XCOM® vs Star Traders
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both games, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
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.
- 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
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***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
Star Traders
Command your own starship and crew in a vast, procedurally generated open universe. Forge your path as a pirate, merchant, bounty hunter, or explorer, influencing factions and shaping your crew through your choices in this epic sci-fi RPG.
- Open universe exploration
- Multiple captain careers (26 jobs)
- Spaceship customization (350+ upgrades)
- Crew assembly and talent management
- Dynamic narrative and faction influence
- Crew molding based on player choices
- Varied difficulty options including permadeath
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You are the captain of a starship venturing through a massive open universe. Customize your crew and take command at the helm of your very own ship as you explore a galaxy torn apart by internal strife, alien threats, and political intrigue. Command your ship and crew as a space pirate, merchant, bounty hunter, and more in Star Traders: Frontiers – an epic space RPG from Trese Brothers Games. Venture forth into a massive open universe, rich with adventure and the lore of the Star Traders. Choose your path by assembling and commanding your custom crew and spaceship in a constantly evolving galaxy torn by internal strife, political intrigue, and alien threats. Will you fly as a pirate terrorizing shipping lanes, join the solar wars as a military captain, or track targets across the stars as a fearsome bounty hunter? - Explore a rich, open universe: Discover endless procedurally-generated galactic maps, meet unique characters, and take on enemies to conquer the galaxy! - Become an intergalactic captain: Take on the role of a spy, smuggler, explorer, pirate, merchant, bounty hunter, and more (26 jobs total)! - Customize your own spaceship: Choose from more than 350 upgrades and 45 ship hulls to build your very own vessel to venture across the vast reaches of space. - Assemble and tailor a loyal crew: Assign talents and equip specialized gear for every spaceship crew member. - Experience an ever-changing narrative: Decide to make friends or foes with other factions and influence political, economic, and personal vendettas. - Mold the crew by your choices: As you make decisions and set the tone for your ship, your crew will grow and change to match. Destroy enemy ships with all hands on deck and your crew will become more bloodthirsty and savage. Explore distant worlds and loot dangerous wastelands and your crew will become intrepid and clever ... or scarred and half-mad. - Varied Difficulty Options! play with save slots to try out different builds or storylines or turn on character permadeath and enjoy classic roguelike experience - Achievement Unlocks: accomplish story and challenge goals to unlock additional optional (but not better) content like new starting ships and new starting contacts First there was the Exodus – when survivors of a great war left the ruins of the Galactic Core behind in search of a new home in the stars. Scattered worlds were claimed on the fringe of the galaxy. Each pocket of survivors held on to an isolated set of worlds while trying to rebuild under the great law of Shalun. Three centuries later, technology has brought them back together again. Discovery of the hyperwarp has bridged what was once an unimaginable distance between far-flung colonies, long-lost families, and political factions. With that reunification has come great economic prosperity. The hyperwarp reestablished the transportation of cargo, goods, and technologies between the quadrants – but it has also brought great strife. Political rivalries have been rekindled, blood has been shed in age-old feuds, and the fires of war have been stoked. Amidst the political infighting, a ruthless revolution is rising – and the fervent explorers of the hyperwarp have awoken something that was better left asleep. Our very first game, Star Traders RPG, took hundreds of thousands of gamers on an interstellar adventure. Star Traders’ success and overwhelmingly positive reception helped to launch Trese Brothers Games. It was the adventures of our community’s star-crossed captains that put us on a trajectory to share more of our worlds, ideas, and dreams. We set out to capture the loneliness, bravery, and camaraderie of people living together in a spaceship sailing across the stars. It is with great pride that after releasing four other games in the Star Traders universe, we’ve created a sequel to the original Star Traders RPG. Step onto the bridge of your starship, take to the stars, and create your own story in Star Traders: Frontiers.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: Star Traders at 4.6 against XCOM®'s 4.3. Star Traders also leads on review sentiment (73% vs 62%). XCOM®'s advantage is ratings volume (5.6K vs 668) and price ($4.99 vs $6.99). On update cadence, ads, in-app purchases and monetization model 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
XCOM® costs $4.99 and Star Traders $6.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
Star Traders holds the better App Store score, 4.6 against 4.3. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: XCOM® has 5.6K ratings behind it against 668, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 62% of XCOM®'s written reviews are positive against 73% of Star Traders's.
XCOM® ships an update monthly, Star Traders every 3 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 1, 2026 and September 30, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | XCOM® | Star Traders |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $4.99 — better | $6.99 |
| Rating | 4.3 (5.6K ratings) | 4.6 (668 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 62.0% of reviews | 73.1% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 5.6K — better | 668 |
| Update frequency | Monthly | Every 3 weeks — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Paid | Paid |
| Best chart rank | #68 | #36 — better |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 9.0 — better | 12.1 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 3.3 GB | 316 MB |
| Age rating | 17+ | 12+ |
| Developer | 2K | Trese Brothers |
Customer experience
XCOM®
Star Traders
User reviews
XCOM®
From 5.6K App Store ratingsWhat 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
Star Traders
From 668 App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 🌟 Impressive depth and complexity
- 🌍 Vast open-world with endless possibilities
- 🔍 Engaging story and lore
- 🤖 Diverse gameplay options (trading, exploration, combat, etc.)
- 🕹️ Satisfying ship and crew management
Room to improve
- 🤔 Steep learning curve, lacks clear tutorials
- 🔍 Repetitive or tedious aspects in late game
- 📱 UI/UX issues on smaller mobile devices
- 🎲 Frustrating RNG elements and difficulty spikes
- 🔒 Lack of cloud save functionality
Bugs and requests
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
Star Traders
Reported bugs
4 issues- Crew combat screen UI issues causing accidental input
- Reputation/faction system bugs leading to unexpected outcomes
- Crashes and freezes when navigating certain screens
- Inconsistent behavior with ship component upgrades
Requested features
5 requests- Ability to customize ship colors and appearances
- Option to command/control multiple ships as a fleet
- More end-game content and progression systems
- Improved UI scaling and optimization for larger screens
- Cloud save/sync functionality across devices
In-app purchases
XCOM®
No in-app purchases
Star Traders
No in-app purchases







