XCOM: Chimera Squad Release Date

In a surprise announcement, publisher 2K and developer Firaxis today revealed that they’re not quite done with XCOM, announcing XCOM: Chimera Squad as a new stand-alone entry in the popular turn-based tactics series.

To help get you up to speed with all the relevant details, here’s everything we know about XCOM: Chimera Squad, including details on its release date, story, gameplay, trailers and more.

XCOM: Chimera Squad’s release date is, surprisingly, not that far off, the title being set to launch in a bit over a week.

More specifically, players being able to fight their way across City 31 as soon as Friday, April 24.

XCOM: Chimera Squad Story

As far as XCOM: Chimera Squad’s story is concerned, the title takes place five years after the events of XCOM 2. With humanity winning the war for Earth, the Overlords were driven off, leaving their soldiers behind. Instead of prolonging the conflict, humans and aliens started working together.

XCOM: Chimera Squad focuses on City 31, a place described as “a model of peace in a post-invasion world”. That being said, not everyone supports the newfound collaboration between species, this disagreement fueling the events of the title, as players do their best to avoid unrest spilling out.

XCOM: Chimera Squad Gameplay

XCOM: Chimera Squad sees players taking control of a squad of 11 agents, both human and alien. Each agent has their own skills, specializations and motivations. If you’ve always wished to be the one using the Viper’s tongue pull, now’s the time.

The right team composition can open the way towards comboing abilities which can ultimately make the difference between winning and losing missions.

Certain agents can destroy cover, others can shield friendlies or move enemy units, potentially bringing them into the Overwatch cones of friendly agents.

Tactical operations task agents with responding to different combat situations. Each tactical operation is divided into multiple encounters.

XCOM: Chimera Squad relies on the same turn-based tactical combat that has popularized the series, while also bringing its own twist in the shape of Breaching.

At the start of each encounter, players must go through a Breach phase during which they can choose their agents’ entry points and turn order.

Each breach point comes with its own advantages or disadvantages, while some are only accessible to agents with specific abilities or equipment.

The game makes use of interleaved turns that see friendly and opposing units alternating turns in a single timeline. Certain agents and enemies can change units’ places in the timeline, shaking up combat encounters.

When Agents reach 0 hit points, they start bleeding out. Other agents can stabilize them, leaving them unconscious for the remainder of the mission. Failing to stabilize an agent leads to mission failure which means you’ll have to start over.

XCOM: Chimera Squad will also feature a management layer. In between battles players spend time at HQ, prioritizing tasks like investigations which can lead to key missions or combat encounters that might not have a tangible reward but which lower unrest.

Each of City 31’s nine districts has its own level of unrest which must be managed. Maxed out unrest scores end up raising the overall city unrest level. Should the city unrest level reach its critical point, that means game over for the Chimera Squad.

The HQ also lets players promote agents, granting them new abilities, and changing their equipment. Players can purchase items from sources like the supply or scavenger market but also research and craft them.

Androids can also be built to reinforce the squad, should an agent be downed in combat. Critically wounded agents can develop scars that lower key stats.

Training repairs the squad or improves uninjured agents’ stats and abilities at the cost of keeping them off the field for a while.