Aliens: Fireteam Elite 2 is coming this summer, now with more marines and a 'massive variety of new xenomorphs' to slice 'em up

I was really surprised when I read today that Aliens: Fireteam Elite 2 is in development, because the first game was such a notorious mess—until I realized I was confusing it with the much older Aliens: Colonial Marines (the concept of time has pretty much slipped from my grasp at this point), and that Aliens: Fireteam Elite was actually fine. Good, even! But good enough to warrant a sequel? I guess we've already answered that question.

Aliens: Fireteam Elite 2 looks very much like its predecessor, but brings a couple of notable changes to the table. Instead of descending into a xenomorph nightmare with an elite fire team of up to three players, for instance, the sequel will support squads of up to four: More gun, more fun, right? There's also a new "Specialist Class," which enables players to forgo the preset classes and put together a mix of major and minor abilities as they see fit.

The downside to having an extra shooter in the squad is that the xenos have been ramped up too: "[A] massive variety of new xenomorphs will force players to stay mobile, maintain situational awareness, and use every tool at their disposal." The game will also launch with "multiple dedicated horde maps," with valuable rewards for players who can survive the onslaught and horrific, shrieking death for those who cannot.

The reveal trailer looks suitably Aliens—bad lighting, red flares, chaotic action, and Vasquez—but I do have to wonder at what point the Colonial Marines will figure out that maybe they need to start sending more guys to these things. Sooner or later somebody has to think, "Hmm, another colony offline—maybe it's those Big Chomp freaks who keep kicking our ass," right? Although maybe not—I'm not really up to speed on Alien lore, so maybe there's a reason for these repeatedly limited responses.

Or maybe it's the classic parable: The general told me xenomorphs keeping eating his marines so I asked how many marines he has and he said he just goes to the recruiting center and gets new marines afterwards so I said it sounds like he's just feeding marines to xenomorphs and then Sigourney Weaver started crying.

Anyway, one other change of note: Fireteam 2 is being developed by Cold Iron Studios, the maker of the original, but it's being published by Daybreak Game Company, best known for publishing MMOs like Everquest, D&D Online, Lord of the Rings Online, and most recently the life sim MMO Palia, through its Singularity 6 division.

Aliens: Fireteam Elite 2 hasn't announced a release date yet, but it's expected to be out this summer. It's up for wishlisting now on Steam, and will also be available on the Epic Games Store.