Cold Iron Studios ramps up for new Aliens MMO shooter

Cold Iron Studios just went on a hiring spree to bolster development of its new Aliens game, and positions are starting to fill up.

The last time we checked on Cold Iron, the studio was hiring 22 people to help on its new Aliens massive-multiplayer online shooter. Now that number has shrunken to 15, showing some progress has been made. The game has been in development since 2018 or thereabouts after FoxNext bought Cold Iron, but no details have been revealed. Based on the current job listings that call for higher positions like a Senior Producer, a Senior Character Artist, and a Senior Concept Artist, I'd say the game is still far away from release.

The new Aliens game is being built with Unreal Engine 4, it might be a Destiny-like MMO-FPS, and it's due out for consoles and PC--that's really all we know at this point. But there are some clues. FoxNext has been following a distinct formulaic approach to Alien games.

Continuing off of Alien: Isolation, the company released Alien: Blackout, a standalone mobile game starring Isolation's Ellen Ripley. It's clear FoxNext wants to keep the post-movie storyline going, and we could see Cold Iron's new shooter push even farther with a loose action-based Isolation sequel.

It's also possible FoxNext is following the movies. Isolation and Breakout are more suspenseful, haunting experiences, like the original Alien was. Cold Iron's new shooter should be more like the 1986 sequel Aliens with marine bravado and action focus.

Hopefully we hear more about the project soon. The world really needs more good Aliens games.

As for Predator...well...the team behind Friday the 13th is making Predator: Hunting Grounds, a multiplayer slaughterfest that channels the visuals and paranoia of the original Schwarzenegger film.