Ubisoft has revealed Rainbow Six Tactics, a single-player turn-based strategy game set to launch in 2027.
In the works at Mario + Rabbids co-developer Ubisoft Paris, the game will see players running the Rainbow Six organization – led by Vegas protagonist Paul Bishop – as it works to counter a global threat, with 15 recruitable operators from Siege available.
Rainbow Six Tactics is structured like XCOM, in the sense that players will deploy units into turn-based combat while managing resources and developing facilities between missions.
The game is being developed at Ubisoft Paris, where the vision is to create something that appeals to both older Vegas fans and modern Siege players.
"Rainbow Six embeds a lot of tactics in its DNA," Martial Potron, game director, tells GamesRadar+. "It has always been called a tactical shooter. From the very beginning, you had this planning mode where you could set up your squad and decide where they would go while you were playing in the FPS mode. And even in Siege now, they keep a lot of tactical elements [...] It was a fantastic opportunity to twist it and offer a game that uses the same DNA for players who want to experience it differently."
I've spent hours organizing the perfect raid in Rainbow Six: Vegas 2's Terrorist Hunt mode, but couldn't crack Siege despite many attempts – so Potron's speaking my language. Ubisoft Montreal, which develops Rainbow Six Siege, thought so too.
"We had absolutely no issue convincing the Rainbow Six team that it was a good idea," says Potron. "We are really grateful that the team in Montreal, Vantage [Ubisoft's recently-formed subsidiary], and Ubisoft in general, let us do this game."
While the XCOM comparisons are obvious, Rainbow Six Tactics has recon and breaching features that go further than anything I've seen in modern XCOM.
There will be no fog of war outside, as the Rainbow Six team has aerial support to feed them intel, but indoors are hidden – meaning you need to use Siege's small recon drones to scope out interiors, clocking unit positions and weapons, to make plans.
You can then queue up breaching commands, which are then carried out at once – and with fully-destructible environments, you can (literally and metaphorically) hit buildings like a sledgehammer.
Rainbow Six Tactics doesn't have an exact release date beyond its 2027 window, but keep an eye on GamesRadar+ for our full chat with Potron going live soon.
Searching for something else to look forward to? Browse through our roundup of the most exciting new games coming this year and beyond for more.
