Alien: Blackout Revealed for iOS and Android

Alien fans have been asking for a follow-up to Alien: Isolation, the survival horror title that takes place between the series’ first two films, since its release in 2014. It turns out that one is finally coming, but not in the form that anyone really expected, or wanted, if early reactions are any indication. Alien: Blackout is a mobile game that will be available for iOS and Android devices on January 24 and is being developed by D3 Go!. The game’s description, which can also be viewed on the Google Play Store, is as follows:

The terror of Alien is brought to life in Alien: Blackout. Try to stay alive while trapped aboard a crippled Weyland-Yutani space station carrying a deadly Xenomorph as it tirelessly hunts you and the crew. Outsmart the perfect hunter by making perilous choices. Players must rely on the damaged controls of the space station or risk sacrificing crew members to avoid deadly contact, permanently altering the outcome of the game.

Survive seven fear-inducing levels by remotely guiding Amanda Ripley’s crew through increasingly challenging tasks using only the station’s emergency systems. The uncertainty and unpredictability of both the alien and her crew can impose total defeat for Amanda and the entire station. 

A reveal trailer for the game was also released, though it’s hard to tell if the footage resembles actual gameplay.

Pre-registration for Alien: Blackout is now open on the Apple App Store and Google Play Store, and the App Store page indicates that the game will be $4.99. Neither page mentions if the game will include microtransactions.

Fan response to the reveal has been largely negative and very similar to what we saw with Diablo Immortal, which was skewered at BlizzCon 2018 by a diehard PC and console-focused audience. Some gamers are responding to official tweets for the game with pictures of the “Diablo Red Shirt Guy,” who infamously asked Diablo Immortal developers at BlizzCon if the mobile game was an “out-of-season April Fool’s joke.”

The existence of Alien: Blackout was hinted at in a trademark filing that appeared in late-November, which led gamers to think that an announcement would take place at The Game Awards the following month. Some speculated that Creative Assembly was working on another PC/Console title to continue Amanda Ripley’s story, while others thought the filing was related to a multiplayer FPS that Cold Iron Studios is working on for FoxNext, the game publishing arm of 20th Century Fox.