Firaxis’ 30th anniversary celebrations include not only a new XCOM project, but a huge sale on its back catalogue.
While the likes of Xenonauts 2 and the upcoming Star Wars: Zero Company are still interesting games, we yearn deeply for Firaxis Games to return to the series proper with an XCOM 3.
It’s been more than a decade since XCOM 2 launched, which we gave a rare 10/10 mark to, and while there was PC-only spin-off XCOM: Chimera Squad in 2020 it wasn’t a full sequel.
Since it’s Firaxis’ 30th anniversary on Friday, May 1 now would be the best time to announce a new XCOM game and while that has indeed happened, it’s not a PC or console title… although at least it’s not just a crummy mobile game either.
Instead, Firaxis is partnering with publisher Modiphius to release an XCOM themed board game, based on 2012’s XCOM: Enemy Unknown and titled XCOM: The Miniatures Game.
No other details have been shared, but Modiphius does have experience with adapting video games into tabletop games, with previous efforts such as Fallout and Mass Effect.
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Presumably, this will have more of an emphasis on minifigures than the last XCOM board game… XCOM: The Board Game. That was handled by Fantasy Flight Games and released in 2015, though it’s since fallen out of print and is now only available second-hand.
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If Firaxis has any new video game announcements planned, it’s not so much as hinted at them today. Although it is promising news on its next update for Civilization 7.
That game only launched last year, so it is perhaps too soon for Firaxis to move onto its next project. It has been releasing new games at a regular cadence, though, so it’ll hopefully have something to announce in a year or so.
Starting from April 30, Firaxis will also be running a sale, featuring ‘huge savings on some of the best Firaxis titles from over the years’, although only on Steam.
Even so, that should include not only some of the older XCOM and Civilization games, but also the extremely underrated Marvel’s Midnight Suns, an XCOM influenced strategy game that sadly flopped and caused many of the developer’s top talent to leave.
‘Firaxis has always been more than just a studio, it’s a community of passionate gamers. Whether you’ve been with us since the last century, or just started your first campaign this year, we are incredibly grateful for your time and your passion,’ reads a celebratory blog post on Firaxis’ website.
‘This milestone isn’t just ours, it belongs to all of you. Here’s to 30 years of strategy, and to many, many more turns together.’
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