4-Player Bug Hunts Arrive August 25 in Fireteam Elite 2

Four-player squads instead of three. That single change might be enough to fix what held back the original Aliens: Fireteam Elite, a game that had the right ideas but struggled to keep lobbies full. Daybreak Game Company and Cold Iron Studios announced that Aliens: Fireteam Elite 2 launches August 25 on PS5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC via Steam and Epic Games Store.

The original released in 2021 as a three-player co-op shooter set in the Alien universe. It reviewed decently but bled its playerbase fast, a problem one commenter on GamingOnLinux summed up bluntly: "I love first one, too bad it was dead very fast. No people to play with." Bumping the squad size to four and adding cross-platform co-op with built-in cross-platform voice chat should help on that front. Cross-play being a launch feature rather than a post-release promise is the right call, and I'm glad Cold Iron treated it as a baseline rather than a selling point to drip out later.

Beyond squad size, the sequel brings five distinct classes plus a new Specialist endgame class for fully custom Marines, deeper weapon customisation through fire modes, augments, and element-based weapon mods, and enemies that the studio says will adapt to player tactics. An updated horde mode rounds out the feature list.

Pricing sits at $49.99 for the Standard Edition and $69.99 for the 40th Anniversary Premium Edition, which bundles two cosmetic DLC packs. Ripley's Hive Exterminator Pack includes an outfit based on Ellen Ripley's look from the climax of 1986's Aliens along with a modified pulse rifle, while Herk Mondo's Pest Pack pulls from the comic-book side of the franchise. Both packs are also available separately as a $19.99 upgrade. A third pack, Rain's Jackson's Star Pack, costs $9.99 and adds an outfit and cryoweapon-equipped pulse rifle inspired by Rain Carradine from 2024's Alien: Romulus.

Three paid cosmetic packs at launch for a $50 game is a lot of storefront real estate on day one, and the Romulus pack being sold separately from the Premium Edition feels like it's testing how many times fans will reach for their wallets before they've even cleared the campaign. The game itself looks like a meaningful step up from the first, though. August 25 at $49.99 is a fair entry point if Cold Iron can deliver on the promise of smarter enemies and a squad structure that actually keeps people playing.