Just over a month following the release of Aliens: Fireteam Elite 2, developer Cold Iron Studios has been hit by a wave of layoffs. Parent company Enad Global 7 made the announcement through a press release in which it said that the decision was being made in order to reduce the operating costs of the studio.
Despite the layoffs, however, the company has noted that Cold Iron Studios will continue to support Aliens: Fireteam Elite 2, including development of the Nintendo Switch 2 version. As a result of the layoffs, the Switch 2 port has been pushed back to Early 2027. No other details about the job cuts, like how many employees will be affected, have been revealed. Rather, Enad Global 7 has simply noted that “Cold Iron Studios will continue to operate as part of Daybreak Game Company.”
Aliens: Fireteam Elite 2 was released across PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X/S to mixed reviews. At the time of publishing, the co-op shooter still sits at a “Mixed” average rating on Steam. In our own review, we gave it a score of 5 out of 10, with our biggest critiques being that it has a forgettable, plodding story, questionable facial animations in cutscenes, repetitive mission structure, and janky Xenomorph behavior.
We did, however, praise the deeper customization offered by Aliens: Fireteam Elite 2 over its predecessor, as well as the versatility and freedom offered by the Specialist class. The core shooting also felt quite responsive, and the title was able to capture the look and feel of the classic sci-fi films quite well.
The Specialist class is one of the biggest additions to Aliens: Fireteam Elite 2 when compared to the original Fireteam Elite, thanks in large part to it being designed primarily as an endgame class that can mix and match abilities and perks from all other classes. Cold Iron Studios had showcased the Specialist with a special trailer just last month. Other classes, like the Machinist, Hunter, and Marauder, also got their own showcases.
Cold Iron Studios had spoken to us about a number of aspects of Aliens: Fireteam Elite 2, including how it would balance the Specialist class to make sure that it doesn’t simply become the best choice for every situation.
“We felt it was more important to allow unparalleled flexibility and buildcraft than making all classes relevant in the endgame,” explained systems design lead Brock Robin. “The journey we wanted was for the player to experience what each class has to offer, while enriching their overall experience and options for the Specialist. This is something we’ve debated internally, and we’ll be monitoring on release, as we have some potential solutions depending on how the player base at large reacts to it.”
Robin also spoke about the design of the various classes in Aliens: Fireteam Elite 2, and how the team wanted to ensure that the identity of each of the classes becomes more obvious right from the beginning, rather than forcing players to go through several levels before unlocking core parts of their kits.
