XCOM

X-COM/XCOM
Genre(s)	Strategy game (all games except Enforcer) Real-time strategy (UFO:EU, TftD, Apocalypse, Genesis, XCOM:EU) Turn-based tactics (UFO:EU, TftD, Apocalypse, Email Games, XCOM:EU) Real-time tactics (UFO:EU, TftD, Apocalypse, Genesis) Space flight simulator (Interceptor) Third-person shooter (Enforcer) First-person shooter (Alliance, XCOM) Tactical shooter (Alliance, XCOM) Action role-playing (Alliance, XCOM:EU) Action-adventure (Alliance, XCOM)
Developer(s)	Mythos Games (1991-1997) MicroProse (1992-1999) Hasbro Interactive (1999-2001) Infogrames (2001-2002) Irrational Games/2K Marin (2007-present) Firaxis Games (2008-present)
Publisher(s)	MicroProse (1994-1998) Hasbro Interactive (1998-2001) Infogrames/Atari (2001-2005) 2K Games (2005-present)
Creator(s)	Julian Gollop
First release	UFO: Enemy Unknown December 31, 1993
Latest release	X-COM: Enforcer April 18, 2001

X-COM (or X-Com/XCom) is a science fiction video game franchise that began with a classic strategy game UFO: Enemy Unknown by Mythos Games and MicroProse in 1993 and ultimately spanned six finished and two cancelled games, as well as two novels, until 2002. An X-COM reboot series, entitled XCOM, was announced by 2K Games in 2010. It also directly inspired several other video games.

X-COM games

Main articles: UFO: Enemy Unknown, X-COM: Terror from the Deep, X-COM: Apocalypse, and X-COM: Interceptor

See also: X-COM (Email games), X-COM: Enforcer, X-COM: Genesis, and X-COM: Alliance

Titles in the X-COM series

Title	Release	Platforms	Developer	Publisher
UFO: Enemy Unknown X-COM: UFO Defense (USA/Japan) X-Com: Enemy Unknown (PS)	1994	Amiga, Amiga CD32, DOS, PS, Windows	Mythos Games MicroProse	MicroProse
X-COM: Terror from the Deep	1995	Windows, DOS, 3DO, PS	MicroProse	MicroProse
X-COM: Apocalypse	1997	DOS, Windows	Mythos Games MicroProse	MicroProse
X-COM: Interceptor	1998	Windows	MicroProse	Atari
X-COM: First Alien Invasion	1999	Windows	Hasbro	Hasbro
X-COM: Enforcer	2001	Windows	Hasbro	Infogrames

The X-COM core series consisted of four main games published by MicroProse: UFO: Enemy Unknown (also known as X-COM: UFO Defense and originally released in 1993-1994 for the PC, with later ports for the Amiga and Sony PlayStation), X-COM: Terror from the Deep (PC in 1995 and the PlayStation in 1996), X-COM: Apocalypse (PC, 1997) and X-COM: Interceptor (PC, 1998).

Aggregate review scores
As of November 17, 2011.

Game	GameRankings	Metacritic
UFO: Enemy Unknown (X-COM: UFO Defense)	(PC) 93.60% (PS) 92.90%	-
X-COM: Terror from the Deep	(PS) 100.00% (PC) 86.00%	-
X-COM: Apocalypse	(PC) 87.00%	-
X-COM: Interceptor	(PC) 70.12%	-

The premise of the franchise is that a mysterious alien invasion has began in 1999 (a near future at the time of the first game's release). In response, a coalition of funding nations create an elite clandestine paramilitary organization codenamed X-COM (an abbreviation of "Extraterrestrial Combat Unit") as mankind's last hope. The player is charged with leading this secret force, tasked with a mission to engage and research the alien threat. At the end of the successful game, the X-COM manages to capture and reverse engineer enough of the invaders' technology to decisively turn it against them. The sequels took the fight against new alien invasions underwater (Terror from the Deep, set in 2040), into a futuristic megacity (Apocalypse, set in 2074), and eventually into space (Interceptor, set in 2067, which actually makes it a prequel to Apocalypse).

Enemy Unknown, featuring a turn-based ground combat system, remains by far the most popular and successful game in the series and has been often featured on the various lists of best video games of all time. The first sequel, Terror from the Deep, was quickly created by MicroProse's internal team and based on the same game engine and used largely identical gameplay mechanics. Apocalypse took several new directions with the series, introducing an optional real-time combat system and shifting the aesthetics to a retro-futuristic style. However, despite being developed by Julian Gollop's British studio Mythos Games, the original creators of Enemy Unknown, it failed to repeat its smash success. The last released X-COM main game, Interceptor, constitutes a hybrid of a strategy game and a space combat flight simulator.

After Interceptor, Hasbro Interactive purchased MicroProse, acquiring its studios and the X-COM brand. A budget range, turn-based tactical play-by-mail multiplayer game Em@il Games: X-COM was released in 1999. In 2001, Hasbro published X-COM: Enforcer, a poorly-received third-person shooter loosely based on the events of Enemy Unknown, marking a low point in the series.

Two more major titles were planned for this series: X-COM: Genesis (a real-time strategy and tactics game) and X-COM: Alliance (a tactical, first-person shooter with an action role-playing game elements). However, both of these projects were cancelled after ex-MicroProse Hasbro Interactive studios were all shut down in 1999-2000 (althrough Alliance has been later abortively reactivated in 2001-2002).

The X-COM games were also released as part of four compilation releases: X-COM (Collector's Edition) (1998), X-COM Collection (1999), X-COM: Complete Pack (2008), as well as in 2K Huge Games Pack in 2009.

XCOM games

Main articles: XCOM and XCOM: Enemy Unknown

In April 2010, 2K Marin announced to be working on re-imagining of X-COM, relabeled as XCOM, to be released for the PC, PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. It is described as a tactical and strategic first-person shooter supposed to combine elements from the original X-COM alongside a new setting and viewpoint while keeping some main concepts from the original game series. The setting is getting a complete overhaul and now based in the early 1960s, with the XCOM being a U.S. federal agency.

In January 2012, Firaxis Games (led by ex-MicroProse Sid Meier) revealed to be developing a PC, PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 strategy game XCOM: Enemy Unknown, a "re-imagination" of UFO: Enemy Unknown that is going to feature real-time strategic view, turn-based combat and destructible tactical environments more in vein of the original X-COM game. It is also set in a more contemporary setting than the XCOM game by 2K Marin.

Novels

There are two X-COM novels based UFO: Enemy Unknown: Diane Duane's X-COM: UFO Defense - A Novel (1995) and Vladimir Vasilyev's Enemy Unknown (1997).

Intellectual property rights

The trademark for the X-COM name was filed on May 25, 1995, by MicroProse Software. Following the acquisition and subsequent merger of MicroProse with Hasbro, the X-COM intellectual property ("IP") was also transferred to Hasbro Interactive on August 19, 1998.

Due to financial difficulties, Hasbro Interactive was sold to the French concern Infogrames Entertainment, SA on January 29, 2001. As part of this transfer, the X-COM IP was legally transferred to Infogrames on December 21, 2001 (shortly thereafter, Infogrames was renamed Atari, SA). In 2005, Atari, SA transferred several IPs to Take-Two Interactive Software, Inc. and X-COM was transferred with them on June 12, 2005.

The X-COM IP is currently owned by Take-Two and its subsidiaries; in 2007 there were unconfirmed rumors that Irrational Games (who are owned by Take-Two) were developing a new X-COM title. In May 2007, 2K Games (a subsidiary of Take-Two) inherited the X-COM franchise and re-released Terror from the Deep on Steam. In September 2008, Enemy Unknown, Apocalypse, Interceptor, and Enforcer were also re-released as downloadable content. 2K Games subsidiaries 2K Marin and Firaxis Games are currently developing two different XCOM games.

Spiritual successors

Because of the series' popularity, various developers have created spiritual successor games similar in theme and tone of the X-COM games (sometimes called "X-COM clones"). The level to which they borrow from the original series varies.

Commercial

• Incubation: Time Is Running Out is a turn-based combat PC game that was considered to be "what X-Com Apocalypse should have been". It was developed and released by the German company Blue Byte Software in 1997.

• Abomination: The Nemesis Project is a 1999 real-time tactics / action game for the PC that has been touted as "X-COM meets Day of the Dead in real-time."

• The Dreamland Chronicles: Freedom Ridge was a strategy game for the PC and PlayStation 2 by Julian Gollop's Mythos Games (the authors of Enemy Unknown and Apocalypse), claimed to having been "essentially a remake of the first X-Com with 3D graphics". The Dreamland Chronicles was canceled in 2001 and Mythos Games soon ceased to exist.

• Laser Squad Nemesis is a 2002 turn-based low-budget PC turn-based tactics game developed by Gollop's new company, Codo Technologies, very similar to the Battlescape ground combat system of the first X-COM game.
  • In 2005, Codo Technologies and publisher Namco also released the Game Boy Advance turn-based tactics game Rebelstar: Tactical Command, which was as well reminiscent of the early Battlescape system.

• UFO: Aftermath is a 2003 single-player PC strategy and real-time tactics game which was heavily influenced by the X-COM series and used elements of the Mythos Games' canceled The Dreamland Chronicles. It was created by the Czech company ALTAR Interactive and published by Tri Synergy.
  • Aftermath was followed by two sequels: UFO: Aftershock in 2005 and UFO: Afterlight in 2007.

• UFO: Extraterrestrials, a PC strategy / turn-based tactics game that is an unofficial sequel to the X-COM games, developed by the Czech developer Chaos Concept and released by Tri Synergy in 2007.
  • The follow-up game, UFO2Extraterrestrials: Shadows over Earth is planned to be released in early 2012.

• UFO Online – Fight for Earth is an upcoming-browser based massively multiplayer tactical game by the German developer FUNATICS Software and licensed by gamigo AG (as of February 2012 in the closed Beta phase). Gollop called it "actually more a clone of Incubation." It is free-to-play, but will use a micropayment system to generate revenue.

• Xenonauts is an upcoming (late 2012) PC strategy game in development by the British independent studio Goldhawk Interactive, again heavily influenced by the X-COM series. It is being marketed as a Cold War-era (1979 instead of 1999) re-imagining of the original UFO: Enemy Unknown and an answer to 2K's XCOM which has alienated much of the X-COM fanbase due to its FPS-based gameplay.

Other

• UFO: Alien Invasion is a free-to-play, open source cross-platform strategy / turn-based tactics game heavily influenced by the X-COM series.
  • A similar open source game still in pre-release phase is X-Force: Fight for Destiny. Still another, Project Xenocide, was aborted in 2010.

• Xenowar is a free-to-play, open source, simple tactical game for the Android and Windows operating systems.

• UFO Online (unrelated to UFO Online – Fight for Earth) is a Russia-only tactical MMORPG.

• Fan-remake projects for UFO: Enemy Unknown include UFO: The Two Sides (discontinued in 2011) and UFO: Cydonias Fall (ongoing).
  • OpenXcom is an open-source reimplementation of that game to fix all the bugs and enable modding.

See also

• Laser Squad: a science fiction tactical game by the original creators of X-COM and an immediate predecessor of X-COM (UFO: Enemy Unknown began development as Laser Squad 2 at first).
• Rebelstar series: precursor games to both Laser Squad and the X-COM series, also created by the same developers.

External links

• Official website
• XCOM at MobyGames
• Template:Tvtropes
• UFOPaedia: an extensive wiki containing information, analysis, strategy, and other resources for the X-COM series of games.
• X-Com: the oldest X-COM website still on the web (has been dormant for years, but still hosts unique content for the original three games).
• XCOM: UFO Defense: another X-COM fan site with numerous resources and patches for the Windows versions of the X-COM games.
• StrategyCore.co.uk (formerly X-COM.co.uk): news, fan-fiction, files and forums.
• X-COM Trilogy UFOpedia: the original in-game encyclopedias of the first three X-COM games.