Skip to main content
  1. Home
  2. Gaming
  3. Computing
  4. News

Long War 2, an ambitious, large-scale mod, on the horizon for ‘XCOM 2’

Add as a preferred source on Google

The developers behind the XCOM 2 free add-ons “Alien Pack,” “Perk,” and “Laser Pack” have been working hard to bring out more new and exciting content for Firaxis’ popular strategy game.

Pavonis Interactive, previously known as Long War Studios, is working on a large-scale PC mod called “Long War 2,” according to a new post on the XCOM official website.

Recommended Videos

Fans of the PC versions of XCOM: Enemy Unknown and XCOM: Enemy Within will likely remember the original Long War mod. Unlike most mods, Long War was an all-encompassing refinement. The mod, released in beta in 2013, tweaked almost every facet of the game, from the nuances of the campaign to character classes to weapon customization and more. Like many mods, Long War started as a fan-made project, but after receiving unprecedented critical acclaim, widespread downloads, and even praise from Firaxis, the core developers banded together to create a formal studio. “Long War” moved out of beta in late-2015, and has been played by over 500,000 unique players.

Details are sparse on both XCOM’s official site and the newly launched Pavonis Interactive, but if Long War 2 manages to implement even half of the refinements seen in the original, the upcoming mod will certainly be a welcome addition to the already stellar tactics game that we awarded a perfect score upon its release.

Long War 2 does not currently have a timetable for release, but we expect updates in the next few weeks. As with all of Pavonis Interactive’s XCOM franchise mods, Long War 2 will almost assuredly be free, as it is not official DLC from Firaxis Games.

Pavonis Interactive has been quite busy as of late. The Colorado-based independent developer is working on their own extraterrestrial strategy game, Terra Invicta — possibly explaining the company name change. The project is currently in pre-development and eyeing a future Kickstarter campaign.

We will provide more concrete information on the progress of Long War 2 as it develops.

Steven Petite
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Steven is a writer from Northeast Ohio currently based in Louisiana. He writes about video games and books, and consumes…
AMD is quietly building a frame generation mode that beats Nvidia at its own game
AMD's next frame generation trick might make your GPU pump out seven extra frames for free.
AMD RX 7800

AMD has been hinting at Multi-Frame Generation for its Radeon cards for a while now, and it looks like the company is further along than it has let on. Preliminary support quietly showed up in the ADLX FidelityFX SDK back in April with the FSR Redstone update, letting users pick a frame generation ratio for the best mix of performance and image quality.

Since then, AMD has shipped several big driver updates, including FSR 4.1.1. As reported by Wccftech, a user on the Chiphell forums used a tool called RadeonTuner to dig through the Adrenalin 26.6.2 WHQL drivers and found options AMD has not talked about publicly. RadeonTuner is a cleaner, more user-friendly take on the Adrenalin software, and it can surface features that live inside the driver but never appear in the official app.

Read more
I wouldn’t have recommended this Nintendo Switch 2 accessory before, but this deal changes everything
Nintendo Switch 2

Buying a Nintendo Switch 2 isn't exactly cheap these days, especially after Nintendo's recent US price adjustments. That's why it's refreshing to see one of the console's accessories getting an unexpectedly deep discount.

If you've ignored the official Nintendo Switch 2 Camera because it seemed overpriced, now might be the perfect time to take another look. GameStop has slashed the accessory to just $10, a huge drop from its regular $55 asking price. That's roughly 82% off, making it one of the best Switch 2 deals we've seen in a while. To put that into perspective, the camera now costs less than many Switch 2 carrying cases or screen protectors. At this price, it's much easier to take a chance on an accessory you may have skipped at launch.

Read more
Well… at least God of War Laufey is getting a physical disc
Santa Monica Studio quietly confirmed the upcoming adventure won't be download-only.
God of War Laufey screenshot

Last week, Sony lit the gaming community on fire by announcing that all new PlayStation games released from January 2028 onwards would be digital-only, effectively bringing an end to physical discs for future releases. At the same time, the company also confirmed it would shut down the PlayStation 3 and PS Vita digital stores by July 2027, reinforcing concerns that digital storefronts and the games tied to them don't last forever. Unsurprisingly, the announcements triggered widespread backlash from collectors and long-time PlayStation fans. In the middle of all that, Santa Monica Studio offered a surprisingly comforting update: God of War Laufey will be available on disc. It's only one sentence, but it says a lot.

More than just a physical release

Read more