Editing Tactical shooter (section)

===Decline and resurgence===
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By the late 2000s, arcade-style casual shooters such as ''[[Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare]]'' (2007) began to prove more popular than classic-style shooters such as ''[[Quake (series)|Quake]]'' and ''[[Unreal (video game series)|Unreal]]'', although the field of true tactical shooters was largely neglected by developers since the mid-to-late 2000s. At that point, most tactical shooter franchises such as ''SWAT'' and ''SOCOM'' were discontinued, while developers such as [[Red Storm Entertainment|Red Storm]] and [[Sierra Entertainment|Sierra]] went defunct or were absorbed by larger companies.

Traditionally tactical shooter series like ''Rainbow Six'' and ''Ghost Recon'' drifted away from tactical realism towards cinematic action-centered themes, as can be witnessed by contemporary ''Rainbow Six'' sequels, which completely do away with the series' pre-action planning stage (last seen in 2003's ''[[Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six 3: Raven Shield|Rainbow Six 3: Raven Shield]]'') and the series' established counterterrorism setting as of [[Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six Siege|''Rainbow Six Siege'']] (2015, in updates released later) and [[Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six Extraction|''Rainbow Six Extraction'']] (2022); and the futuristic settings of ''[[Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon: Future Soldier|Ghost Recon: Future Soldier]]'' (2012), which features invisibility cloaks and shoulder-mounted anti-tank rockets. Even the ''[[Spec Ops (series)|Spec Ops]]'' series, which began as a brutally realistic, almost impenetrably-so, tactical shooter, was transformed into a more cinematic story-focused generic third-person shooter.

In the 2010s, the tactical shooter genre underwent a significant resurgence, propelled by the successful releases of ''[[Arma 3]]'' (2013), ''[[Insurgency (video game)|Insurgency]]'' (2014), and ''[[Squad (video game)|Squad]]'' (2015) early in the decade. This revival gained further traction with later titles, including ''[[Rising Storm 2: Vietnam]]'' (2017), ''[[Insurgency: Sandstorm]]'' (2018), and ''[[Ready or Not (video game)|Ready or Not]]'' (2021), which reinvigorated the genre through the late 2010s and early 2020s. Since then, the genre has experienced limited innovation, with few new tactical shooters announced. Notable exceptions include Bohemia Interactive's ''[[Arma 4]]'', announced in early 2025 with a planned release in 2027,<ref>{{Cite web |title=Arma 4 release date window and latest news |url=<a href="https://www.pcgamesn.com/arma-4/release-date">https://www.pcgamesn.com/arma-4/release-date</a> |access-date=2025-05-17 |website=PCGamesN |date=2025-05-05}}</ref> and ''[[Bellum (video game)]]'' (2025), developed by Astarte Industries with a team comprising former developers from ''Arma'', ''Squad'', and ''Ready or Not''.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Official Bellum Website |url=<a href="https://playbellum.com">https://playbellum.com</a> |access-date=2025-05-17 |website=playbellum.com}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Dualshockers |url=<a href="https://www.dualshockers.com/indie-arma-competitor-unveils-main-gameplay-mode/">https://www.dualshockers.com/indie-arma-competitor-unveils-main-gameplay-mode/</a> |access-date=2025-05-17 |website=dualshockers.com}}</ref> Tactical shooters continue to sustain a dedicated fanbase, primarily driven by [[Indie game|indie developers]] who emphasize the genre's focus on strategic gameplay and realism.

Casual games like ''Rainbow Six Siege'' and ''[[Battlefield V]]'' have also demonstrated "back to roots" philosophies, such as the removal of regenerative health and "3D spotting" in the latter.

Outside typical tactical shooters, the game mechanics and realistic simulations of the genre have also been used in [[battle royale game]]s, [[extraction shooter]]s, and [[esports]]-centric games. However, as few of them feature the game design staples of tactical shooters (such as strategic planning, squad-level tactics, slow-paced gameplay, and a realistic premise), they are usually not considered as such.

Tactical shooters have also been released as [[virtual reality game]]s, such as ''[[Hot Dogs, Horseshoes & Hand Grenades]]'', ''Pavlov VR'', ''Onward'', and ''[[Breachers VR]]''.