Daybreak Games and Cold Iron Studios, working with 20th Century Games, announced the release date for Aliens: Fireteam Elite 2. Watch the trailer, then the breakdown of what you actually get on day one and what costs extra.
What the trailer shows
It puts you back with a squad of Colonial Marines dropped into the worst corners of the Aliens universe. The pitch is blunt: this is not a rescue mission, it is a fight for survival, with Xenomorphs stalking corridors, ambushing from the dark, and swarming in numbers built to overwhelm a full fireteam.
What the trailer does not tell you
Co-op scales up to four players now. The sequel expands its Colonial Marine squad from three to up to four players, with deeper squad mechanics, smarter and more adaptive enemies, and a fully customizable Specialist class layered on top of the returning class roster.
It launches on four platforms at once, worldwide. Aliens: Fireteam Elite 2 arrives August 25, 2026 simultaneously on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, Steam, and Epic Games Store. No staggered platform rollout, no timed exclusivity window.
Horde mode and voice chat both got upgrades. The returning horde mode adds fresh challenges and rewards on top of its prior loop, and cross-platform voice chat is new for the sequel, so a squad spread across PlayStation, Xbox, and PC can actually talk to each other mid-mission instead of relying on platform-locked party chat.
Weapon customization goes deeper than a coat of paint. Fire modes, Augments, and unique Weapon Traits are all tunable per weapon, which is a real system change from the first game's more fixed loadouts, not just new skins on old guns.
Editions and pricing break down like this:
Digital Standard, $49.99: the base game.
40th Anniversary Premium, $69.99 (or a $19.99 upgrade from Standard): adds two DLC packs on top of the base game.
Ripley's Hive Exterminator Pack (Premium): a look pulled from the climax of the original 1986 film, paired with a modified pulse rifle.
Herk Mondo's Pest Pack (Premium): a comic-book hero outfit with an oversized pulse rifle to match.
Rain's Jackson's Star Pack, a separate $9.99 add-on: Rain Carradine's outfit from Alien: Romulus, plus a cryoweapon underbarrel attachment that highlights element-based weapon mods.
When you can play it
Aliens: Fireteam Elite 2 releases August 25, 2026 worldwide. If you are deciding between tiers, the Premium upgrade is the cheaper path if you already know you want both cosmetic packs, while the Star Pack stays a standalone purchase either way.
Watch the announcement trailer on YouTube and check editions on the official site. For more coverage, follow the Aliens: Fireteam Elite 2 hub or the Gaming feed.