XCOM 2 is the sequel to XCOM: Enemy Unknown, the 2012 award-winning strategy game of the year — and it begins with the war already lost. Twenty years after world leaders offered an unconditional surrender, aliens rule Earth from shining megacities that promise a brilliant future while concealing a sinister agenda. The scattered remnants of XCOM are humanity's last hope, and this time the resistance fights from the shadows. Command From the Shadows Your new headquarters is the Avenger, a captured alien supply craft converted into XCOM's mobile base of operations. The strategy layer is open-ended: you decide where to guide your strike team, which regions of the world to contact, how to grow popular support for the resistance, and when to strike back before an enemy counter-operation becomes a catastrophe. Staying mobile is not a luxury — it is how XCOM survives. Tactical Guerrilla Combat On the ground, XCOM 2 sharpens the series' turn-based combat into an ambush doctrine. Squads begin many missions concealed, free to position carefully and choose the moment the fight starts. Spring coordinated attacks on ADVENT patrols, loot fallen enemies for precious gear and artifacts, rescue VIPs from occupied cities, and carry wounded comrades to the extraction point when a mission turns against you. Every decision carries weight, because in XCOM death is permanent. A New Breed of Enemy The occupation fields a diverse cast of enemies, from powerful new alien species to ADVENT, the enforcers of the regime. Hulking Mutons, venomous Vipers and regal Archons each pose a distinct tactical challenge, and no two engagements pressure your squad the same way. The tactic that carried yesterday's mission can write tomorrow's casualty report. Research, Develop and Upgrade Configure and build rooms on the Avenger to give XCOM new capabilities on the battlefield, shaping your headquarters around the way you want to fight this war. Put your Scientists and Engineers to work researching alien technology, turning recovered artifacts and salvage into weapons and armor that fit your preferred tactics. Train five soldier classes, each with its own skill tree, into specialists for your tactical plan — then customize their weapons, armor and appearance until the roster feels like your own. No Two Campaigns Alike Missions take you around the world, from wildlands to the heart of alien-controlled megacities to the depths of alien installations. With virtually infinite combinations of maps, missions and goals, each operation is a unique challenge — and each campaign tells a different story of the resistance. The resistance has a ship, a crew and a cause. What it needs is a commander. Take the Avenger's bridge and give the occupation a reason to look over its shoulder.
