session.
• A CIV FOR ALL PLAYERS: Civilization VI provides veteran players new ways to build and tune their civilization for the greatest chance of success. New tutorial systems are designed to introduce new players to the underlying concepts of Civilization so they can easily get started on a path to victory.

The Archon King can grab a soldier, take flight then slam them into the ground. Learn more about this Ruler unit included in the Alien Hunters DLC launching May 12 by clicking the link below! INFO ➜ http://2kgam.es/ArchonKing Follow XCOM on social media: http://twitter.com/xcom http://facebook.com/xcom http://youtube.com/xcom

Meet the Berserker Queen, a deadly new foe you will face in XCOM 2's Alien Hunters DLC. Available May 12. INFO ➜ http://2kgam.es/BerserkerQueen Follow XCOM on social media: http://twitter.com/xcom http://facebook.com/xcom http://youtube.com/xcom

Meet the Viper King, one of the powerful new alien Rulers introduced in XCOM 2's Alien Hunters DLC, available May 12. INFO ➜ http://2kgam.es/ViperKing Follow XCOM on social media: http://twitter.com/xcom http://facebook.com/xcom http://youtube.com/xcom

Alien Hunters, the second DLC pack coming to XCOM 2, adds exciting new gameplay content to your campaign. Available on May 12 for $9.99 or as part of the Reinforcement Pack, Alien Hunters features a narrative-driven mission, new weapons and armor, a new “Hunter’s Lodge” update to the Avenger’s Armory, plus three new “Ruler” alien units to combat. INFO ➜ http://2kgam.es/1T9CMjh Follow XCOM on social media: http://twitter.com/xcom http://facebook.com/xcom http://youtube.com/xcom

The first mod in this new collection from LWS, the "Toolbox" mod, is available now. Additionally, Long War Studios is working on four more mods that will be available to download on Steam Workshop for free over the coming months. The second mod will be the "Perk Pack" mod, with new soldier classes and dozens of new soldier abilities for players to create additional classes of their own. The “Laser Pack” mod is the third mod and will be a new weapon tier coming out the same day as the “Perk Pack”. The fourth mod that will be coming to XCOM 2 is the “Alien Pack” mod and will add 10 new alien enemies. The fifth and last mod from the Long War Studios team is still in the works and we’ll be sharing more details soon. Read ➜ http://2kgam.es/1MTrcfE Follow XCOM on social media: http://twitter.com/xcom http://facebook.com/xcom http://youtube.com/xcom

When playing XCOM 2, you may have noticed the loading screen art changes based on your progress throughout the campaign. In this Community Q&A, Greg Foertsch, Art Director on XCOM 2, tells us how the idea came about and what inspired the look of these loading screen images. Read ➜ http://2kgam.es/1TfDoq7 http://store.steampowered.com/app/268500 Follow XCOM on social media: http://twitter.com/xcom http://facebook.com/xcom http://youtube.com/xcom

When playing XCOM 2, you’re sure to stumble upon a Point of Interest or two within the Geoscape. Each of these Points of Interest include an evocative illustration, and this new xcom.com blog series aims to highlight some of our favorites while offering greater context on what each individual piece is meant to convey. In our first post, Art Director Greg Foertsch shares his thoughts on a few pieces centered around the world of XCOM 2. Read the full piece here ➜ http://2kgam.es/1MqgVY7 http://twitter.com/xcom http://facebook.com/xcom http://youtube.com/xcom