Phoenix Point, one of the most promising upcoming XCOM-alikes to look out for, is apparently somewhat connected to one of the cancelled UFO titles. This connection is only tangental, mind, but it's curious all the same.
Phoenix Point X-COM connection was brought up when one of the fans asked if the game is a sort of a continuation of the original UFO canon. More specifically, whether the infestation from UFO: Aftermath is what's troubling the world in Phoenix Point.
Lead designer of Phoenix Point, Julian Gollop, who also worked on old-school X-COM releases (before the rebranding and the Firaxis reinvention), chimed in on the matter, saying that "UFO:Aftermath does have something to do with Phoenix Point."
Gollop said that, back in '99, he worked on an X-COM style game called 'Dreamland Chronicles: Freedom Ridge', where aliens had already overtaken Earth and were starting to colonise and terraform it. "Unfortunately, owing to the sale of our publisher, we had to abandon the game," he added, saying that what little work was done was then given to another company to make UFO: Aftermath.
As it stands, Phoenix Point apparently does take some ideas from Dreamland Chronicles, the most prominent of which is the game's free-aim system.
Among other news, Phoenix Point is going to be releasing as a timed Epic Games Store exclusive. We've collected all of the relevant info in a dedicated article, but at least the game will still be coming out on Steam - in due time.
