Skip to main content

‘The Bureau: XCOM Declassified’ revisits America’s ‘Golden Age,’ tarnish and all

redacting the golden age aspect in bureau xcom declassified homecoming
Image used with permission by copyright holder

The years following World War II up until the cultural revolution of the late 1960s have commonly become known as the “Golden Age of America.” The phrase “golden age” may be subjective, but Americans had plenty to be proud of. The GDP grew at an exponential pace, the middle class swelled, and a national highway system was created, connecting the country in way never seen before. While most of the world was rebuilding, the United States went from an isolationist nation to a world power, arguably even the world power.

At least for some.

Racism was endemic and misogyny was systemic. Segregation and Jim Crow laws mar the perfect image that pundits like Bill O’Reilly have romanticized, while women were told that their “most important job is to build up and maintain [a husband’s] ego.” It’s in this fertile swath of Americana that 2K Marin’s upcoming third-person tactical shooter, The Bureau: XCOM Declassified, takes place. The look is designed to emphasize the “cool” of the period, as art deco aesthetics mix with a stylistically optimistic eye on the future. The space age is upon us in The Bureau, and hard-drinking, fedora-wearing protagonist William Carter is brought into the clandestine organization in the year of the secret alien invasion, 1962.

We spoke with 2K Marin about creating an attractive and appealing game, and the thin line between romanticizing the past and honoring the truth.

The Bureau: XCOM Declassified war room shot
Image used with permission by copyright holder

“We definitely wanted to convey the sense of the culture [being] different,” Jeff Weir, Art Director for The Bureau told Digital Trends. “There’s little hints of the racism … It was a turning point, but still very backward compared to how we are today.”

“We have some ugly in our game”

“That’s the rich subtext we are dealing with,” Morgan Gray, creative director for The Bureau said of the darker undertones at work during the era.

Many of the classic sci-fi movies and shows from the era were an influence in the game, from The Day the Earth Stood Still to Star Trek. But beyond the look, 2K Marin also borrowed from the deeper issues that gave birth to these classics.

“They all played in that time period, and they all used the strains and the tension of that culture via sci-fi and metaphor for a bit of social commentary,” Gray said. “So that was another reason to go back to that specific time.”

The-Bureau-XCOM-DeclassifiedThe year the game is set, 1962, was also specifically chosen. The later years of the 1960s are filled with meaning of their own, from the hippies to the anti-war protests, it was a time of change and global unrest, especially in America. That wasn’t the scenario that 2K was looking for, though. The studio wanted to capture that cross section of Cold War paranoia mixed with the boundless optimism brought on by American (and Russian) technology that sent us to space.

Culturally, it would be easy to ignore the social implications of the day. Strip away the conspiracy motif, and the game is about shooting aliens. 2K Marin would likely be forgiven for completely whitewashing the more difficult points of the era. It would be ironic, as a game that uses the “redacted” gimmick in everything from its ads to the in-game reports, itself redacted the more sensitive problems of the age. Instead, 2K Marin decided to embrace it.

“We have some ugly in our game,” Gray said. “We definitely have some serious misogyny that comes to our characters. There are whites and colored-only bathrooms – that’s just how it was.”

Cultural problems like racism, misogyny, and homophobia provide subtext to the greater story of saving the world from alien invasion, but the developer doesn’t stray from it. Littered throughout the game you will find several mentions of the “Red Scare,” which led to Senator Joseph McCarthy’s infamous inquisitions that ruined countless lives and did very little to benefit the country. You’ll hear characters gripe about taking orders from Angela Weaver, The Bureau’s second in command and to the chagrin of many of the soldiers, a woman. There is even a gay character trying to deal with his orientation in a world that neither approves of it, or even wants to know about it.

The Bureau XCOM Declassified“We definitely wanted to convey the sense of the culture [being] different,” Weir said. “There’s little hints of the racism … It was a turning point, but still very backward compared to how we are today.”

“Let’s use games to talk about some of the reality as well”

For the most part though, the design of The Bureau is meant to highlight the boom of the era rather than the underside. America was a changing nation, and while it still had a long way to go (and still does), there were reasons for the optimism seen in the game, almost as a contrast to the damage the aliens cause.

“Basically we went from the World War II generation, where it was all these 18-year-old, 19-year-old kids and they saved the world – they literally f-ing saved the world from terror, from a tyrant, from a madman,” Gray told us. “They come back home, they are one of the first generations of Americans that are worldy. They’ve left – they didn’t travel much back then – they came back, they got GI bills, they got educated… they basically created the concept of the modern middle class. It was a heyday. That was the Leave it to Beaver America. That started to shatter when the truth was like ‘that’s a great America for some, but not for all.’

“So yes, we got the voices – the minority voices, the gender equality, sexual equality. These themes, although we don’t put them at the forefront, they are definitely subtext throughout the game because that is the joy of having the time period. You can use reality to tell a richer tapestry, a richer narrative.”

the bureau xcom declassified reviewIgnoring the ugly aspects of the past, even in a entertainment medium – maybe especially in an entertainment medium – can be tantamount to approving of it. To glamorize an era of history that was ripe with problems makes those problems seem less important. It’s common, but that doesn’t make it right.

“Let’s use games to talk about some of the reality as well,” Gray stated, “or what happened and have that be enhancing and making an interesting setting for you to discover what that world was like.”

Editors' Recommendations

Ryan Fleming
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Ryan Fleming is the Gaming and Cinema Editor for Digital Trends. He joined the DT staff in 2009 after spending time covering…
Unity backtracks on its controversial Runtime Fee plan following backlash
Art of Unity

Unity has finally backtracked some of the policies related it the Unity Runtime Fee announced last week following a wave of backlash from game developers. While the Runtime Fee isn't completely going away, changes were made so it's not as aggressive toward smaller developers and games that were already released. 
The Unity Runtime Fee was going to start charging developers up to a $0.20 fee every time someone installed their game. This decision was met with ire by game developers, who hated the short-notice, retroactive application. Devs felt the plan had oversights concerning subscription services, charity bundles, and piracy. In a blog post about the Runtime Fee changes, Unity's Marc Whitten admitted that Unity "should have incorporated more of your feedback before announcing our new Runtime Fee policy."

As for what's changing, the blog post states confirms that there will be no Runtime Fees for games made on Unity Personal or for games that made less than $1 million over the last 12 months. For developers using Unity Pro and Unity Enterprise, the Runtime Fee and applicability of Unity's terms have been adjusted so that it only applies to games made on the next LTS version of Unity. That means games already released or already in development in an older version of Unity won't be subject to the fee. 
Developers who want to circumvent the fee entirely can also choose to just give Unity a 2.5% revenue share if that's a lesser amount than what they would pay with fees. So, while the Runtime Fees aren't going away entirely, it's clear that the strong negative reaction from game developers has forced Unity to change course on what was a widely maligned plan.

Read more
Best gaming PC deals: Powerful gaming rigs starting at $860
young woman playing video games on a PC

Gaming PC deals are important to the gaming community in a way that few outside of it can truly understand.

If you play games on a Nintendo or Playstation, for example, all you have to do is wait for gaming console deals that match your preferences and buy things up quickly. They come around at predictable intervals, though, and once you get a console you can feel confident you'll be able to play every game released for it. If you have a Playstation 5, for instance, you can rest assured that you'll be able to play all of the best Playstation 5 games. It requires a sort of stoic patience, but there is a sense of assuredness at every step of the process.

Read more
Best gaming laptop deals: Save on Alienware, Razer, HP and more
The Corsair Voyager a1600 gaming laptop set up with a monitor and other accessories on a desk.

Many of the best laptops are great for multi-purpose use, but if you’re looking to take on some of the best PC games, you’re going to want to get yourself a gaming laptop. The best gaming laptops offer hardware geared specifically for gameplay action, and many of them offer some savings. That’s certainly the case right now, as there are a lot of gaming laptop deals taking place. Many of the best laptop brands have gaming laptop deals taking place, and the likes of big time gaming brands like Alienware and Razer have models discounted right now as well.
HP Victus 16 — $600, was $900

With the HP Victus 16 you’re getting an incredible gaming laptop. As it’s built for this deal it has specs that are closer to entry-level gaming laptops, but that shouldn’t be any reason to stay away if you’re shopping on a budget. It has a 15.6-inch Full HD display, a 13-generation Intel processor, and 8GB of RAM. It also has a popular mobile graphics card in the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050. The HP Victus 16 comes with Windows 11 preinstalled, and should have you gaming in no time once you get it out of the box.

Read more