Rainbow Six Tactics’ Best Feature Will Raise the Bar for All Strategy Games

Published Sep 4, 2026, 1:00 PM EDT And Paul Bishop is back Image: Ubisoft Tactics games are undergoing somewhat of a renaissance at the moment. It's been a while since we've had a top-tier XCOM entry, but other series have stepped up to fill the void: Marvel's Midnight Suns, Fire Emblem, Gears Tactics, Star Wars: Zero Company, next year's Worms Galactic Tactics, the list goes on. Now Ubisoft is introducing the genre to Rainbow Six. Developed by Ubisoft Paris and revealed during Gamescom’s Opening Night Live showcase, Rainbow Six Tactics is due to be released in 2027, and I saw a 20-minute-long gameplay demo behind closed doors at Gamescom 2026. A spokesperson for the studio explained that making a tactical shooter in this universe makes sense, because the series has always been "tactical," albeit as third-person or first-person shooters. Rainbow Six Tactics is coming from the same team that developed Mario + Rabbids: Sparks of Hope (another fantastic tactics game), alongside Ghost Recon Breakpoint (another game with a military shooter setting), so pairing the two ideas made sense. Rainbow Six Tactics is also firmly embedded in the overall lore of the series: the events take place between Rainbow Six Siege's years 10 and 11, at a time when Rainbow, the titular task force, must be rebuilt during a global crisis. Anyone who played either Rainbow Six Vegas or its sequel will see a familiar face: Paul Bishop is back as the head of this tactical unit. Not to mention there are 15 of Siege's unique operators in Tactics too. That's only a handful compared to the FPS game's 70+, but that's because Ubisoft Paris wanted each one to feel unique, impactful, and personable. In the demo, I saw a tactical unit breach into a warehouse, and while at first glance it looked like every other mil-sim tactics game, there was a phase at the start that every other tactics game should implement in one form or another. Most battles don't just begin with every one of your units in a predetermined position; instead, you have a breach planning phase, which is essentially a master plan for your turn. Think of how you'd make a game plan in chess. Before you move a piece, you know what opening you're going for, how it will ideally play out, and how to react to certain plays your opponent may try. In Rainbow Six Tactics, this is what you can do: position all your units and issue orders that execute simultaneously in real time. You can also pick exactly where you infil from, with each one having a different advantage. One may be stealthy, while another is considered aggressive. It's somewhat reminiscent of 2024's excellent Tactical Breach Wizards, and how some levels allow you to breach through different doors. Free sign-up Get Polygon’s Wishlister newsletter A weekly cheat sheet to what you’ll eventually love to play. No buying, no commitment — just saving for later. Sign up free Free. Unsubscribe anytime. For example, you can call on Nøkk to go invisible and bypass an enemy sniper with an overwatch ability, then shotgun another foe in the back, all while Montagne pushes the sniper to trigger the shot and block it. Then the rest of your team can execute their planned instructions perfectly, to the point where you can defeat most of the enemies before they've had a chance to react. Watching it in motion looked satisfying as hell. Tactics games are in an era right now where they can bring in a whole new audience with the number of diverse options and settings available. What's even better is that Rainbow Six Tactics is shaping up to be one of the most promising. Rainbow Six Tactics is scheduled for release in 2027 for PlayStation 5, Windows PC, and Xbox Series X.