After three years of early access, the alien-fighting grand strategy game Terra Invicta finally released its 1.0 version yesterday, January 5th. Published by Hooded Horse interactive, who have a habit of picking up smaller teams with great vision and promise, and particularly those who specialize in strategy and “tactical depth,” Terra Invicta breaks the rather long list of 4X games set in history, and instead places itself on a contemporary Earth in the midst of an extraterrestrial incursion. Humanity in Terra Invicta is of varied opinion, to say the least, of this invasion, and as a player it’s your job to decide the fate of Earth based on who you agree with most. There’s space-ship customization, technology to research, diplomacy and politics to manage, and of course, lots of aliens eager to conquer humanity and destroy your best-laid plans. If that description makes you think of XCOM, then get this: developer Pavonis Interactive started off as prominent modders for that game.
Screenshot of The Long War mod for XCOM
In an interview with PC Gamer, Pavonis dev John Lumpkin explains that despite his background primarily in journalism, he and his partner Rachel Norman decided that their love for the turn-based combat XCOM would best be expressed through comprehensive mod for the game. This mod, The Long War, is essentially an ultra-detailed addition to an already very strategy heavy game, and was apparently just as hard to code as it is to learn for players. Which isn’t a bad thing, as you will rarely catch strategy gamers complaining about a title having too much complexity. The Long War was indeed a hit with fans of XCOM, and in acknowledgement of Lumpkin and Norman’s talent, the game’s developer Firaxis Games hired them on to produce a trilogy of day-one mods for XCOM 2. And just a few years after the release of this, the developer duo’s ambitions for their first standalone title, Terra Invicta, were able to see the light of day thanks to an incredibly successful Kickstarter campaign, and they were able to launch it in early access in 2022.
Pavonis Interactive have stated in the official announcement of the 1.0 release of Terra Invicta that they have more planned for the game after launch. According to the roadmap on their website, this includes DLC content, naval warfare, “off-Earth regions,” and other major content updates, but disclaim that though they are committed to providing post-release support, none of what they mention is a 100% “promise.”