Comparison

Baldur's Gate II vs XCOM®

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both games, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

Baldur's Gate II

Embark on an epic fantasy roleplaying adventure as you battle to resist or embrace your dark destiny. Explore vast lands, uncover ancient secrets, and make critical choices that shape your journey. This game offers a rich narrative with multiple expansions and additional content available for purchase.

Highlights
  • Isometric Dungeons & Dragons roleplaying
  • Epic fantasy narrative
  • Multiple story expansions included
  • Additional character-driven quests
  • Character creation and customization
  • Tablet optimized gameplay
Features
Read full description

This game is optimized for tablets and not recommended for phones with screen sizes under 7 inches. Kidnapped. Imprisoned. Tortured. The wizard Irenicus holds you captive in his stronghold, attempting to strip you of the powers that are your birthright. As you escape and step back into the wider world, the question at the heart of the Bhaalspawn saga becomes impossible to ignore. Can you resist the evil in your blood and forsake the dark destiny that awaits you? Or will you embrace your monstrous nature within and ascend to godhood as the new Lord of Murder? Baldur’s Gate II: Enhanced Edition brings one of the most celebrated RPGs of all time back for modern adventurers, preserving the depth, atmosphere, and storytelling that defined the golden age of cRPGs. Continue the journey you began in Baldur’s Gate: Enhanced Edition, carrying your hero forward into a darker, more ambitious chapter—or forge a new protagonist to shape your own path through the Forgotten Realms. The Enhanced Edition includes the full original experience—Shadows of Amn and Throne of Bhaal—along with a refined arena mode for players who enjoy tactical challenges. Classic Campaign: The original Shadows of Amn adventure, faithfully restored Expansion: Throne of Bhaal, the epic conclusion to the Bhaalspawn saga Arena Challenges: The Black Pits II: Gladiators of Thay, a gauntlet of strategic battles Refined Difficulty Options: Story Mode for relaxed exploration and narrative focus; Legacy of Bhaal for veterans seeking a punishing, old‑school test of skill Fist of the Fallen: Help Rasaad, the Sun Soul Monk, find peace in his quest for vengeance. The following content is available for in-app purchase: - A Price Paid in Blood: Help the Blackguard Dorn Il-Khan appease the bloody demands of his dark patron. - A Voice in the Dark: Recruit the Thief Hexxat and retrieve long-lost artifacts from tombs as far away as Zakhara. - In Defense of the Wild: Stand with Neera the Wild Mage against a ruthless school of Red Wizards. The classic returns with thoughtful refinements that make it smoother to play today while keeping its soul untouched. Note: All translations are text only. Voice-overs are played in English.

About

XCOM®

This is a standalone expansion to a critically acclaimed strategy game, offering new soldiers, abilities, enemies, maps, and a multiplayer mode. Players can upgrade their soldiers with genetic modifications and cybersuits, research new weapons, and counter new alien threats.

Highlights
  • New soldier abilities (genetics & cybersuits)
  • New weapons and equipment
  • New enemy types and organization
  • New strategic resource (Meld)
  • New story missions
  • New multiplayer maps, units, and abilities
Read full description

***NOTE: Compatible with iPad 3, iPad mini 2, iPhone 5 and up. WILL NOT be able to run on earlier generations, despite being able to purchase them on those devices*** XCOM®: Enemy Within is a standalone expansion to the 2012 strategy game of the year XCOM: Enemy Unknown and it's now available on iOS devices! Enemy Within features the core gameplay of Enemy Unknown plus more exciting content. Check out the new soldiers, abilities, enemies, maps, missions, and multiplayer mode for the fresh new strategy gaming experience! • New Soldier Abilities: Build new base facilities to unlock unearthly new capabilities for XCOM’s soldiers. The Genetics Lab will allow soldiers to receive powerful genetic modifications, and the Cybernetics Lab allows soldiers to use devastating mechanized cybersuits in battle. • New Weapons and Equipment: Give your operatives an extra tactical edge with new projects from your engineering team and the Foundry. • New Enemy Threats: Adopt new tactics to counter the threats from two new alien types and a deadly new organization known as EXALT. • New Strategic Resource: A valuable new alien resource, known as Meld, has been discovered. Secure it on the battlefield, research a new technology to unlock its power, and use it carefully back at base to unlock new upgrades and weaponry. • New Story Elements: Investigate a terrifying threat in an abandoned fishing village, and defend the XCOM headquarters from alien attack in a series of new plot-driven missions. • New Multiplayer maps, units, and abilities: Create your custom squad from a wider array of options and dominate your opponent in intense, one-on-one, turn-based matches. NOTE: XCOM: Enemy Within is a graphically rich game with advanced features. To OPTIMIZE your playing experience, you may want to turn off other apps before playing. The content of this videogame is fictional and is not intended to represent or depict an actual record of the events, persons, locations, or entities in the game’s setting. The makers and publishers of this videogame do not in any way endorse, condone or encourage engaging in any conduct depicted in this videogame. Follow us on Facebook:  www.facebook.com/xcom Follow us on Twitter: @xcom For more great games visit: http://www.2kgames.com/mobile/ 18+ "запрещено для детей" for Russia Privacy Policy: http://www.take2games.com/privacy/index.html Terms of Service: http://www.take2games.com/legal/ End User License Agreement: http://www.take2games.com/eula/index.html

Screenshots

Baldur's Gate II4 screens
XCOM®4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: XCOM® at none against Baldur's Gate II's 4. XCOM® also leads on update cadence (monthly vs every 23 months) and price ($4.99 vs $9.99). On review sentiment, ads, chart position and device support there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Baldur's Gate II costs $9.99 and XCOM® $4.99 up front. Baldur's Gate II sells 4 one-off in-app purchases. XCOM® asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

XCOM® holds the better App Store score, 4.3 against 4.1. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: XCOM® has 5.6K ratings behind it against 317, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 57% of Baldur's Gate II's written reviews are positive against 62% of XCOM®'s.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Baldur's Gate II ships an update every 23 months, XCOM® monthly. The most recent releases landed on October 23, 2026 and October 21, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard7 real differences · 4 level
Baldur's Gate II versus XCOM®: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterBaldur's Gate IIXCOM®
Price$9.99$4.99 — better
Rating4.1 (317 ratings)4.3 (5.6K ratings) — better
Positive reviews56.6% of reviews61.9% of reviews — better
Number of ratings3175.6K — better
Update frequencyEvery 23 monthsMonthly — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFree with in-app purchases — betterPaid
Best chart rank#75 — better#76
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS11.09.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size3.7 GB3.3 GB
Age rating12+17+
DeveloperOverhaul Games2K

Customer experience

Baldur's Gate II

All ratings314 ratings
Positive75.8%
Neutral3.5%
Negative20.7%
Written reviews611 reviews
Positive56.6%
Neutral8.8%
Negative34.5%

XCOM®

All ratings5,601 ratings
Positive83.9%
Neutral2.5%
Negative13.6%
Written reviews451 reviews
Positive61.9%
Neutral7.8%
Negative30.4%

User reviews

Baldur's Gate II

From 317 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🎮 Excellent RPG experience
  • 💎 Classic game with great story
  • 🎨 Impressive graphics and visuals
  • 🕹️ Smooth controls and gameplay
  • 🕰️ Huge amount of content and replayability

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Bugs and glitches
  • 🔍 Small text and UI elements
  • 🔌 Compatibility issues with newer devices
  • 🤔 Confusing or lacking tutorials
  • 💰 Expensive in-app purchases

XCOM®

From 5.6K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🚀 Excellent port of the PC game
  • 👍 Great gameplay and strategy
  • 💎 Addictive and replayable
  • 🎮 Faithful to the XCOM franchise
  • 🔝 Best strategy game on iOS

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Frequent crashes and bugs
  • 🔍 Difficult to control on small screens
  • 🔋 Battery draining
  • 🗺️ Limited map selection compared to PC
  • 🔇 Sound issues and lack of audio options

Bugs and requests

Baldur's Gate II

Reported bugs

5 issues
  • Game-breaking bugs in key quests
  • Crashes and freezes
  • Disappearing NPCs and items
  • Broken multiplayer functionality
  • Difficulty slider not working as expected

Requested features

5 requests
  • French language support
  • Improved character import/export
  • Controller support
  • Larger text and UI scaling options
  • Cloud save/sync across devices

XCOM®

Reported bugs

5 issues
  • Tutorial getting stuck
  • Crashes when returning to base
  • Inability to move soldiers to elevated positions
  • Unresponsive menus and UI
  • Progression-blocking bugs

Requested features

5 requests
  • Controller support
  • Improved camera controls
  • Full screen support for newer devices
  • Update to fix compatibility issues
  • More customization options

In-app purchases

4 purchases

Baldur's Gate II

One-time4
  • A Price Paid in Blood$2.99
  • In Defense of the Wild$2.99
  • A Voice in the Dark$2.99
Show 1 more
  • Gallery of Heroes$2.99
None

XCOM®

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Baldur's Gate II free?
Baldur's Gate II costs $9.99, and also offers in-app purchases.
Is XCOM® free?
XCOM® costs $4.99, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Baldur's Gate II or XCOM®?
XCOM® is rated higher. Baldur's Gate II averages 4.1 out of 5 from 317 ratings, while XCOM® averages 4.3 from 5.6K ratings.
Do Baldur's Gate II or XCOM® have ads?
Neither Baldur's Gate II nor XCOM® shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Baldur's Gate II or XCOM®?
Baldur's Gate II ships an update every 23 months, and XCOM® monthly. Most recently, Baldur's Gate II was updated on October 23, 2026 and XCOM® on October 21, 2026.
Which is more popular, Baldur's Gate II or XCOM®?
Baldur's Gate II currently peaks at #75 in the App Store charts, and XCOM® at #76. Chart position reflects recent download velocity rather than total install base.

Other comparisons