# XCOM

5 Hacker News commenters recommended XCOM and 3 criticized it, November 2025 to November 2026. It was recommended in 3 of 13 months.

**Verdict:** Replayable tactics video game that became the DNA for a long-running franchise; critics say its hit probabilities and pod mechanics are flawed.

## Why people recommend it

- Highly replayable (1 comments): "All Xcom games are super replayable with the exception of Xcom 3." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47058058))
- Influential foundation for a franchise (1 comments): "all worked so well that it became the DNA for decades of a franchise" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49396896))
- Recommended for school curriculum (1 comments): "XCOM should be added to the curriculum." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49445348))

## What people warn about

- Hit probabilities called misleading (1 comments): "XCOM probabilities are lies, just like Fire Emblem." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49447014))
- Pod mechanics a major blunder (1 comments): "the pod mechanics are a major blunder" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49494045))

## Alternatives hackers recommend

- [Battle for Wesnoth](https://hackerapproved.com/p/battle-for-wesnoth.md): 39 recommend
- [Sid Meier's Civilization](https://hackerapproved.com/p/civilization.md): 25 recommend
- [Sid Meier's Civilization III](https://hackerapproved.com/p/civilization-iii.md): 20 recommend
- [Sid Meier's Alpha Centauri](https://hackerapproved.com/p/alpha-centauri.md): 16 recommend
- [Heroes of Might and Magic III](https://hackerapproved.com/p/heroes-of-might-and-magic-iii.md): 16 recommend

## Where to get it

- [See price on Amazon](https://www.amazon.com/s?k=XCOM+2+Firaxis+PC+game&tag=hackerapprove-20) (affiliate link)
- [Official site](https://firaxis.com/)

## Cite as

Hacker Approved, "XCOM", https://hackerapproved.com/p/xcom/ (counts from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026).