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. Further examples into the 2020s 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)|Bellum]]'' (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.

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. 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.

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