Aliens: Fireteam Elite

Aliens: Fireteam Elite is a cooperative third-person shooter developed by Cold Iron Studios and published by Focus Entertainment in 2021. It is set in the Alien universe approximately 23 years after the original film's events and follows the USS Endeavor. The Endeavor answers a distress signal from the Weyland-Yutani refinery Katanga, where marines discover a Xenomorph outbreak and missing personnel. The campaign moves through Katanga and onto LV-895, linking corporate experiments with older extraterrestrial ruins there. Players control Colonial Marines while synthetic crewman Bishop provides mission briefings, and survivors including Deputy Chief Herrera and Hoenikker persist. Its four campaign Operations contain three missions each, creating a twelve-mission story rather than a single short scenario for squads. The playable classes are Gunner, Demolisher, Technician, Doc, and Recon, later joined by Lancer and Phalanx specialists in later updates. Each class changes squad behavior through abilities: Gunners boost damage, Technicians deploy sentry turrets, and Docs heal allies directly. Marines select weapons, attachments, perks, and consumable challenge cards, allowing loadouts to support different approaches without replacing tactical positioning entirely. Combat uses recognizable Xenomorph forms including Warriors, Drones, Runners, Spitters, and Prowlers, alongside synthetic enemies and heavily armed androids sometimes. The game's setting distinguishes itself with Weyland-Yutani research sites, not merely abandoned spacecraft corridors copied from earlier films alone. Its LV-895 material expands the mythology by presenting ancient ruins and evidence that human corporations are investigating dangerous technology there. The Endeavor's crew includes specialists whose conversations reveal that corporate secrecy, rather than simple infestation, drives several mission decisions forward. Cold Iron Studios built the title specifically for cooperative play, supporting up to three additional players alongside the host online. Friendly fire is absent in normal play, but difficulty modifiers, enemy density, and limited resources make higher settings demanding indeed. The launch version received post-release seasons that added weapons, cosmetics, challenge cards, and class content without changing the core campaign. The Pathogen expansion, released in 2022, adds three missions, new pathogen-altered enemies, weapons, attachments, and a separate storyline on LV-895 there. Fireteam Elite also includes Horde mode, where squads defend fixed positions against escalating waves, plus Point Defense mode as well. Its progression tracks character levels, class perks, weapon experience, and challenge rewards, while difficulty settings unlock additional rewards later normally. As a licensed Alien game, its strongest identity comes from connecting franchise creatures, locations, and corporate themes to squad tactics.