Bureau de change: XCOM shooter breaks cover as The Bureau: XCOM Declassified

2K Marin's XCOM shooter went dark soon after the release of Firaxis' successful XCOM reboot. But was it missing? Dead? Captured by overzealous strategy fans? Actually, it was all a ruse. The game has now resurfaced under the new legend The Bureau: XCOM Declassified. And it's almost ready to blow the whistle on the eerie underbelly of 60s suburbia, with a release date of August 20th. A live action trailer has also appeared. Don't be fooled; it's clearly a diversionary tactic.

"Set in 1962 at the height of the Cold War, The Bureau tells the origin story of the clandestine XCOM organisation's first encounter with a mysterious and devastating enemy," states the foolishly unredacted press release. You play as Special Agent William Carter, leading agents to uncover and neutralise the alien threat.

Aside from the name switch, the game appears to be the same third-person tactical shooter suggested by screenshots that emerged last October . The project was originally an FPS, as seen in this footage from E3 2011, but has gone through numerous changes since the initial announcement.

2K's president Christoph Hartmann addressed the changes, saying, "The game has evolved through a creative and iterative development process, and the result is a narrative-driven experience that is smart, engaging, and challenges players to think tactically."

Phil has been writing for PC Gamer for nearly a decade, starting out as a freelance writer covering everything from free games to MMOs. He eventually joined full-time as a news writer, before moving to the magazine to review immersive sims, RPGs and Hitman games. Now he leads PC Gamer's UK team, but still sometimes finds the time to write about his ongoing obsessions with Destiny 2, GTA Online and Apex Legends. When he's not levelling up battle passes, he's checking out the latest tactics game or dipping back into Guild Wars 2. He's largely responsible for the whole Tub Geralt thing, but still isn't sorry.