If XCOM kept getting bigger, it'd become this colossal, intergalactic strategy game that's finally out of early access

I often think about what XCOM 3 might look like, and ponder if we’ll ever actually see it. At least there have been plenty of other excellent strategy games inspired by the iconic alien-battling series to fill that void, and another I’ve been eagerly awaiting the full release of is the ambitious Terra Invicta. While developer Pavonis Interactive is most well-known for making the beloved XCOM Long War mod, its new game escalates proceedings out of the realm of individual skirmishes and launches it into the stars in true grand strategy fashion.

Terra Invicta 1.0 is finally here, and there are plenty of improvements to dig through, including much-improved onboarding, that make now the best time to discover what makes it tick. Before we get to what’s changed, however, let’s go over the basics. You start your campaign as one of Earth’s seven major factions, each with their own approach to geopolitical maneuvering. When the sudden appearance of an alien threat forces a response, clashing ideologies quickly make it clear that there won’t be a simple agreement on how to act.

Perhaps you’ll join The Resistance, which looks to set up a coordinated defense backed by allied nations, making it the most traditionally XCOM-like of the bunch. The Academy, meanwhile, believes in reaching out to the new arrivals and attempting to form friendships. Project Exodus aims to avoid contact as much as possible, and is instead set on building a giant starship designed to flee the solar system altogether. In amongst it all, The Initiative is just looking to turn a profit, no matter how much chaos is sown in its wake.

To begin with, Terra Invicta plays more like Crusader Kings 3 or Europa Universalis 5, with you and the rival factions competing for territorial control across the nations of Earth. You’ll need to seek out like-minded politicians, scientists, and such to gradually ensure your chosen ideology grows into the dominant presence on the planet. While this is going on, you’ll also be investigating the increasingly concerning UFO sightings and crash sites, which begin to escalate into ever more terrifying events that begin to shake the world.

Ultimately, there’s only one solution – heading into space. Once you make the decision to begin an interstellar colonization project, the scale of the game shifts dramatically, with more than 300 interactable planets, moons, and asteroids spread across the stars. Here things transform into something more akin to Stellaris or Sins of a Solar Empire. If you’re more of a pure space fan, you can start your campaign right at the point where humanity’s journey off-world is beginning, but I’d recommend you go from the very start – being able to play out that process from the early days gives Terra Invicta a unique sense of perspective.

The 1.0 update marks the conclusion of Terra Invicta’s road through early access, which began back in 2022. In that time it’s seen a full UI overhaul, improved space combat, and all manner of ship classes, modules, exo-fighters, and more. Pavonis Interactive has also continued to expand the tech tree and improve the enemy AI behavior, along with regular balance changes. There’s even a full tutorial to ensure you don’t have too much trouble getting to grips with the sheer amount of stuff on offer here.

Terra Invicta 1.0 is out now on Steam, with a 35% discount available through Monday January 19, which means you can expect to pay $25.00 / £22.74, down from its usual price of $39.99 / £34.99. Grab it here and get ready to handle the alien threat in whatever way you deem most suitable.

Looking beyond the launch, Pavonis Interactive already has a list of plans for the future. Among these are new scenarios, such as the Cold War, Foothold (a far-future invasion), and Aftermath (an invasion in the wake of a nuclear war on Earth). It’s also looking at organization upgrades, expansions to the environment and resource shortages, refugee mechanics, national policies, and faction-specific victory scoring. Plenty to look forward to, then, but there’s more than enough here to keep you busy for a long, long while. Maybe even until the day when XCOM 3 finally appears.