Fox is working on a new Alien shooter

FoxNext Games, the video game division of Fox that was formed in 2017, has acquired Bay Area game developer Cold Iron Studios, which will work on a new game based on the Alien franchise. The studio’s new Alien game will be a shooter for consoles and PC.

FoxNext called the acquisition representative of its “commitment to deliver new AAA offerings across numerous fan favorite properties and original games,” the company said in a press release.

Cold Iron Studios was founded in 2015 by former members of Cryptic Studios (Neverwinter, City of Heroes), including CEO Craig Zinkievich, chief technology officer Shannon Posniewski and creative director Matt Highison.

“Cold Iron Studios has amazing design, craftsmanship and development talent that we are excited to welcome at FoxNext Games as we pursue our goal to build a multi-platform, multi-genre portfolio of great games,” Aaron Loeb, president of studios at FoxNext Games said in a release. “I am a personal fan of Cold Iron’s previous work and all of us at FoxNext Games are thrilled to be working with them as they create an action-packed persistent world, steeped in the mysteries of this beloved Alien universe.”

“We believe in FoxNext’s vision and we are thrilled about the opportunity to explore an amazing and rich universe,” Zinkievich said in a release. “Our background in building online worlds and taking established franchises to the next level in interactive entertainment is a precise fit with our product roadmap ahead; we can’t wait to share more information soon.”

Alien video games were previously the domain of publisher Sega, which released Aliens vs. Predator, Aliens: Colonial Marines and Alien: Isolation as part of a longterm publishing arrangement with 20th Century Fox.

FoxNext Games’ debut title will be Marvel Strike Force, a free-to-play role-playing game featuring the heroes and villains of the Marvel universe. Marvel Strike Force will be released on mobile devices in early 2018.