All these XM8 variations are very nice guns in the game..but isnt this a completely canceled project? Alternate history design choice by DICE?

Well.. the entire story and multiplayer is a "What if.." instead of actual history, so it makes sense that DICE also said "what if..?" at the weapons.

The game also features .50 cal machineguns with barrels that never overheat. Don't question these things, it's not a simulator, it's a game.

... just wondering why they put that gun in there not why its not realistic in terms of simulator game mechanics

It's fine to wonder..  
 
I don't know anything about the XM8, so I can't help you.. 
Maybe DICE just thought it was a good idea?

its weird I can't think of any other game that has had it off the top of my head. MW2 surely didn't

If you want to be technical, I'm fairly sure that the XM8 was still in testing in the military when the original was being made. So, they just carried it over.

oo nice one

Because it's cool.

blade runner gun is cool too :>

I think MGS4 had it.

It's been in a few other games as well.   Here's the Giant Bomb page.

because....the xm8 is awesome!
 
I think it is a cool, unique weapon to Bad company. MW2 has those 1337s or w/e they call them, we have xm8s. (but they are balanced. ZIng!)

I wonder if people actually use these rifles...like mercenaries or something, since according to the internets its a very good gun 
 

" its weird I can't think of any other game that has had it off the top of my head. MW2 surely didn't "

" Because it's cool. "

I think graw 2 had the xm8.

It's cause they're dumb.
 
GRAW 1/2 also had that gun and it bugged me as well.

I'm not a gun-nut and don't really know anything about it, but I thought that it was canceled as a large scale project because it was too expensive to make it the new default gun and not because they didn't like them.  So giving a few to some special ops guys didn't seem weird to me.
 
I just remember reading that somewhere and it's probably BS.

I kind of agree with the OP and don't know why this reject assault rifle is in the game, featured prominently with the smg/AR/light machine gun versions of the xm8.
 
At least both the SCAR and HK416 are in the game (two platforms that will replace the m4, which is what the xm8 tried to do), but we could have used more versions of these rifles (hk416, hk417 ; scar-L, scar-H)

I think it's actually cool. 
Makes B Company seem like some weird black market mercenary group because they use weapons that never made it to mass production.  In the last game, the default gun for Marlowe (and I think Sarge) was the M4, and the XM8 was just a cool gun you could find or pick up off the Legionaire's troops.  Now, B Company is so badass that they use the XM8 as their default.

A little off-topic... 
 
The biggest surprise to me in this game are the gun models. They SUCK.  
 
Everything else in this game looks absolutely stunningly gorgeous, but all the guns look like paper-craft. Flat boring surfaces with no texture and personality.

Do XM8s are my favorite weapons to use in video games...Socom..GRAW...

From scanning the wikipedia, the XM8 might have been stopped for more economic and business reasons then it being a bad gun (although the LMG variant of the gun wasn't good enough to beat out the M249). Or maybe DICE just loves the XM8.

I think it's a pretty cool looking gun.  I don't really care if they stopped production of it.  It's not like it never existed. 

Ghost Recon games have had then too.  
 
But I agree, I'm bored of seeing this gun in games. Sure it was awesome, but it's not even the weird exotic experimental gun it used to be. We need something newer and weirder. Now I just plain don't like 'em.

" Sure it was awesome, but it's not even the weird exotic experimental gun it used to be. We need something newer and weirder. Now I just plain don't like 'em. "

I guess it looks cool and yes it's a cancelled project.

I'm not a huge fan of this design. On the other hand a game with only experimental equipment would be interesting. Something like Call of Duty: Experimental Warfare. It would give a new feel to the modern shooters.

Huh, interesting, this gun also showed up in ArmA II. It is a little odd that they would use it, but it's still a hell of a rifle from the looks of it.

Nice! A gun thread, we don't get too many legit ones on GB. Ya it bugs me that they put it in there, after all it IS a canned project. The first game i remember seeing it in was SOCOM 3, but back then it was still a prototype if i'm not mistaken. As far as replacements for the M4 and M16, those guns won't be replaced for a few years yet, even though testing has proved, time and time again, that there ARE in fact more effective assault rifles out there. But the fact remains, the weapon manufacturers go to the current heads of government and military and say "Hey, we'll give you unparraled political support and in return, you make out weapon the standard issue firearm for the US Army". Since the original m16 was released back in 1957 and withstood both Vietnam conflicts, it has a very very very strong foothold for being the go to gun of the US and Canadian military( well it's the m4 now but you get the point) If I were to pick a weapon to replace the M4, it would have to be the Barret M468, the platform is very similar to that of the M4, but it packs a bigger punch due to the 6.8 caliber rounds it puts down range. 

I believe the US Military rejected it on multiple concerns, some of which I heard were not direct faults of the gun itself. There was problems of the gun overheating but that was corrected, there was problems with the longevity of the batteries for electronic scopes they had being not long lasting enough but that can be corrected, and then they just rejected it completely and I also hear troops don't like it, even though it's technically supposed to be one of the most ergnomically designed guns on Earth?
 
And I may be wrong here, but I don't know where I heard this, maybe I dreamed it and it's one of them things that fell into my head's box of "stuff that is probably true in real life" but I am sure you can buy XM8s privately, again, I may be wrong but I don't know where I heard that.

Due to the fact it was a cancelled military project, I don't think that means they aren't made anymore. Alright, so they are no longer used within the military, but perhaps they are still made? Not sure due to the fact I know very little about guns.

" Nice! A gun thread, we don't get too many legit ones on GB. Ya it bugs me that they put it in there, after all it IS a canned project. The first game i remember seeing it in was SOCOM 3, but back then it was still a prototype if i'm not mistaken. As far as replacements for the M4 and M16, those guns won't be replaced for a few years yet, even though testing has proved, time and time again, that there ARE in fact more effective assault rifles out there. But the fact remains, the weapon manufacturers go to the current heads of government and military and say "Hey, we'll give you unparraled political support and in return, you make out weapon the standard issue firearm for the US Army". Since the original m16 was released back in 1957 and withstood both Vietnam conflicts, it has a very very very strong foothold for being the go to gun of the US and Canadian military( well it's the m4 now but you get the point) If I were to pick a weapon to replace the M4, it would have to be the Barret M468, the platform is very similar to that of the M4, but it packs a bigger punch due to the 6.8 caliber rounds it puts down range.  "

" @MB: Don't most the mounted guns in the game overheat after 20 seconds or so? Or is there another 50 cal that doesn't? "

" @MB: Don't most the mounted guns in the game overheat after 20 seconds or so? Or is there another 50 cal that doesn't? "

Because they can.

I believe XM8 had some issues such as overheating and it being made out of plastic; goes hand in hand with it melting.
 
Besides that its uneconomical to made the change from the M16 and M4 to something entirely new. There are some other rifles such as the HK416 which uses most of the older parts but are more durable. They don't have to buy the gun itself, just get the parts and exchange them with existing rifles. 
 
As for why its in the game is beyond me. 'Cause they can. Just like multiplayer has guys running with the Thompson or M1 Garand.

I wouldn't want to take it with me to a fight simply because it's ugly. I would rather take a Thompson. In fact, if I had to choose a gun to go to war with, I would pick the Thompson over everything.