XCOM: Enemy Within - Firaxis "couldn't simply just patch it in" on consoles

If you want XCOM: Enemy Unknown's upcoming expansion on PlayStation 3 or Xbox 360, you're going to have to buy the game all over again; Firaxis has said it could not have released Enemy Within as an add-on.

Senior producer Garth DeAngelis told Joystiq that the Commander's Edition re-release was the only way to bring Enemy Within to consoles.

"For the expansion on the PC, it was fairly straightforward. But when it came to the consoles, it was too big. If we wanted to deliver the same content to the console players, we had to do it this way as a standalone expansion on a disc. We couldn't simply just patch it in," he said.

The developer said that the multiple changes to the base XCOM: Enemy Unknown game, such as new unit types and skill trees, required a re-release.

"These things are tied deeply into Enemy Unknown so we wanted to release [the Commander's Edition] as sort of the ultimate edition, with all the previous DLC on this one disc. It was either deliver it this way or not deliver it at all," he added.

XCOM: Enemy Within launches on November 12. It will cost $30 as an add-on for Mac and PC, but on PS3 and Xbox 360 will be released as part of the Commander's Edition of XCOM: Enemy Unknown.