Throwback XCOM successor Xenonauts 2 leaves early access in April, though the developer says the milestone ‘doesn’t mean our work is done’

XCOM 3 may still be nothing more than a glint in Firaxis’ compound eye, but Steam’s digital walk-in freezer is bursting with alternative tactical lifeforms to dissect. These range from Julian Gollop’s own attempt to modernise XCOM in Phoenix Point, to The Long War creators’ absurdly complex Terra Invicta, which blows out X-COM’s alien invasion concept to grand strategy scale.

Then there’s the Xenonauts series, arguably the truest attempt by a modern dev to replicate the look and feel of Gollop’s X-COM: UFO Defense. The original Xenonauts was released back in 2014, celebrated for its rigorous adaptation of Gollop’s fundamentals. Since then, developer Goldhawk Interactive has been beavering away on a sequel, which launched into Steam early access in July 2023.

Now, Goldhawk has almost finished expanding its base and writing up its research notes as it prepares for the final assault on the alien mothership. Xenonauts 2 will officially leave early access next month.

The Steam post announcing the 1.0 doesn’t reveal what, if anything, the launch version will bring. Instead, it focuses on what Goldhawk has added to the game during its three years of early access. Which, to be fair, is a lot. Across seven major updates, Goldhawk has introduced four new aliens, five UFO types, whole new geoscape systems, additional storylines and mission types (including several missions set an alien space station) “many” new maps that push the total number of battlefields above 180, and the actual ending to the game.

And whatever 1.0 brings, Goldhawk says Xenonauts 2’s development will not stop there. “Although reaching 1.0 is a major milestone, it doesn’t mean our work is done—we’re planning to continue patching and improving the game after launch”. Again, Goldhawk doesn’t provide many specifics here, though one thing definitely coming post-release is modding tools.

I checked PC Gamer’s archive to see if we’d written anything about Xenonauts 2, and it turns out some idiot called Rick Lane intercepted it on its early access debut. The fact I have no memory of playing it should be considered a slight on my ageing brain rather than Goldhawk’s sequel. That said, it seems I thought the alpha version lacked a bit of spice. “Xenonauts’ classically minded tactics are as rewarding as they are ruthless,” I apparently wrote. “But I wouldn’t have said no to something more daring, that tried a little harder to put a new spin on an old adversary.”

Hopefully, all the gubbins Goldhawk has added in the interim will give it the extra flavour it lacked initially. Either way, there isn’t long before we find out. Xenonauts 2 leaves early access on April 2.