Firaxis Has ‘Lots of Optimism’ for XCOM’s Future

Speaking to Spong Firaxis' David McDonagh has revealed that sales of last year's strategy title XCOM: Enemy Unknown have matched the studio's internal expectations and could represent "a potential basis for a francise". 

Asked if the developer considered the game a success McDonagh commented "I'd say yes, the studio is immensely proud of the work they did on XCOM, and how we were able to stay true to the original but at the same time modernise it for a new generation.

"I think that the game has been a success, both critically and commerically. And as you can see in our DLC plans for the game, how we're continuing to support it post-launch. We have a lot of optimism for the future of the XCOM game as a potential basis for a franchise. But I can't specifically speak to whether there are plans for a sequel." 

XCOM: Enemy Unknown met critical acclaim and is one of the few RTS titles released on console to find popular success. It was feared that sales of the game however did not meet the requirments for a sequel but based on McDonagh's comments it seems that isn't the came. 

McDonagh was a producer on XCOM and is now co-lead designer on Firaxis' Haunted Hollow iOS original RTS title. Firaxis are also developing Brave New World, an expansion for Civilization V. 

2K Marin, the developer of BioShock 2, is also at work on The Bureau: XCOM Declassified, a shooter based in the XCOM universe which is set to release later this year.