Cold Iron Studios’ Aliens: Fireteam Elite comes at a weird time for the Alien franchise. Disney’s space-horror movies sputtered into irrelevance after 2011’s Prometheus and 2017’s Alien: Covenant underperformed at the box office. On the video game side of things, the franchise has had more canceled games than good ones, even if we love Alien: Isolation.
That’s why Aliens: Fireteam Elite is so fascinating. It’ll be the first mainline Aliens game since 2014’s Alien: Isolation, and it looks like a lot of fun. Fireteam Elite will be released on PC, as well as PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series S/X, on Aug. 24, 2021. If you’re planning to firebomb a Xenomorph hive on the personal computer, you must ask yourself an important question: “Can I play Alien: Fireteam Elite on my PC?”
Why the Hype for Aliens: Fireteam Elite?
The last two AAA, Aliens video games were the aforementioned Alien: Isolation and 2013’s Aliens: Colonial Marines. The former is a good game, a great game even, but didn’t sell well enough to warrant a sequel. The latter is being sued for deceptive marketing, and for being a poorly made game. With Fireteam Elite being the first major Aliens game in seven years, and serving as official canon, Aliens fans like me are cautiously optimistic.
Set 23 years after the original trilogy’s events, you play as a colonial marine on the USS Endeavor as it responds to distress calls from the outer colonies. The game takes a more action-focused approach, with its Left 4 Dead-esque gameplay. If Cold Iron Studios can deliver a fun game with a decent feedback loop and plenty of launch content, we’ll have two games on the “good Alien games” list.
Where Can I Buy Aliens: Fireteam Elite?
You can preorder Aliens: Fireteam Elite on Steam for $39.99. For $69.99, you can preorder the deluxe edition, which comes with many cosmetic goodies, as well as a weapon based on Hicks’ shotgun from the film Aliens. The deluxe edition also comes with the Endeavor Pass that includes four future DLC bundles.
Aliens: Fireteam Elite’s Minimum System Requirements
- OS: Windows 10
- CPU: AMD Phenom II X4 950 / Intel Core i5-2500K
- Memory: 8GB RAM
- GPU: AMD Radeon R9 285 (4GB) / NVIDIA GeForce GTX 760 (4GB)
- DirectX: Version 11
- Available Storage Space: 30GB
- Target Performance: 1080p resolution / 30 frames per second (minimum graphics setting)
Aliens: Fireteam Elite Recommended System Requirements
- OS: Windows 10 (64-bit)
- CPU: AMD Ryzen 3 3200G / Intel Core i5-4460
- Memory: 8GB Ram
- GPU: AMD Radeon RX 460 / NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050
- DirectX: Version 11
- Available Storage Space: 30GB
- Target Performance: 1080p resolution / 60 frames per second (high graphics settings)
Does Aliens: Fireteam Elite Support VR?
Cold Iron Studios hasn’t announced virtual reality support, but we’ll update this page to include minimum specs should that functionality be added to the game.
How Can You Play Aliens: Fireteam Elite?
According to its Steam page, Aliens: Fireteam Elite will have full gamepad support. You can also tough it out with mouse-and-keyboard controls.
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