(Image credit: Cold Iron Studios) Share this article 0 Join the conversation Add us as a preferred source on Google Newsletter Subscribe to our newsletter The Alien franchise is doing pretty well right now, and its future looks even stronger for gamers. With Alien Isolation 2 serving the horror-oriented side of the fanbase right now, Aliens: Fireteam Elite 2 is bringing the action. Its predecessor set the foundation for some good old multiplayer fun as you and your buddies shoot down Xenomorphs. Now, the sequel is in a good position to take things even higher with meaningful changes.
At Summer Game Fest 2026, I played about an hour of Aliens: Fireteam Elite 2 and spoke with Cold Iron Studios director Chris Cross about all of the new additions in this sequel, including four-player co-op, new Xeno beasties, and the new Specialist class.
In Aliens: Fireteam Elite 2, you play as a team of Colonial Marines to check out Storr Boon's Mining Facility on the planet LV-558, which has — big shock — been overrun by Xenomorphs. The level I played was called Rust in Peace, which Cross noted plays heavily into the discovery of what's really going on in LV-558. Each level will help clue players into the mystery.
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"I think clarity of narrative and mission was one of the things that we wanted to try and get into with this one," he explained. "It's more than just go here, get to point B, and then shoot the thing. Playing this game, there's an actual throughline with the story."
One change that was immediately noticeable was the inclusion of a fourth teammate. In the first game, squads were made up of three, but a fourth trooper really changes up the dynamic. Not only do you have more offensive and defensive options, but now the levels are wider and more enemies swarm in.
"We pay attention to comments, and that's one of the more frequent ones we got from the first game," Cross explained. "It's 25% more space that you need and 25% more damage. It definitely presented some challenges, but absolutely worth it. [Fireteam Elite 2] is still the same flavor, but it plays better."
There are a total of six classes, and I chose the Hunter, a class that focuses on dealing continuous damage. My other teammates included a Medic, a Machinist, and a Duelist. As I slowed down the waves of Xenomorphs with my electric traps, the Machinist summoned a turret to pick them off. This helped us clear multiple rooms without too many issues. However, if one of us went down, the Medic was always around to patch us up.
Along with the four-player co-op, another big gameplay addition is the new Specialist class. This one actually acts like a "pick-your-own" class, where you can choose which abilities to mix and match to create your ideal build. Does that sound overpowered? Possibly. But more player effort and work are required to build the perfect Specialist, which helps balance it out.
"How we work the Specialist in is that it's like a ping pong between unlocking abilities for your regular classes that then unlocks them for your Specialist," Cross said. "It's actually analysis paralysis to build a Specialist if you haven't been paying attention to the other classes, because there's so many things that you can put in."
Of course, with every new Aliens adventure, you've got to have new Xenomorphs, right? The Harbinger is a horrific Xeno that mostly consists of a mouth (it's like a giant facehugger on legs), while the Siren summons more enemies to the fight. I didn't encounter these during my demo, but Cross went into how designs are typically approved.
"Early on, we went through and wrote down [...] the requirements for creating new enemies and applied them," he said. An example of this is one of the returning Xenos from the first game, the Drone, which only shows up near hives. I came across a few of them in my demo, and they really creeped me out. Not only do they hit hard, but they also disappear into vents, creating an anxious atmosphere. They could come out at any time and strike again, so your entire squad needs to gang up on it.
"In tight cooperation with the IP team at 20th Century Studios, we basically started brainstorming," Cross explained. "Everything has to have a gameplay function, but also we were trying to stay within that classic Aliens look."
To combat these new monstrosities, you'll need to take advantage of the various elemental weapon types, each of which is effective against certain Xenos. Incendiary shots set them ablaze for extra damage, while Cryo can render Xenos frozen and immobile, letting you pile on the hurt. Electric slows down enemies and seems particularly useful against the rogue synthetics that attack you alongside the aliens.
Being able to utilize the different elements tactfully against your enemies can really give you a huge advantage against the Xenos, and can be the difference between victory and defeat.
Additionally, your sidearm pistol now has infinite ammo. This change was made so that players weren't stuck with empty guns if they ran out of ammo for their primary weapons. It also shifted the way I played, too. I'd strategically pick off enemies with headshots from my pistol, and then switch to my more powerful weapons if I needed some extra firepower. This way, I could conserve ammo for the bigger Xenos.
My squad played on the normal difficulty, and even though we were sitting at opposite corners of the room, not talking to each other, we succeeded in repelling the Xenomorph threat. At higher difficulty levels, friendly fire is enabled, so teamwork and communication will be of the utmost importance.
Aliens Fireteam Elite 2 seems to be doing everything that a sequel should. It's got a new campaign, crossplay at launch (which the first game didn't have), and some genuinely game-changing improvements like the bump from three-player co-op to four-player, and the addition of the Specialist class.
The game will also have the fan-favorite Horde mode, where you and your teammates must survive against an endless wave of Xenomorphs. I tried to poke Cross about some of the changes to Horde mode in this sequel, but he wasn't about to spill company secrets.
"I'm not going to talk about the exact changes today, but just know that it's very, very fun," he smirked.
Aliens Fireteam Elite 2 launches later this year for PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X|S.
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George YangFreelance contributorGeorge Yang is a freelance writer based out of the United States. He has a degree in Business but decided to not use it and went into the world of games journalism. He really enjoys JRPGs, but is willing to try out all different kinds of genres. He has written for other sites like GamesRadar, IGN, GameSpot, Kotaku, NPR, Complex, and more.
