With the launch of The Bureau: XCOM Declassified now a quickly-fading memory, 2K has turned its attention back to the main XCOM strategy game franchise. The publisher and developer Firaxis recently revealed the first full expansion for XCOM: Enemy Unknown, titled XCOM: Enemy Within.
Enemy Within will feature all-new weapons, enemies, and soldier upgrades. Those soldier upgrades are where the real gameplay twists will come in. Players can now upgrade soldiers using two different upgrade paths: genetic engineering or cybernetic augmentation. The genetic path upgrades soldiers with bioweapon capabilities, giving them powers through enhanced limbs, eyes, skin, and brains. The cybernetic path upgrades soldiers using a new “Mechanized Exoskeletal Cybersuit” (MEC). That’s right. Enemy Within will have mechs.
A new trailer for the content was released this week. It shows off both of the new upgrade paths, as well as the new extraterrestrial enemies that make these upgrades necessary: