It looks like sequel to co-op shooter Aliens: Fireteam Elite might be getting pushed back. In a new press release about the partnership between Daybreak and Cold Iron Studios, Daybreak owner Enad Global 7 has announced that it is investing $6.5 million more into the development of the studio’s next project, which now has a release window of Q3 2026.
While the title wasn’t outright referred to as Aliens: Fireteam Elite 2 in the press release, it is very likely the game in question owing to its description of being a “co-op action shooter based on a major film IP franchise”.
The game, referred to in the press release as Project Avo, was expected to be quite close to an official announcement owing to the fact that it was briefly spotted on the official website for US game ratings board ESRB. The listing had been quickly taken down, but not without screenshots had been grabbed that indicated that Aliens: Fireteam Elite 2 would be rated Mature 17+, and that it would come to PC, PS5 and Xbox Series X/S.
The ESRB listing also included content warnings for Aliens: Fireteam Elite, indicating that the co-op shooter will feature blood and gore, strong language, and violence.
The fact that Aliens: Fireteam Elite 2 was in development first came to light back in July 2024 thanks to an internal document that was spotted on Reddit. The document at the time had referred to the co-op shooter’s sequel as Project Mocando, as well as the fact that it would focus on improving “the mechanics, atmosphere and excitement of the original.”
The document described the title as featuring a 2-player co-op campaign with a runtime of between 8 and 12 hours. Along with this, it is also expected to have a new game mode dubbed Annihilation Mode. It is worth noting that these features were described as being part of an early build of the game, and as such, things might have seen several changes by now.
Aliens: Fireteam Elite is a 3-player co-op shooter that puts players in the shoes of colonial marines on a mission set on planet LV-895. Over the course of the game’s co-op campaign, players learn the secrets of the planet’s various ruins and caves, all while fighting off xenomorphs as well as rogue synthetics that have seemingly gone hostile. Missions typically involve one or two objectives before the crew of players have to make their way to an exit.
2022 saw a major addition to Aliens: Fireteam Elite with the release of the Pathogen expansion. The expansion brought with it a host of new environments and maps, as well as a new campaign that had players trying to figure out the nature and secrets of a mysterious pathogen that seemingly also effects xenomorphs. The expansion heavily expanded on the base game’s offerings of seven playable classes and several weapons and attachments with 8 new weapons, as well as new perks and cosmetic items.
Aliens: Fireteam Elite is available on PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One and Xbox Series X/S.
