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Aliens: Fireteam Elite launches on Steam in August

Cold Iron Studios sets out to correct the mistakes of Colonial Marines

June 23, 2021 Aliens: Fireteam Elite will launch on Steam August 24.

Aliens games have swung wildly from one side of the quality pendulum to the other – Aliens: Colonial Marines is remembered as one of the last decade’s biggest gaming disasters, while Alien: Isolation was a pitch-perfect invocation of the first film’s tense mood and deliberate pacing. Today we have a new prospect before us in the form of Aliens: Fireteam, a co-op survival shooter that looks like it aims to correct the mistakes of Colonial Marines.

Developer Cold Iron Studios describes Aliens: Fireteam as a “cooperative third-person shooter set within the Alien universe.” Judging from the images the studio has revealed, this is definitely an Aliens game, with hordes of bloodthirsty xenomorphs pitted against your team of heavily armed colonial marines. The aliens swarm in droves over walls, ceilings, and floors, and the marines respond with flamethrowers, pulse rifles, and any other weapons they can lay hands on.

It all looks very true to the source material, and Cold Iron says it’s set 23 years after the events of the original film trilogy. As a colonial marine, you’ll set out to answer a distress call from one of Weyland-Yutani’s far-flung colonies, and your job will presumably be to go on the ‘bug hunts’ that Private Hudson refers to in the movie.

Have a look at the trailer:

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Not bad, right? ‘Aliens meets Left 4 Dead’ is an idea we can certainly get behind, but the visuals – particularly the aliens clambering through that glass umbilical tube in the trailer – remind us that we’ve been burned before.

However, a co-op game for up to three players that offers five character classes to use in four different campaigns sounds mighty tempting, and Cold Iron says you can expect “stunning visuals, realistic environments, powerful weapons” and more from Aliens: Fireteam. You’ll also be able to use ‘challenge cards’ as mutators for each mission, so the developer has replayability in mind.

Whatever else it holds for us, we won’t have to wait long to find out: Aliens: Fireteam will be coming out on Steam August 24, Cold Iron has announced. There are two editions now available for pre-order: a base edition that includes four campaigns, and a deluxe edition that includes an Endeavor Pass and Endeavor Veteran Pack, both of which contain additional cosmetic items for your colonial marine.