2K and Firaxis have announced a new game in the XCOM series- XCOM: Chimera Squad, a standalone spinoff that takes place five years after the events of XCOM 2: War of the Chosen. With the Overlords having been forced out of the planet, the game takes place in City 31, described as “a model of peace in a post-invasion world.” An interspecies alliance has been established, with humans, aliens, and hybrids living and working together. Some, however, are not happy with the alliance, and unrest continues to grow- which is where the titular Chimera Squad – made up of veteran soldiers from various species – comes in, tasked with maintaining order in the city.
XCOM: Chimera Squad is bringing about some interesting changes to the gameplay as well. Instead of naming each of your characters and units, you will now be controlling named characters, each with their own unique abilities and attributes and species-specific powers. Permadeath is also gone, and if a character dies, players will be forced to restart the mission. There’s also a new pre-battle preparation Breach Mode, which will allow players to set up their squads for different tactics and approach battles in various ways. Meanwhile, assignments, investigations, and management of an HQ are still going to be part of the gameplay loop.
XCOM: Chimera Squad is out for PC on April 24, and will be sold for a price of $20. On Steam, it’s available for half price until May 1. New trailers introducing the game’s narrative premise and some of its most major gameplay changes and mechanics have also been released- check them out below.