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Xenonauts 2
Wage a global war of resistance against an alien invasion. Command turn-based tactical battles, build a network of covert bases, directly control your fighter wings, and achieve strategic victory in a simulation of asymmetric warfare against a technologically superior foe.
In short, Steam reviewers most often praise “Classic tactical systems” (82 of 103 reviews) and “Meaningful technology and upgrades” (14); the most common complaint is “Limited innovation and depth” (29). What reviewers agree on ↓
What players say
Steam review score and the most-helpful voices, which may include critical ones. Score via Steam as of 2026-09-27 · quoted reviews as of 2026-05-13.
What reviewers agree on
82 of the 103 reviews raise this.
“Completed release version on Commander difficulty. As a UFO: Enemy Unknown veteran, had a lot of fun with this one. Got what I paid and hoped for. Will be back for more after DLCs released, worth it's price if you are…”
“+ good old classic with a few improvements + shooting down UFOs is a fun minigame + tactical system is robust and fun - little invention - graphically simple - little mission variety Xenonauts 2 brings the same proven…”
“Fun at first, but it gets old quickly. The gameplay feels shallow, and removing vehicle customization makes it worse. Ground missions are repetitive, with little to do in between besides basic air combat minigames.”
14 of the 103 reviews raise this.
“Xenonauts 2 is more in the 'evolution' rather than 'revolution' genre of sequels. The game is similar to the original in structure, with some narrative changes that don't alter the main gameplay loop much. But, nearly…”
“Enemy Unknow: Remake (Pt. 2) - is a reductive statement of what this game represents (it's presented the same, but tactically everything is actually 3D modelled, etc.) but accurate to the goal, I believe. I waited until…”
“Love it. Nice blend of old Xcom style gameplay with new ideas, improved Geoscape mechanics and air combat. Plus you can really adjust the difficulty settings so game suits your preferences and pace. Difficulty is quite…”
14 of the 103 reviews raise this.
“Played Xenonauts 1 a lot, there is nothing groundbreakingly new here and the mechanics can take some getting used to if you've never played the old X-com games. You should expect frustrating deaths, but unlike the first…”
“A very _very_ good original-xcom-like, which if you're only familiar with the firaxis versions you're in for a very different game. Brutally unrelenting, yet equally satisfying. Also, a suprising amount of variety in…”
“So let's get the good things out of the way first: the music is basically the MVP of the entire game, excellently setting the mood and building a tension the gameplay frankly doesn't deserve. The fact that the OST isn't…”
14 of the 103 reviews raise this.
“A very _very_ good original-xcom-like, which if you're only familiar with the firaxis versions you're in for a very different game. Brutally unrelenting, yet equally satisfying. Also, a suprising amount of variety in…”
“Love it. Nice blend of old Xcom style gameplay with new ideas, improved Geoscape mechanics and air combat. Plus you can really adjust the difficulty settings so game suits your preferences and pace. Difficulty is quite…”
“Not sure why the review score isn’t higher. This is a great turn-based strategy game, like the old-school X-COM from the ’90s. Everything feels familiar, and the difficulty level is just right. Also, surprisingly, the…”
13 of the 103 reviews raise this.
“Just completed my first campaign on normal difficulty. If I had to describe it in a word... uninspired. I don't understand how it took so long to make when It's basically a graphical upgrade over the original and that's…”
“Xenonauts 2 feels less like a sequel and more like a paid remaster of Xenonauts 1. Most of what it adds is QoL. That is fine, but after such a long wait, I expected far more than “basically the same game, but a bit more…”
“Xenonauts 2 is more in the 'evolution' rather than 'revolution' genre of sequels. The game is similar to the original in structure, with some narrative changes that don't alter the main gameplay loop much. But, nearly…”
29 of the 103 reviews raise this · 8 of them still recommend the game.
“The game pretends to be hardcore. It's not. Each aspect of the game is trying to be as random as possible and player has no reliable options to mitigate it. Weapon damage spread is not familiar 10-20 percent, it's…”
“Just completed my first campaign on normal difficulty. If I had to describe it in a word... uninspired. I don't understand how it took so long to make when It's basically a graphical upgrade over the original and that's…”
“Xenonauts 2 feels less like a sequel and more like a paid remaster of Xenonauts 1. Most of what it adds is QoL. That is fine, but after such a long wait, I expected far more than “basically the same game, but a bit more…”
15 of the 103 reviews raise this · 5 of them still recommend the game.
“Just completed my first campaign on normal difficulty. If I had to describe it in a word... uninspired. I don't understand how it took so long to make when It's basically a graphical upgrade over the original and that's…”
“Xenonauts 2 feels less like a sequel and more like a paid remaster of Xenonauts 1. Most of what it adds is QoL. That is fine, but after such a long wait, I expected far more than “basically the same game, but a bit more…”
“Sadly disappointing... When you look at this review, you can see i only played 10 hours... The game is really awesome except one thing which totally destroys the game, pacing... After 10 hours I already went thru 3…”
11 of the 103 reviews raise this · 6 of them still recommend the game.
“The game pretends to be hardcore. It's not. Each aspect of the game is trying to be as random as possible and player has no reliable options to mitigate it. Weapon damage spread is not familiar 10-20 percent, it's…”
“There are too many werid issues with how this game does Line of SIght, accuracy and combat in general to give this a thumbs up for now. It has however a great feel, interesting mechanics and potential. Issues however: -…”
“My only gripes are that the games approach to difficulty seems to mostly boil down to increasing enemy hp, armor and damage (enemy abilities don't feel impactful enought to feel a need to play around them) and that the…”
10 of the 103 reviews raise this · 4 of them still recommend the game.
“The game pretends to be hardcore. It's not. Each aspect of the game is trying to be as random as possible and player has no reliable options to mitigate it. Weapon damage spread is not familiar 10-20 percent, it's…”
“There are too many werid issues with how this game does Line of SIght, accuracy and combat in general to give this a thumbs up for now. It has however a great feel, interesting mechanics and potential. Issues however: -…”
“+ good old classic with a few improvements + shooting down UFOs is a fun minigame + tactical system is robust and fun - little invention - graphically simple - little mission variety Xenonauts 2 brings the same proven…”
7 of the 103 reviews raise this · 6 of them still recommend the game.
“+ good old classic with a few improvements + shooting down UFOs is a fun minigame + tactical system is robust and fun - little invention - graphically simple - little mission variety Xenonauts 2 brings the same proven…”
“I’ve played the original UFO/X‑COM games as well as many of their clones and other turn‑based tactics titles. This isn’t a bad game, but I wish the developers had shown more ambition and creativity instead of recreating…”
“Finished my first playthrough, now i get to ramp the difficulty up and do it again. Achievements help. Tho playthroughs aim for just one more. each time. Never played Xeno 1 - tho i have been a PC Gamer for 35 years.…”
Counted across 103 English reviews, sampled to match this game's 81.4% positive rating · as of 2026-05-13
“Xenonauts 2 is a hardcore, old-school tactical strategy game that proudly carries the DNA of the original X-COM: UFO Defense. It’s not trying to modernize the genre for everyone — instead, it doubles down on complexity, tension, and unforgiving gameplay. Set in an alternate Cold…”
— a player, Steam review · 83 hrs played“Very similar to XCOM 2: you fight back an alien invasion in turn-based tactical combat, all wrapped in a story-driven campaign. At the same time, there’s a strategic world map and base building — and unlike XCOM 2, you’ll manage multiple bases over the course of the game. -…”
— a player, Steam review · 18 hrs played“For some context, I'm a self-described "Xenonauts Fan". I've beaten Xenonauts 1 on the hardest skill multiple times. I've almost beaten X-Division, twice (essentially the "Long War" mod for Xenonauts 1). And now I've finished Xenonauts 2 on release, again on the hardest skill. I…”
— a player, Steam review · 31 hrs playedPlayer activity
Monthly average concurrent players. Live data self-collected from the Steam API · history through 2026-06 via SteamCharts.
Achievement stats
Global completion rates across all Steam players — a data view of how far people actually get. Source: Steam official stats · as of 2026-10-20.
Price tracking
US-region pricing (USD), sampled twice daily by our own tracker since 2026-07-11. Steam prices vary by region — always confirm your local price on Steam.
Regional prices at last sample, in local currency — Steam sets each region's price independently.
Cheapest → most expensive, converted to USD at ECB reference rates (2026-10-23). Relative comparison only.
Latest official news
Developer announcements via the Steam news API — links go to the original posts. More across all games on the news hub.
Full Release 7.27.13 STABLE Released!
Although we weren't planning to patch 7.27 again, we decided that fixing a loading hang that could occur if a Battleship UFO crashed in a particular biome was important enough to warrant another quick
Save 50% on Xenonauts 2
Now, you can experience the intense strategic gameplay of Xenonauts 2 for 50% off. In Xenonauts 2, you command a global defense organization tasked with intercepting alien threats and leading tactical
Full Release 7.27.12 STABLE Released!
We've released one more small update for the 7.27.x series of builds, which adds a few new translation strings and makes a small but useful improvement to the tactical UI when using upgraded laser wea
Save 50% on Xenonauts 2
Now, you can experience the intense strategic gameplay of Xenonauts 2 for 50% off during the Hooded Horse Autumn Publisher Sale . In Xenonauts 2, you command a global defense organization tasked with
Full Release 7.27.12 Released! (Experimental)
This update is only accessible by switching to our Experimental branches ( instructions on how to do so here ). These are the final two small fixes for 7.27.11, and if no further issues are reported b
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Screenshots
Official Steam store screenshots — click any shot to enlarge.
Facts & details
From the Steam store record, snapshot 2026-05-13.
| Genres | RPG, Simulation, Strategy |
| Player tags | Strategy · Simulation · Turn-Based Strategy · Wargame · War · Turn-Based Tactics · Sci-fi · 4X · Sandbox · Grand Strategy · Tactical · Military (SteamSpy community voting) |
| Features | Single-player · Steam Achievements · Steam Trading Cards · Camera Comfort · Custom Volume Controls · Adjustable Difficulty · Mouse Only Option · Playable without Timed Input |
| Languages | English * , French, German, Spanish - Spain, Japanese, Korean, Simplified Chinese, Traditional Chinese, Russian, Polish, Portuguese - Brazil * |
| Achievements | 20 |
| Official site | http://www.goldhawkinteractive.com |
Minimum system requirements (PC)
Minimum: Requires a 64-bit processor and operating system OS: Windows® 10 (64-bit) Processor: Intel® Core™ i5-4670K (quad-core) / AMD® FX-Series™ FX-8320 (quad-core) Memory: 8 GB RAM Graphics: NVIDIA® GeForce®™ GT 750 (2 GB) / AMD® Radeon™ R7 260X (2 GB) DirectX: Version 11 Storage: 8 GB available space Additional Notes: SSD required