It looks like the game formerly known as XCOM is ready to make its public debut…again. While most feared 2K Marin's shooter was not long for this world, new rumors and domain registrations suggested it was merely being rebranded. And now 2K has confirmed that is the case.
It's been a slow buildup to the second reveal, with two interesting teaser trailers released, one of which hints at a larger unveiling on April 26th. However, while the domain registrations suggested that 2K Marin was changing the title to 'The Bureau,' there still may be some XCOM lineage to be found. After all, Firaxis Games had a big hit — and major Game of the Year contender — on their hands with XCOM: Enemy Unknown.
In a blog post yesterday, 2K Games confirmed their shooter is poised for a "re-reveal," but strangely they continue to make the XCOM connection. Furthermore, the post hints that 2K Marin went back to the drawing board, so to speak, and have focused not on distancing their shooter from the XCOM brand, but instead retooling it into a "high-stakes narrative experience imbued with core XCOM concepts."
Putting two and two together it would be safe to assume the game is called XCOM: The Bureau, but that’s still highly speculative. Still, using the XCOM name without a subtitle appears to be off the table, now that the game's original incarnation has come under so much fire.
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How far this rebranding has gone, though, is unclear. 2K took down most of their promotional materials for the original XCOM shooter, which lead us to believe that some drastic changes have taken place. While the XCOM shooter wasn't exactly the XCOM games fans were hoping for, now that Enemy Unknown has filled that role maybe gamers are willing to give this game a chance — especially if it can better tie into that universe.
We'll have to wait and see if the April 26th date is real, but we know an announcement of some sort is coming. And we're very curious to see what 2K Marin has been working on.
How would you like to see 2K Marin change their XCOM shooter? Do you think the game need a major overhaul, or just some fine-tuning?
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