What does XCOM title stand for?

[𝑲]

Excommunication? Is it known? It is important as a general to know the name of the project I am running. If someone asks me at a dinner party (however short-lived with all the alien attacks) what I'm doing these days, I always have to step around the question.

[Mandemon]

XCOM: Extraterrestial COMbat unit. It used to be X-COM, but I am not sure why the hyphen was removed. Then again, PS1 version of OG spelled it as XCOM too.

[𝑲]

Thanks!

[Milk]

Originally posted by Mandemon:

XCOM: Extraterrestial COMbat unit. It used to be X-COM, but I am not sure why the hyphen was removed. Then again, PS1 version of OG spelled it as XCOM too.

If you look at the X-COM logo, the dash between the COM is implied to be the hyphen.

[Happy Sheep]

thanks guys didn't know that.

[Remiel]

According to Mike Brunton (from Microprose UK), the original name was X-CON with con for confrontation. Source: https://youtu.be/LP7VjbuNEzg?t=9m36s
Daily reminder that the original british name for the 1994 game was UFO: Enemy Unknown and was renamed in USA as X-COM: UFO Defense.

Also, the connection between Sid Meier's Civilization and XCOM goes back to 1994, because good old Microprose decided it was a good idea to feature a UFOpedia in the style of the Civilopedia. The tech tree was also taken from Civ 1.

[Milk]

Excommunicatus