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Aliens: Fireteam Elite studio lead says game 'is as canon as fans want it to be'

Cold Iron Head of Studio Craig Zinkievich talked at length with us about Aliens: Fireteam Elite and its place in the canon of the franchise.

TJ Denzer

July 21, 2021 4:00 PM

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With Aliens: Fireteam Elite, the developing studio, Cold Iron, has a chance to give life to the franchise that it hasn’t had in games for a while. There’s a lot to prove when the game comes out in August, but one of the things many fans are probably wondering about is just how caught up the game is in the actual universe of the Alien franchise. With that in mind, we spoke to Cold Iron Head of Studio Craig Zinkievich about a ton of topics regarding the game, but particularly whether or not it’s canon to the Alien lore.

For Zinkievich, that wasn’t quite an easy question to answer. According to him, the team has put a lot of effort into staying true to the Alien franchise, which includes working closely with the franchise teams at 21st Century and Disney to ensure authenticity of settings, characters, weapons, the xenomorphs, and more. Cold Iron has also worked with extended universe content creators and production groups on the game, including novelists and RPG writers.

Ultimately, Zinkievich says it will be up to the fans to decide how legit the authenticity is to the overall Alien universe and narrative. The team has put a lot of thought into the state of the settings for a game that takes place a couple decades after the events of the Aliens movie, as well as the evolution of human facilities, gadgetry, gear, and weapons. However, for Zinkievich, it’s seems mostly to do its best to make sure fans sense that degree of passion for the source material while also presenting an enjoyable game and progression as your character levels up and gains access to better class abilities, gear, and customization.

Aliens: Fireteam Elite is set to roll out August 24, 2021 on PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, and PC. Want to see more? Check out our recent hands-on preview of the game, or head over to the Shacknews and GamerHubTV YouTube channels to see our latest interviews, features, unboxings, and further video content on the latest games, technology, toys, and more.

TJ Denzer

Senior News Editor

TJ Denzer is a player and writer with a passion for games that has dominated a lifetime. He found his way to the Shacknews roster in late 2019 and has worked his way to Senior News Editor since. Between news coverage, he also aides notably in livestream projects like the indie game-focused Indie-licious, the Shacknews Stimulus Games, and the Shacknews Dump. You can reach him at tj.denzer@shacknews.com and also find him on Twitter @JohnnyChugs.