Iridium Starfish’s mobile XCOM spinoff XCOM Legends is believed to be shutting down next month, just shy of three years since its lukewarm soft launch.
The title received sizeable backlash from franchise fans when it first released due to a combination of its gacha mechanics, a genre shift, and missing features from the mainline games; to many, the different direction left any XCOM connection feeling more like a thin layer of paint than a true series entry.
This lack of appeal to main series fans has had stark impacts on Legends’ monetary performance, with AppMagic data suggesting the game has only generated $87,461 in its lifetime - even with a well-known brand name like XCOM behind it, and three decades’ worth of accrued players who might otherwise have moved to mobile.
In March 2024, Legends generated a mere $2,637 in revenue.
Waving the flag
It comes as little surprise, therefore, that rumour should arise of an impending closure. A Reddit thread suggests an in-game announcement was made around a month ago, claiming end of service to be May 7, 2024, though there has been no official confirmation from XCOM Legends’ Twitter account as of yet.
Whether or not XCOM Legends does shut down next month, its fumbled financials are a clear warning to fellow developers that including a franchise’s famous faces isn’t enough on its own to make a move to mobile successful.
XCOM Legends tried to carve its own path with gacha mechanics and idle RPG gameplay, and while this can be an effective direction for many a mobile game, when the series is better known for its turn-based tactical combat, clearly this wasn’t the right move for an XCOM game to make.
