One of the more confusing stories we’ve covered over the past few years is the story of Cold Iron Studios: It’s the group run by former Cryptic devs (including Craig Zinkievich and Matt Highison) that was working on an Alien-franchise MMOFPS. But it’s been bought and sold repeatedly over the years as the game started to look less and less like an MMO. Last year, the 40-person studio was acquired by Daybreak Games, which itself was bought up by EG7 Global just a few months later, though EG7 didn’t actually mention the studio or game in its wide-ranging investor presser, leaving everyone to wonder whether the Alien game was still happening.
As it turns out, it very much is, as today Daybreak and Cold Iron have taken the wraps off the game. It’s called Aliens: Fireteam, and yep, it’s just a squad-centric co-op third-person shooter now, not the MMO-influenced shooter Cold Iron teased in our interview with the devs back in 2016. Expect five classes, 20 enemy types, 30+ weapons, a perks system, no irritating microtrans, a single-player option, and a setting over two decades after the Alien trilogy.
“2202. A mysterious distress call reroutes your Marine Assault Unit to LV-895 in the outer colonies, where deadly Xenomorph legions, hidden corporate secrets, and ancient alien ruins await your arrival. Set in the iconic Alien universe, Aliens: Fireteam is a cooperative third-person survival shooter that drops your fireteam of hardened marines into a desperate fight to contain the Xenomorph threat. Face off against waves of terrifying Xenomorph and Weyland-Yutani Synthetic foes alongside two players or AI teammates, as you and your fireteam desperately fight your way through four unique campaigns that introduce new storylines to the Alien universe. Create and customize your own Colonial Marine, choosing from an extensive variety of classes, weapons, gear and perks, battling overwhelming odds in this heart-pounding survival shooter experience.”
Launch is expected this summer on PC and console, including last- and current-gen PlayStation and Xbox devices. Worth noting is that Cold Iron itself is listed as both the publisher and developer on Steam.
