X-COM spiritual successor Phoenix Point is delayed until December

A Phoenix Point alien — (Image credit: Snapshot Games)

Phoenix Point, the turn-based tactical combat game headed up by original X-Com creator Julian Gollop, has been delayed again. It had been set to come out on September 3, which was a considerable pushback from its originally expected launch in 2018, but the studio announced today that while things are "shaping up well," they're not shaping up quite as quickly as expected.

"We know this is not our first delay, and we are very sorry to the fans who we know are highly anticipating getting their hands on Phoenix Point. No one is more disappointed than we are, but we collectively agree that we would rather miss a launch date than ship something that does not meet our exacting standards," the studio wrote. "We want the Phoenix Point you play to be one of your favorite games of all time, and that means we need a bit more time."

Phoenix Point is now scheduled for release in December, although a specific date hasn't been set yet. The bright spot for backers is that September 3 will see the release of Backer Build 5, which will give crowdfunding backers and early-access purchasers access to a "much more robust" version of the game.

Snapshot announced in March that Phoenix Point will be an Epic Games Store exclusive for one year, but said in June—when the September release date was revealed—that it will also be included with Xbox Game Pass for PC.

Andy has been gaming on PCs from the very beginning, starting as a youngster with text adventures and primitive action games on a cassette-based TRS80. From there he graduated to the glory days of Sierra Online adventures and Microprose sims, ran a local BBS, learned how to build PCs, and developed a longstanding love of RPGs, immersive sims, and shooters. He began writing videogame news in 2007 for The Escapist and somehow managed to avoid getting fired until 2014, when he joined the storied ranks of PC Gamer. He covers all aspects of the industry, from new game announcements and patch notes to legal disputes, Twitch beefs, esports, and Henry Cavill. Lots of Henry Cavill.