The Story Timeline Order of XCOM Games
The XCOM games, also referred to as X-COM, are known for their tactical, difficult and unforgiving gameplay. Over the years, the XCOM franchise has become a fan-favorite for strategy game fans. Indeed, the turn-based gameplay typically found in XCOM games, along with the sci-fi setting and atmosphere, build a unique gameplay experience that keeps bringing player back to the XCOM games. What some strategy fans may not know is that XCOM is one of the oldest strategy video game franchises.
The first game in the XCOM series was released in 1994, and is called X-COM: UFO Defense, also known as UFO: Enemy Unknown. This game already featured some of the hallmarks the series would be known for: sci-fi atmosphere, tactical turn-based combat, base management and an unforgiving difficulty. These gameplay characteristics would remain to be seen in most of the other X-COM video games that were released thereafter.
It is important to mention that, in the case of the XCOM series of video games, there are two games with the same name, or a very similar name: XCOM: UFO Defense, also called X-COM: Enemy Unkown, and XCOM: Enemy Unknown. The first X-COM: Enemy Unknown video game is from 1994, and it was the first XCOM game ever to be released. The second game with a similar name, XCOM: Enemy Unkown, is a reboot of the series and was released in 2012. To avoid confusion, in this article, to specify which game I'm talking about, I'm always going to refer to the year in which the game was released, in the cases where I'm referring to either of the X-COM: Enemy Unkown or XCOM: Enemy Unkown games.
Considering that the XCOM games series was rebooted, it makes sense to differentiate the games in two different chronological story order or continuities. This is because these games are set in their own continuity, with a unique storyline, featuring their own events and dates. For example, in the two different XCOM continuities, the planet Earth is invaded for the first time in different years. This is only one example of why it is reasonable to separate the games in different chronological story orders, according to the story events of these games. In this article, both continuities will be presented.
It is also worth mentioning that not all XCOM video games are strictly strategy games. While most of the games in the series are indeed strategy games, there are other titles in the franchise that feature a quite different gameplay. For example, X-COM: Enforcer and The Bureau: XCOM Declassified are third-person shooters, and X-COM: Interceptor is a game in which players control an X-COM attack ship in first-person combat gameplay.
What Are XCOM Games Like?
XCOM games are typically turn-based strategy games, also called tactical strategy games, that involve turn-based tactical combat, base management, resource management and various kinds of pressures during gameplay. XCOM games are known for being unforgiving and difficult. Most XCOM fans appreciate the difficulty and recognize it turns the gameplay into a welcome challenge, unlike easier strategy games that could be played in a more casual style. For this reason, some people consider XCOM games to be ideal for hardcore strategy fans. However, XCOM games, specially more recent titles, usually feature different difficulty options, including easier settings for beginners or for players who do not desire an unforgiving challenge.
XCOM video games typically take place in a near-future planet Earth, which in most games is being invaded, or has been invaded by extraterrestrial forces, or aliens, which in many cases have an unknown agenda. The XCOM games task the player to fighting this new, unknown menace through the available resources, while also dealing with political pressure from governments and factions, accomplishing specific missions and trying to reverse-engineer technology to be used against the aliens of the games. While the combat of the games is generally turn-based, the base management often resembles a Civilization-like city building system, in which each improvement and new building is completed after a turn (in XCOM, these turns are often the number of hours or of days that have passed).
Considering that XCOM games usually take place in the near-future, game environments and elements are often either present-day or sci-fi, featuring firearms, aircraft, spaceships, grenades, modern medicine and other elements that could be expected in a near-future fictional environment. Considering that, in the XCOM games, humans come into contact with alien forces, there is also the presence of alien technology in the games, which adds to the sci-fi elements of the series. Some XCOM games do not take place in present-day, but rather, take place in a hypothethical future, many decades from now, such as X-COM: Apocalypse.
One interesting remark about XCOM games is that, unlike other strategy games, which often focus in one part of the gameplay, XCOM often features multiple parts that interconnect during the gameplay. In other words, while the gameplay during the battles is quite different from the gameplay during the base management, both of these parts of the game are equally important and complement each other, and generally it is not possible to win in an XCOM game if any important part is ignored. In other words, in an XCOM game, it is required of the player to be strategic during the turn-based combat, and it is required of the player to also be strategic during the base development, research and military management (such as recruitment, supplies, training and so on). Due to these many elements, in XCOM games, players do not only feel as a field commander while fighting aliens, but also as a overall task force overseer, or commander, that must oversee all of the XCOM task force operations to defeat the aliens. It is interesting to note that this immersion of role is achieved in XCOM through gameplay, whereas many games try to achieve immersion through storytelling, dialogues or sound effects. It is remarkable that XCOM games have been able to add immersion to the gameplay by featuring an interconnected network of different gameplay systems that complement each other in their common goal throughout the game. However, due to this wealth of different systems that eventually have to be mastered in the gameplay, learning how to play XCOM can be difficult for beginners, and perhaps it could appropriately be said that there is a learning curve to the XCOM games. Personally, I think that learning how to play XCOM games can be like learning how to play chess. At first, it may seem dauting, but after you learn the rules, you will enjoy the satisfaction of creating different strategies and using them in a fair game, and this is how both chess and XCOM games feel like.
Why Are XCOM Games Unforgiving and Difficult?
While there may be many reasons for XCOM video games to be often called unforgiving and difficult, I believe that the most frequent reasons are the permanent death of game characters, as well as how the enemy forces in the games can quickly progress and build up their strength in each attack, in which cases if the player has not progressed similarly enough and has not not prepared, the battles can be quite challenging. In XCOM games, there are often difficulty spikes throughout the game as the enemy forces become stronger, and if the player is not cautious and does not prepare their own technology and military forces accordingly, the game can become increasingly difficult. For these reasons, XCOM games may often be called difficult and unforgiving. However, XCOM games can also be quite rewarding after learning how to play the games, adapting to different strategies and environments, and defeating the game's artificial intelligence in different difficulty settings. Indeed, XCOM games are a great choice for strategy games fans and for players looking for a challenge.
Is There a Story Order in Which to Play the XCOM Video Games?
While it is possible to play the XCOM games in any order to enjoy the gameplay, for the players that want to learn more about the story of the games and understand the order in which different events happen in the series, it is suggested to play the XCOM games in story order. This story order is presented in this article, in a chronologically reasonable order, which I call the chronological story order. Playing in this order is useful for better understanding how things happened in the XCOM universe and how the different games are connected, story-wise.
Original Chronological Story Order of X-COM Video Games
This is the chronological story order of the original X-COM video games. These are the first X-COM video games, often called the original X-COM games. These games follow their own continuity, in which the planet Earth is invaded for the first time in 1998. This is the suggested order in which to play these games to be able to immerse more in the X-COM universe and better understand the story development throughout this continuity of events in the original X-COM games.
X-COM: UFO Defense | X-COM: Enemy Unknown (1994)
X-COM: Enforcer
X-COM: Terror from the Deep
X-COM: Interceptor
X-COM: Apocalypse
Chronological Story Order of XCOM Video Games
This is the new continuity that started with XCOM: Enemy Unknown (2012), in which the XCOM series was rebooted. This is the chronological story order of this new continuity, and the suggested order in which to play the games of this continuity in order to better understand the story development and the different events that happen in the XCOM games.
The Bureau: XCOM Declassified
XCOM: Enemy Unknown (2012)
XCOM 2
XCOM: Chimera Squad
In What Year Does XCOM Take Place?
For the XCOM and strategy game fans that would like to know the exact years in which each X-COM and XCOM video game takes place, I've written two XCOM timelines in years, in which I specify the year of each XCOM game. These timelines is very useful for players who want to have a better notion of the time period of each XCOM game. The reason why I've written two timelines is because the XCOM games feature two different continuities, or two different timelines, in which the story events happen in different time periods. Thus, it is reasonable to separate the XCOM games in two different timelines.
It is important to understand that the years in this timeline represent the years in the XCOM universe. In other words, these years should not be confused with the years in which the games were released. Thus, it is reasonable to call these years as "XCOM years", "XCOM games years", "XCOM timeline years", "years in the XCOM universe" and so on. While the years in which some of the games take place may be close to the years in which the games were released, for example in the case of X-COM: UFO Defense, which takes place in 1998 and was released in 1994, it is important to remember the difference between the release year and the year in which the game takes place. In some cases, these years can be very different, as in the case of X-COM Apocalypse, which was released in 1997 but takes place in 2084.
X-COM Games Original Story Timeline Order
1998 X-COM: UFO Defense | X-COM: Enemy Unknown (1994)
1999 X-COM: Enforcer
2040 X-COM: Terror frmo the Deep
2067 X-COM: Interceptor
2084 X-COM: Apocalypse
XCOM Video Games Story Timeline Order
1962 The Bureau: XCOM Declassified
2015 XCOM: Enemy Unkown (2012)
2035 XCOM 2
204? XCOM: Chimera Squad
It is important to understand that XCOM: Enemy Unknown is a game released in 2012, and the story events of XCOM: Enemy Unknown take place in the year 2015. The reason why the 2012 was included in the name of the game in this article is to differentiate this game from X-COM: Enemy Unknown (1994), a different game that belongs to a different timeline, even though both games belong to the X-COM franchise of video games.
XCOM: Chimera Squad takes time some years after the events of XCOM 2. To be precise, XCOM: Chimera Squad happens five years after XCOM 2. XCOM 2 starts in the years 2035, but the year in which the game ends depends on the gameplay of the player. Considering that XCOM 2 starts in 2035, if the player ends the game by 2036, then XCOM: Chimera Squad would start in 2041. However, if the player finishes the XCOM 2 in less than one year, in 2035, then Chimera Squad would start in 2040. For this reason, I haven't included the exact year of Chimera Squad. Instead, it is certain that it is set in the 2040s decade. For this reason, I have written that decade, and not an exact year.
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