Comparison

XCOM® vs Northgard

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

Head to head
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

About

Northgard

Lead a Viking clan to explore, settle, and conquer a mysterious new continent. Manage resources, assign jobs, and survive harsh winters and dangerous foes. Choose your clan's path to victory through conquest, trade, or devotion.

Highlights
  • Build and manage settlements
  • Assign Vikings to jobs
  • Resource management and survival
  • Territory expansion and discovery
  • Multiple victory conditions
  • Story mode campaign
  • Multiplayer modes
Read full description

Northgard is a strategy game based on Norse mythology in which you control a Clan of Vikings fighting for the control of a mysterious newfound continent. After years of tireless explorations, brave Vikings have discovered a new land filled with mystery, danger and riches: NORTHGARD. The boldest Northmen have set sail to explore and conquer these new shores, bring fame to their Clan and write history through conquest, trading, or devotion to the Gods. That is, if they can survive the dire Wolves and Undead Warriors roaming the land, befriend or defeat the giants, and survive the harshest winters ever witnessed in the North. FEATURES • Build your settlement on the newly discovered continent of Northgard • Assign your vikings to various jobs (Farmer, Warrior, Sailor, Loremaster...) • Manage your resources carefully and survive harsh winters and vicious foes • Expand and discover new territory with unique strategic opportunities • Achieve different victory conditions (Conquest, Fame, Lore, Trading...) STORY MODE: RIG’S SAGA The Viking High King is murdered and his Regal Horn is stolen by a man named Hagen. This event kickstarts a saga that will take Rig, his son and heir accompanied by his right-hand man Brand through the new continent of Northgard. The continent where he will make new friends and foes and discover a much greater threat than Hagen, and the reasons behind his father’s assassination. MULTIPLAYER • Play with or against other Mobile players with up to 6 players • Includes Duel, Free for All and Teamplay modes CHOOSE YOUR CLAN In order to complete the 11 campaign chapters, the player will have to master the specificities of the 6 first clans and tame the unforgiving wilderness of Northgard. More clans are joining the fight for Northgard! • Clan of the Snake: Act from the shadows and take the lead with cunning guerilla tactics • Clan of the Dragon: Embrace the old ways and please the gods with sacrifices • Clan of the Kraken: Harness the bounty of the sea and unleash its brutal might You can unlock the clans of the Snake, Dragon and Kraken separately by buying the DLCs, or together with the Scale Bundle. • Clan of the Horse: Devote yourself to the art of blacksmithing and craft powerful Relics • Clan of the Ox: Equip ancestral equipment and prove the might of your forefathers • Clan of the Lynx: Adopt Nature’s way and lure mythical preys into ambushes You can unlock the Clans of the Horse, Ox and Lynx separately by buying the DLCs, or together with the Fur Bundle. • Clan of the Squirrel: Gather ingredients to prepare special recipes and survive the harsh winters • Clan of the Rat: Embrace the way of the Shamans and work for the clan • Clan of the Eagle: Occupy a large territory, venture outside and gather resources Unlock the clans of the Squirrel, Rat and Eagle separately by buying the DLCs, or together with the Winter Bundle. Carefully redesigned for mobile • Revamped interface • Game Center achievements • iCloud - Share your progress between iOS devices If you experience any issue with Northgard, please contact our customer support at support@playdigious.mail.helpshift.com and give us as much as possible information on your problem.

Screenshots

XCOM®4 screens
Northgard4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: XCOM® at none against Northgard's 12. XCOM® also leads on price ($4.99 vs $7.99) and iOS requirement (9.0 vs 13.6). Northgard's advantage is rating (4.6 vs 4.3) and chart position (#17 vs #71). On review sentiment, ratings volume, update cadence and ads 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

XCOM® costs $4.99 and Northgard $7.99 up front. Northgard sells 12 one-off in-app purchases. XCOM® asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Northgard holds the better App Store score, 4.6 against 4.3. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 5.6K and 3.6K respectively. Written reviews split almost evenly too, at 62% and 61% positive.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

XCOM® ships an update monthly, Northgard every 6 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 1, 2026 and September 30, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard6 real differences · 5 level
XCOM® versus Northgard: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterXCOM®Northgard
Price$4.99 — better$7.99
Rating4.3 (5.6K ratings)4.6 (3.6K ratings) — better
Positive reviews62.0% of reviews — better61.4% of reviews
Number of ratings5.6K — better3.6K
Update frequencyMonthly — betterEvery 6 weeks
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationPaidFree with in-app purchases — better
Best chart rank#71#17 — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS9.0 — better13.6
Further details — not scored
Size3.3 GB892 MB
Age rating17+9+
Developer2KPlaydigious

Customer experience

XCOM®

All ratings5,601 ratings
Positive83.9%
Neutral2.5%
Negative13.6%
Written reviews442 reviews
Positive62.0%
Neutral7.9%
Negative30.1%

Northgard

All ratings3,606 ratings
Positive90.2%
Neutral3.2%
Negative6.6%
Written reviews1,048 reviews
Positive61.4%
Neutral11.5%
Negative27.2%

User reviews

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

Northgard

From 3.6K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🚀 Great game
  • 👍 Fantastic strategy game
  • 👍 Challenging and fun
  • 👍 Excellent port to mobile
  • 👍 Lots of replayability

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Frequent crashes
  • 🐛 Buggy menus and UI
  • 🔋 Battery draining
  • 🐛 Glitchy audio
  • 🐛 Saves getting deleted

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

Northgard

Reported bugs

6 issues
  • Game crashes frequently
  • Menus and UI are buggy
  • Audio glitches and cuts out
  • Saves get deleted unexpectedly
  • Multiplayer is unreliable
Show 1 more
  • Achievements are not working properly

Requested features

6 requests
  • Add multiplayer mode
  • Improve tutorial and instructions
  • Add controller support
  • Optimize performance and stability
  • Add Chinese language support
Show 1 more
  • Improve clan/unit selection and management

In-app purchases

None

XCOM®

No in-app purchases

12 purchases

Northgard

One-time12
  • Clan of the Rat$2.95
  • Clan of the Squirrel$2.99
  • Clan of the snake$2.99
Show 9 more
  • Clan of the Dragon$2.99
  • Clan of the Horse$2.99
  • Clan of the Ox$2.99
  • Clan of the Kraken$2.99
  • Clan of the Lynx$2.99
  • Clan of the Eagle$2.99
  • Scale Bundle$6.99
  • Fur Bundle$6.99
  • Winter Bundle$6.99

Questions

Is XCOM® free?
XCOM® costs $4.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is Northgard free?
Northgard costs $7.99, and also offers in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, XCOM® or Northgard?
Northgard is rated higher. XCOM® averages 4.3 out of 5 from 5.6K ratings, while Northgard averages 4.6 from 3.6K ratings.
Do XCOM® or Northgard have ads?
Neither XCOM® nor Northgard shows ads.
Which is updated more often, XCOM® or Northgard?
XCOM® ships an update monthly, and Northgard every 6 weeks. Most recently, XCOM® was updated on October 1, 2026 and Northgard on September 30, 2026.
Which is more popular, XCOM® or Northgard?
XCOM® currently peaks at #71 in the App Store charts, and Northgard at #17. Chart position reflects recent download velocity rather than total install base.

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