Gollop's Phoenix Point opens for pre-order

Phoenix Point, Julian Gollop's attempt to create a spiritual successor for his smash hit XCOM series of turn-based strategy titles, is officially available to pre-order - and has, in what is becoming something of a trend, made the shift to Epic Games Store exclusivity.

Detailed in an April 2018 interview with creator Julian Gollop, Phoenix Point is designed to take everything that was great about Gollop's original XCOM games - which started with UFO: Enemy Unknown in 1994 - and marry it to the things fans liked about Firaxis' 2012 reboot of the franchise. Having ceded control of the original brand, Gollop's reboot drew considerable attention from fans of the series but was delayed in May that year with a plan to launch in June 2019.

Sadly, the release date has again shifted: Pre-orders have opened for the game with a view to releasing in September 2019, though those who buy the game's Platinum Edition or Signature Edition builds will receive access at an unspecified earlier date.

The shift in date also comes with a shift in distribution method: In what is becoming an increasingly common trend, Phoenix Point has jumped over to Epic Games Store as an exclusive. Those pre-ordering through the official website, it has been confirmed, will receive codes redeemable on the Epic Games Store. This exclusivity will, in common with most deals Epic has reached with other publishers and developers, expire a year after launch.

Developer Snapshot Games has also confirmed system requirements for the game, which needs Windows 7 Service Pack 1 64-bit or higher running on an Intel Core i3 or AMD Phenom II X3, 8GB of RAM, and an Nvidia GeForce GTX 660 or AMD Radeon R9 270 graphics card. For those who like to crank up the shinies, the recommended specifications are an Intel Core i5 3GHz or AMD FX Series 3.2GHz or higher, 16GB of RAM, and an Nvidia GeForce GTX 1060 or AMD Radeon R9 390X graphics card.

More information on the game, pre-orders for which start at $40 (around £30 excluding VAT), can be found on the official website.