XCOM: Enemy Unknown available for pre-order on Steam with freebies

Firaxis has been hard at work on its latest turn-based strategy game – XCOM: Enemy Unknown. The developers have now announced on a post on the game's official website that the game will be available for pre-order on Valve’s popular digital distribution platform – Steam. The pre-order will come with a number of goodies, depending on how many people pre-order.

The main bonuses from pre-ordering the game off Steam will be that those who pre-order will get bonus cosmetic items to use in Team Fortress 2. These include a hairstyle from the old XCOM games, a new helmet for the Pyro, and an insignia that you can proudly wear to show off that you pre-ordered XCOM: Enemy Unknown. The other, more interesting bonus from the pre-order is that if enough people pre-order the game, those people will get a free copy of one of the biggest games to be made by Firaxis – Civilization V.

If enough people pre-order, we'll get more stuff

Last month, Firaxis had released a new trailer for XCOM: Enemy Unknown titled "Casualties of War". The game, showcased at E3 this year and other gaming conventions, is being developed my Firaxis. Gamers might recognise the name as the same studio responsible for the Civilization series of games.

Here is a description of the game according to the website for the game: “Threatened by an unknown enemy, the Earth’s governments unite to form an elite paramilitary organization, known as XCOM, to combat this extraterrestrial attack. As the commander of XCOM, you control the global defense team in a battle against a terrifying alien invasion by creating a fully operational base, researching alien technologies, planning combat missions, and controlling soldier movement in battle.”

XCOM: Enemy Unknown was announced earlier this year as a result of Game Informer’s cover for the month of January. Unlike the X-COM first person shooter being developed by 2K Marin, this one will be an out and out a strategy game, something that should get unanimous approval from fans of the franchise.

Firaxis' love for the franchise reflects in what Steve Martin, President of the studio says, “It’s been a dream of ours to recreate X-COM with our unique creative vision. We’re huge fans of the original game and it’s a once in a lifetime opportunity to re-envision a game that is as beloved as X-COM. We were careful to keep XCOM: Enemy Unknown true to the elements that made X-COM such a revered game while delivering an entirely new story and gameplay experience for both die-hard X-COM fans and newcomers to the franchise”.

The game is set to release on 11 October, 2012 and is available for pre-ordering on Steam.