There’s a little more control over how you assemble your mercenary squad in XCOM-Like Warhounds now. Update 1.0.2 is live, introducing the ability to choose your rookies’ classes alongside new Exoskeleton armor, a campaign progression rebalance, and a substantial round of fixes.
It’s the latest update for Everplay DMCC and Brightika’s turn-based tactical game, which takes inspiration from XCOM and Jagged Alliance. The rookie class selection is the change that catches my attention here. Requested by the community, it gives you a direct say in each recruit’s combat role, which should make it easier to fill gaps in the squad or experiment with different class combinations.
Further into the campaign, the new Exoskeleton armor adds another equipment option, available through loot or purchases on the Black Market. The announcement doesn’t detail its stats or specific bonuses.
The campaign economy and progression have been rebalanced to deliver a smoother experience. Several interface additions should also help with planning between deployments: recon operations and covert missions now have progress bars, the Black Market shows a countdown before closing, and the post-mission hangar displays how long mercenaries will remain injured or tired.
During combat, the shot accuracy calculation window has been improved, while tiles containing loot now receive a marker. The patch also addresses accuracy discrepancies related to line of sight and issues with certain abilities used in smoke.
Other notable fixes include missing Rescue mission rewards, Joint Operation missions failing to spawn correctly, the ability reset button, and statuses not being properly preserved when saving and loading. Manual extraction has also been disabled during story missions.
There are a few additions for returning players, too. Subsequent playthroughs can now skip the tutorial, while the Character Editor gains patches, armor kits, and another headgear option.
Brazilian Portuguese, Korean, Japanese, and Turkish localization have been added, alongside layout fixes for Steam Deck and a correction to the global map cursor on ultrawide monitors.
Warhounds is available on PC via Steam, where its mercenary campaign pairs tactical firefights with recruitment, equipment management, and base upgrades. To accompany the update, the game is 20% off until October 1, 2026. Below are the latest update trailer and details about the game.
About Warhounds
Warhounds is a turn-based tactical & strategy game, inspired by XCOM and Jagged Alliance, about a mercenary squad with an old-school action movie vibe. Command an elite team of bold, stylish operators, wage a campaign in an alternate-future Africa, and decide the war’s outcome mission by mission.
Be the commander.
Calculate lines of fire and flank angle, break cover, and seize the high ground. Every turn is decided more by your planning and tactics, less – by RNG.
Hire fighters with personality.
Combine classes: Assault, Specialist, Sniper, Machine Gunner, and Grenadier. Pick the right gear for the job, treat and extract, and protect key operatives. Take calculated risks. High combat lethality makes every decision count.
Run the base between missions.
Recruit, upgrade, purchase equipment, and handle logistics, finances, medical supplies, and downtime. Choose allied factions, build relationships, gather intel, and execute covert ops. Your choices have consequences: your decisions determine your access to missions, gear, and allies.
Use the tools of tomorrow.
Deploy drones, combat scanners, smoke, and optical camo. Upgrade and improve your kit to win under any conditions.
Set your own pace.
Knock out a mission in 25-40 minutes, or settle in for a long session. Customize the challenge: go for a brutal tactical hell or a light, relaxing run.
What you’ll get:
- No point-blank misses – flank + close distance = 100% hit chance.
- Real ballistics, destructible cover, vertical gameplay, and cone overwatch.
- Mercenaries with character and mission-focused loadouts without any busywork.
- Base management, contracts, budgets, allies, and consequences for your actions.
Assemble your squad. Take the contract. Decide Africa’s future beyond 2035.
