XCOMdirector Jake Solomon has said that he is not currently working on a new entry in the critically-acclaimed strategy game franchise. Jake Solomon and Firaxis revitalized the dormantXCOMfranchise withXCOM: Enemy Unknownin 2012, which earned rave reviews, won numerous awards, and helped renew interest in the long-running series.
XCOM: Enemy Unknownwas followed up with a standalone expansion,XCOM: Enemy Within, andXCOM 2, which similarly earned acclaim from fans and critics alike. Solomon served as director forXCOM 2, but his latest project was something completely unrelated to the popular franchise.Solomon’s latest game wasMarvel’s Midnight Suns, a new turn-based tactics game based on Marvel comic book characters that didn’t earn quite the same level of praise as theXCOMgames, but still earned mostly positive reviews when it launched last year.
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Now thatMidnight Sunsis out, fans are naturally wondering what’s next for Solomon and his team at Firaxis. In an interview with VGC, Solomon revealed that he knows fans want to see anewXCOMgame, but that he does not have any information on such a project at this time. He said the most recent thing he worked on was Morbius' abbey outfits and that he is not currently working on a newXCOMgame. “I don’t know anything aboutXCOMat this point,” Solomon claimed.
Understandably, this news may upsetXCOMfans. If Solomon is telling the truth, it means that the nextXCOMgame is many years away from release, at minimum. And when one considers thatXCOM 2is nearly seven years old at this point, it makes sense that fans of the franchise are hungry for information on a potentialXCOM 3or new game in the series.
XCOM 2was the last main series entry in the franchise so far, though there was also 2020’sXCOM: Chimera Squad. Thereception toXCOM: Chimera Squadwas more mixed, with many franchise fans wanting something a bit more ambitious and in line with what the main series entries have on offer.XCOM: Chimera Squadstill hasn’t even seen a console port either, so its audience has been fairly limited compared to the main seriesXCOMgames.
It’s unclear if anXCOM 3will ever happen at this point, but for now, Solomon and Firaxis are busy producing new content forMidnight Suns.Midnight Sunshas plenty of DLC coming outthis coming year that will add new characters and story content to the game, so fans of Firaxis' work will have to be satisfied with that for now.
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