A tactical shooter is a sub-genre of first- and third-person shooters, associated with using strategy, planning, and tactics in gameplay, as well as the realistic simulations of ballistics, firearm mechanics, physics, stamina, and low time to kill. Dating back to strategy games from the late 1980s, the genre first rose to prominence in the late 1990s with the releases of several well-received tactical shooters. The popularity of the genre saw a decline in the late 2000s as fast-paced "arcade"-like action shooters rose to prominence, it has seen a revitalization since the mid-2010s with the successful releases of several modern tactical shooters.
Tactical Ops: Assault on Terror is a first-person shooter video game developed in 2002 by Kamehan Studios and published by Infogrames as a MicroProse title. The game is a standalone retail version of a multiplayer modification of the same name published by Kamehan Studios in 1999 for the game Unreal Tournament. The game features match-based missions in which two teams, themed as Special Forces and terrorists, battle to complete mission objectives and kill their opponents. Upon release, Tactical Ops received mixed to average reviews, with critics faulting the game's similarities to the non-commercial version and lack of defining features compared to other multiplayer first-person shooters.
Counter-Strike: Condition Zero is a first-person shooter video game developed by Ritual Entertainment, Turtle Rock Studios, and Valve, and published by Sierra Entertainment and Valve. The follow-up to Counter-Strike (2000), it was released in March 2004 for Windows. Condition Zero utilizes the GoldSrc engine and has a multiplayer mode, which features updated character models, textures, maps and other graphical tweaks. It also includes two single-player campaigns; Tour of Duty and Condition Zero: Deleted Scenes.
Day of Defeat: Source is a team-based online first-person shooter multiplayer video game developed by Valve. Set in World War II, the game is a remake of Day of Defeat. It was updated from the GoldSrc engine used by its predecessor to the Source engine, and a remake of the game models. The game was released for Microsoft Windows on September 26, 2005, distributed through Valve's online content delivery service Steam. Retail distribution of the game was handled by Electronic Arts.
Operation Flashpoint: Dragon Rising is a tactical shooter video game for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 developed and published by Codemasters. Codemasters has advertised the game as a tactical shooter designed to represent modern infantry combat realistically. It is a stand-alone sequel to Bohemia Interactive's Operation Flashpoint: Cold War Crisis, but was developed entirely by Codemasters due to a falling-out between the two companies.
Resistance: Fall of Man is a 2006 first-person shooter video game for the PlayStation 3. It was developed by Insomniac Games and published by Sony Computer Entertainment. The game is set in an alternate history 1951, and follows Sergeant Nathan Hale as he and the human resistance forces attempt to drive a mysterious alien-like invasion out of the United Kingdom. The story continues in Resistance 2.
Medal of Honor: Airborne is a first-person shooter video game, developed by EA Los Angeles, and released worldwide on mobile phones in August 2007, on Microsoft Windows and Xbox 360 in September 2007, and on PlayStation 3 in November 2007. It is the 11th installment of the Medal of Honor series, and uses a modified version of Unreal Engine 3, In the game's single-player mode, players assume the role of an American paratrooper in the US 82nd Airborne Division who is airdropped with his squadrons and fights against hostile forces across six large missions that take place during the latter half of the European theater of World War II, while in its online multiplayer mode, players can choose to fight as Allied soldiers that parachute into the battlefield, or as Axis soldiers who defend on the ground.
SOCOM 4 U.S. Navy SEALs is a tactical shooter video game developed by Zipper Interactive and published by Sony Computer Entertainment for PlayStation 3. It is the sequel to SOCOM U.S. Navy SEALs: Combined Assault and is also the last installment for the franchise.
Men of War: Assault Squad, is a game of real-time tactics strategy game set in World War II.
Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CS:GO) is a 2012 multiplayer tactical first-person shooter developed by Valve and Hidden Path Entertainment. It is the fourth game in the Counter-Strike series. Developed for over two years, Global Offensive was released for OS X, PlayStation 3, Windows, and Xbox 360 in August 2012, and for Linux in 2014.
Call of Duty: Ghosts is a 2013 first-person shooter video game developed by Infinity Ward and published by Activision. It is the tenth major installment in the Call of Duty series and the sixth developed by Infinity Ward. It was released for PlayStation 3, Wii U, Windows, and Xbox 360, on November 5, 2013. The game was released with the launch of the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One.
Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare is a 2014 first-person shooter video game published by Activision. The eleventh major installment in the Call of Duty series, the game was developed by Sledgehammer Games for PlayStation 4, Windows and Xbox One, while High Moon Studios developed the versions released on PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360, and Raven Software developed the game's multiplayer and the Exo-Zombies mode.
Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six Siege is an online tactical shooter video game developed by Ubisoft Montreal and published by Ubisoft. It was released worldwide for PlayStation 4, Windows, and Xbox One on December 1, 2015; the game was also released for PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S exactly five years later on December 1, 2020. The title received a port for Google Stadia on June 30, 2021, and one for Amazon Luna in January 2022. The game puts heavy emphasis on environmental destruction and cooperation between players. Each player assumes control of an attacker or a defender in different gameplay modes such as rescuing a hostage, defusing a bomb, and taking control of an objective within a room. The title has no campaign but features a series of short, offline missions called, "situations" that can be played solo. These missions have a loose narrative, focusing on recruits going through training to prepare them for future encounters with the "White Masks", a terrorist group that threatens the safety of the world.
Verdun is a squad-based multiplayer first-person shooter video game set during World War I. It was released on 28 April 2015 on Steam, after more than a year in Steam Early Access. It was released for PlayStation 4 on 30 August 2016. An Xbox One version was released on 8 March 2017. A sequel to Verdun, Tannenberg, was released into Steam Early Access on 16 November 2017, and left Early Access for a full release on 13 February 2019. The game released for PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S on 15 June 2021 with higher resolution and better texture quality.
Titanfall 2 is a first-person shooter video game, developed by Respawn Entertainment and published by Electronic Arts. A sequel to 2014's Titanfall, the game was released worldwide on October 28, 2016, for PlayStation 4, Windows, and Xbox One. In Titanfall 2, players control Titans, mecha-style exoskeletons and their pilots, who are agile and equipped with a variety of skills ranging from wall-running to cloaking. Set in a science fiction universe, the single-player campaign follows the story of Jack Cooper, a rifleman from the Frontier Militia, who bonds with his mentor's Titan BT-7274 after his mentor, Tai Lastimosa, is killed in action. Together, they embark on a quest to stop the Interstellar Manufacturing Corporation (IMC) from using a superweapon to destroy the Militia base on the planet Harmony.
Umbrella Corps is a 2016 tactical shooter game developed and published by Capcom. Released for Microsoft Windows and PlayStation 4, it is a spin-off of the Resident Evil series and was released worldwide in June 2016. The game received negative reviews from critics.
Battlefield 1 is a first-person shooter game developed by DICE and published by Electronic Arts. It is the tenth installment in the Battlefield series and the first main entry in the series since Battlefield 4 in 2013. It was released for PlayStation 4, Windows, and Xbox One in October 2016.
Call of Duty: WWII is a 2017 first-person shooter game developed by Sledgehammer Games and published by Activision. It was released worldwide on November 3, 2017 for PlayStation 4, Windows and Xbox One. It is the fourteenth main installment in the Call of Duty series and the first title in the series to be set primarily during World War II since Call of Duty: World at War in 2008.
Insurgency: Sandstorm is a multiplayer tactical first-person shooter video game developed by New World Interactive and published by Focus Home Interactive. The game is a sequel to the 2014 video game Insurgency. Set in an unnamed fictional Middle Eastern region, the game depicts a conflict between two factions: "Security", loosely based on various militaries ; and "Insurgents", loosely based on various paramilitary and terrorist groups.
Counter-Strike 2 is a 2023 multiplayer tactical first-person shooter game developed and published by Valve. It is the fifth main installment of the Counter-Strike series. Developed as an updated version of the previous main entry, Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (2012), it was announced on March 22, 2023, and was released on September 27, 2023, for Windows and Linux, replacing Global Offensive on Steam.
