Xenonauts 2 hits 1.0

Xenonauts 2 left Early Access on April 2 and launched as version 1.0 on personal computer storefronts Steam, GOG, and the Epic Games Store. (store.steampowered.com) (gamespress.com) Developer Goldhawk Interactive and publisher Hooded Horse said the 1.0 build ends nearly three years of Early Access that began in July 2023. The studio tied the release to seven major update milestones delivered during that period. (store.steampowered.com) (gamespress.com) Xenonauts 2 is a turn-based tactics game in which players fight squad battles, run covert bases, manage research, and intercept alien craft on a world map. Goldhawk pitches it as an asymmetric war against a stronger invader, set in an alternate 2009 where the Cold War never ended. (gamespress.com) (store.steampowered.com) The 1.0 milestone matters because Goldhawk had told players the full release would be the point where feature work and balancing were complete enough to leave Early Access. On Steam, the studio said the major mechanics were already present before launch, with the final version adding content shaped by community feedback and more polishing. (store.steampowered.com 1) (store.steampowered.com 2) Goldhawk said the game changed substantially between the July 2023 Early Access debut and the April 2026 launch. The studio’s release notes cite four new alien races, five new UFO types, dozens of research projects, new battlefield equipment, and a defined endgame with closing cinematics. (store.steampowered.com) (gamespress.com) The studio also said it reworked the air-combat system, expanded the early game with the pro-alien militia called the Cleaners, and added new maps, biomes, mission types, and strategic-layer systems such as supporters and operations. Steam Workshop support for mods is now part of the package as well. (gamespress.com) At launch, Xenonauts 2 carried a base price of $39.99 in the United States, £34.99 in Britain, €39.99 in the euro area, and ¥3,980 in Japan, with a 35 percent launch discount running through April 15, 2026. Goldhawk and Hooded Horse also said the game supports 15 languages including German, French, Spanish, Russian, Simplified Chinese, Korean, and Japanese. (gamespress.com) The series has been around longer than this sequel’s Early Access run. Goldhawk, a United Kingdom studio founded in 2011, released the first Xenonauts in 2014 and has focused the company around the alien-invasion tactics series since then. (gamespress.com) For players who waited out Early Access, the practical change is simple: Xenonauts 2 is now being sold as a finished 1.0 strategy game, with Goldhawk framing the last three years as the road to a stable, feature-complete release. (store.steampowered.com) (gamespress.com)