How Delta Force sets its sights on established blockbuster shooters
Before Call of Duty, before Battlefield, before even Medal of Honor, there was Delta Force. Released in October 1998, NovaLogic’s FPS was one of the original tactical shooters.
Arriving just two months after Red Storm Entertainment's Rainbow Six, Delta Force put players in the role of a Tier 1 Operative, challenging them to complete 40 missions in various modern military settings. Though it shared some similarities with Rainbow Six, Delta Force was defined by its radical Voxel Space technology, enabling it to simulate warfare on battlefields far larger than any FPS that came before.
Delta Force was sufficiently successful to spawn a sequel, and ultimately became a series—including its most famous entry, the 2003 game Delta Force: Black Hawk Down. Yet as Call of Duty and Battlefield took the popularity of real-world shooters to stratospheric heights, Delta Force struggled to keep up. The final game in the series, Delta Force: Xtreme 2, reviewed poorly, and as the world went wild for Modern Warfare, NovaLogic quietly exfiltrated the modern military shooter scene.
Now Delta Force is back, though. Developed by Chinese studio Team Jade, the reboot is bigger, broader, and more comprehensive than any prior entry in the series. Featuring classic team-based multiplayer battles, a more modern extraction mode where players compete to scavenge loot in open-ended combat zones, and a co-op/single player campaign inspired by the series’ legacy, Delta Force has its sights set squarely on the two FPS franchises that have dominated multiplayer shooters for over a decade.
Mission briefing
Delta Force (initially titled Delta Force: Hawk Ops) owes its unlikely revival to a quirk of gaming history. While the series was only ever moderately popular in the US and Europe, Delta Force was a phenomenon in China.
“It was very popular in Chinese net cafes around 2000,” says Leo Yao, Studio Head at Team Jade. “It kind of was the first PvP FPS game in China, even before Counter-Strike.”
It was the first shooter Delta Force’s Game Director, Shadow Guo, ever played, and he isn’t the only developer on Team Jade with that experience. “Our core team is made up of veterans, many of whom have been in the shooter genre for over a decade. And Delta Force was the first shooter game many people ever played during their childhood,” Guo explains.
Team Jade was assembled from developers within TiMi Studio Group, which previously developed PC and mobile shooters like Call of Duty: Mobile and Assault Fire. This time, they wanted to make a shooter that catered to PC and console players as well as mobile players, one that might disrupt the busy modern military shooter landscape.
“We [felt] that the whole industry needs a fresh title,” says Guo.
Around the same time, Team Jade received word that NovaLogic were interested in selling the Delta Force rights. “When we got this information, we didn’t hesitate, and just went to talk with them,” Yao says.
In addition to being fans of Delta Force and understanding the advantages of making a game around an existing license, Team Jade also believed the series possessed several key elements that suited their needs.
“We felt that the legacy Delta Force titles and the pillars that make them outstanding—like open terrain, the weapons, and the control of the character movement—are still relevant today, and we wanted to not only preserve but also expand and evolve these pillars,” Guo explains.
In short, Team Jade wanted to give players an experience that was recognizably Delta Force, but which was also modern and forward-thinking enough to appeal to gamers more familiar with today's shooters. This is evident in all aspects of the game’s design, but it’s the campaign where Delta Force most closely aligns with the tactical shooters of yore.
Black Hawk Down
Delta Force’s multiplayer is already available to play, and was available (albeit in more limited bursts) for several months prior to launch. But its campaign is still in development and remains largely shrouded in mystery. Team Jade revealed it is a reboot of the single-player campaign from 2003’s Delta Force: Black Hawk Down, retelling the events of the Battle of Mogadishu made famous by Ridley Scott’s 2001 film.
Yao is reluctant to reveal too many details, but regarding the campaign’s status as a reboot, he explains it is not a shot-for-shot replica of the 2003 game. Instead, it’s “a combination” of elements of that campaign, combined with aspects of Scott’s film and direct inspiration from the event itself.
“We love the movie. We like the Black Hawk Down campaign of the old Delta Force, so we just directly bought the copyright of the film,” he says. “It’s not 100% the film, or 100% the old game."
Precisely how the campaign will blend the two remains unclear, but it will include many key moments that players will recognise from both the 2003 game and Scott’s film. “All of the sequences are based on reality. It’s based on what really happened in Mogadishu,” Yao says. “Players also remember some classic moments, so we want to include those classic moments [in the] campaign.”
Beyond the more specific nuances of how the campaign will be structured, Team Jade explains that there are two key pillars to the campaign.
The first of these is immersion. Where Delta Force’s multiplayer runs in Unreal Engine 4, the campaign is built in Unreal Engine 5 and takes advantage of all the new technical solutions Epic’s updated engine offers, from its global illumination and reflections system Lumen to its high-detail virtualized geometry system Nanite.
On top of this, Guo explains that Team Jade has “worked on a whole suite of add-ons for both versions of the engine,” including new tech for gameplay and “especially” character animations. “We are also working on our own spatial audio add-on, which is also independent of the engine, so players will get very good immersion based on the audio.”
The second key design tenet for Delta Force’s campaign is authenticity. Yao says Team Jade didn’t want the campaign to be “very narrative-based” i.e. a heavily guided shooting gallery. Instead, the studio has designed the campaign to be “very hardcore." Players will have to “follow some of the tactics. Do not move and shoot on your own—otherwise you’re gonna be shot by your enemies.”
While Yao says he “can’t call it a Soulslike,” he does say that in regards to difficulty, Delta Force’s campaign is designed to be “kind of the twin of that," with an emphasis on replayability and mastering the challenges it presents.
Moreover, since the campaign will require players to work with their squad, it features optional cooperative multiplayer, letting up to four players work through its challenges together. “It’s going to be very hardcore, and make the whole war in Mogadishu feel high-pressure,” Yao says.
Recon
One of Delta Force’s most intriguing creative choices is that the campaign and multiplayer aren’t just separated by technology, but by time. Where the campaign immerses itself in a historically authentic 1993 Mogadishu, the multiplayer is set in the year 2035, taking place across North Africa.
I asked Guo what led to the choice. He explains that it’s partly down to the themes Team Jade want to explore with the multiplayer’s ongoing story.
“We wanted to express and create this conflict between technological advancement and tradition, and we feel North Africa is the perfect location for that, where you will see the tradition and culture there and also their conflict with modern technology. This creates an interesting mix for us to be creative with map designs and everything,” says Guo.
But the decision is also linked to the practicalities of the type of game Team Jade is building. “Delta Force is a live-service game which we aim to support and sustain for years, and this requires constant updates,” Guo explains. “We are not talking super-slow updates. We are talking about constant, frequent and meaningful updates of the game, and setting it in the modern timeline will allow us to create stuff that’s more interesting, diverse, and inclusive for gamers to experience.”
Delta Force’s live-service nature likewise influenced decision-making around what game modes to include. Delta Force’s primary two modes are a large-scale, team-based mode and an extraction mode where players infiltrate a large map to complete missions and collect loot, and then attempt to escape the map without being killed.
Yao believes these larger, more open-ended game modes are better suited to live-service games than more fast-paced, arcade-style experiences. “Making a more tactical FPS is more suited for the long-term,” he says. “Arcade is not suitable for live service.”
Open warfare
The first of these modes, Warfare, is where players will experience Delta Force’s fireworks at their fullest. Warfare is a classic large-scale simulated battlefield, with infantry combat taking place alongside tanks, APCs, and aerial vehicles, and players calling in artillery strikes and other special abilities to devastate the enemy team and push the frontline forward.
At their best, these Battlefield-style modes are about as spectacular and thrilling as a shooter can be. But they require careful design to stop one side from simply steamrolling the other one, or the whole fight descending into a shapeless, unsatisfying mush. I asked Yao and Guo about their approach to ensuring fights feel distinctive and exciting, while also retaining balance.
Unsurprisingly, the first important feature for making these battles interesting are the maps themselves. “For every large-scale PvP map, we first want to make a very strong impression, or have a very unique feel for the map,” Yao says.
He cites the map Ascension, which is set on a volcanic island where attacking players commence the match with an aquatic beach landing before slowly working their way up the island’s slopes for a final showdown inside the military base at the summit. “Some of the maps are very crowded and have close-range shooting, and some are more like Ascension, where it’s long-range, right?” he says. “You don’t want to give players two similar maps.”
Vehicles are also a crucial component of large-scale FPS battles, but poorly designed vehicles can easily unbalance the experience. Guo says the solution is to ensure that each vehicle you add to the map has a clearly identifiable purpose, which makes it easy for players to deploy in a way that’s effective on the battlefield.
“APCs are great to provide fast deployment into the field. You also have some vehicles that are really good at anti-air support, or you maybe have armed choppers which are great for capturing strategic points, or you could use a tank to easily break some chokepoint that infantry simply cannot,” Guo explains.
Warfare mode also features killstreak-style abilities that let players perform actions like calling in artillery strikes. Such abilities can be contentious in multiplayer shooters, as they further empower players already skilled at the game.
Guo believes that more available abilities mean more strategies, and therefore more ways to break deadlocks and battles flowing. “We want players to have even more tools that they can use to tip the balance of the battlefield, because very often you will find the game is stopping and you want players to feel empowered,” he says. “Also, you need to really be active. You need to earn kills. You need to really secure your support. You need to revive your teammates to earn those points.”
Joint operations
Where Warfare mode is all fire and thunder, the extraction-centric Operations mode is pitched as a tenser, more tactical affair. Playing solo or in teams of three, players infiltrate one of several open-ended maps, tasked with collecting as many valuable objects as they can before exfiltrating the map at one of several exit points.
Unlike Warfare, if players are killed while playing Operations, it’s game over, and they lose everything their character was carrying.
Extraction shooters are the latest trend in multiplayer shooters, combining the tension of a battle royale with the loot-chasing of ARPGs like Diablo. They can be immensely rewarding experiences—but can also be obscure and unforgiving.
Yao says Delta Force’s take on the genre is designed to be more accessible. “If you’re playing Counter-Strike or doing battle royale, it’s clear whether you win or lose—either you survive for the last fight or you don’t. In extraction mode, it’s not about win or lose,” he says. “Some players are going to feel very confused, because they don’t know why they want to do something in this type of FPS.”
Hence, Delta Force’s Operations mode is designed to provide greater structure. Alongside the ability to collect valuable loot and better equipment, Operations also offers a sequence of missions which provide rewards upon completion. “For the initial stage, we don’t want people focusing too much on the loot and the economy,” Yao says. “We want them to experience some of the tasks, the missions.”
This notion of adding more structure to an extraction mode is also applied more broadly. Operations doesn’t take place on one map, but several, with players unlocking access to new and higher tier areas across North Africa as they increase in level and become more adept at the game.
“Each map provides a different look and experience and difficulties,” Guo says. “Some maps are really difficult—for instance, Space City is super hard—but some maps are more friendly toward newer players.” Guo also points out that the different maps aren’t just about difficulty, but also providing varied combat experiences. “Some maps emphasize close quarters combat, while other maps provide players with open terrain to really explore.”
Perhaps Delta Force’s biggest divergence from typical extraction shooters, however, is that your equipment and abilities are not defined exclusively by what you’re able to scavenge on the battlefield. Instead, Delta Force has players assume the role of specific named characters with unique abilities, known in-game as Operators.
Squad selection
Delta Force’s Operators straddle the line between a Battlefield-style character class and a more bespoke hero in the vein of Overwatch. The eight available Operators (check out our guide for a detailed rundown) each have their own distinct names, appearances, and abilities. But their playstyles are closely tied to one of the four class roles (Assault, Support, Engineer, and Recon) you’d expect in a game like Battlefield.
I asked Yao why Team Jade opted to have players assume the role of these more bespoke characters, rather than more generalized classes. Yao explains that it’s partly to do with how modern shooters interrelate with social media.
“For modern players, we found that they have more connections with the Operators,” he says. “Some of our Operators are very popular.” Operators can also be given more specific Tactical Gear and equipment, which results in better and more varied kill highlights. “When you kill someone or shoot someone, you feel like you’re really awesome.”
There was also a desire to add more variety to the player’s experience of different battlefield roles.
“When we are designing an Operator, we are mindful of their class positioning, we are mindful of their weapon choices, and we want every layer to really support and complement each other,” Guo says. “Let’s say you are D-Wolf. D-Wolf is an Assault-class Operator in our game, and he has sprint gear [a motorised exoskeleton] which will make his movement much faster, and also he can heal himself when he lands a kill. This really complements his position as an Assault class.”
Crucially, Operators are playable both in Warfare and Operations mode, letting you utilize their abilities to help support your team and to get an edge in extraction shooting.
That said, there's a potential issue here—given extraction shooters are about building a capable character around the loot you acquire, doesn’t folding in default abilities defeat the point? For example, if players select Stinger, a medic Operator who can heal himself and allies with his Hive-Tech Pistol, wouldn’t this nullify the purpose of the many healing items you’re supposed to weigh up when organizing your backpack?
Yao concedes that yes, some Operator abilities make aspects of Operations mode easier to manage—but that's partly the point. There are trade-offs, advantages and disadvantages to each Operator. “If you are a medic, sure, you have the advantage of not carrying too many medical items, but you lose some of that advantage compared to other Operators like D-Wolf, because your movement is slower.”
Target practice
Whatever the nuances of Delta Force’s multiplayer structure, no amount of grandeur, spectacle, or innovation matters if the shooting sucks. DICE and the various studios orbiting Call of Duty have spent years (even decades) perfecting the feel of first-person shooting. I was curious how Team Jade approached its attempt to match the firepower of these FPS behemoths.
Guo states that Team Jade started with the tactical Operations mode as the baseline for Delta Force's core movement and shooting, designing “a whole suite of animations based on a modern OODA model.” OODA stands for observe, orient, decide, act, and it informs how Delta Force builds the feel of characters and weapons around where the player is looking, the choices they might make while playing, and the actions they may take because of those choices.
“We need to be mindful, for observation, whether the player will try to take aim from their weapon, or if they will try to utilise some tactical gear of this purpose, and also whether different movements will lead to another animation—like if you are aiming, then you might start running or maybe stop,” Guo says. “All of this requires a suite of character animation to make players feel like their character is actually alive.”
Other complicating factors Guo mentions include how much geometric volume individual weapons take up, how customization of weapons affects that volume, and opportunities to perform actions before, during, and after combat (such as healing, reloading, and throwing grenades).
“You need to take all sorts of player actions and different pacing into consideration,” Guo says. “And we need to always be mindful of the entire loop and also that players can break the loop at any time to perform some sort of other action.”
Guo further notes that the above applies solely to Operations, and there are additional factors to consider when applying these same assets and animations to Warfare mode.
"For Warfare, we want players to feel more engaged and we want things to feel more fluid, because this is a faster-paced mode compared to Operations,” he points out. “So we lifted a little bit of the movement restrictions in this mode. Players can move a little bit faster, and we changed a lot of animations for this mode to make the game and the character more responsive.”
Hearts and minds
Delta Force’s multiplayer launched in December 2024, and had been in closed beta testing for several months beforehand. Team Jade received the usual feedback from these tests—bugs that needed fixing, weapons that needed balancing, et cetera. But the tests also exposed a challenging cultural divide the developers had not expected.
“In China or in Asia, people are used to playing with bots,” Yao says, referring to AI NPCs who resemble players fighting in and among actual players during Warfare matches. “Bots can make people feel less frustrated, and also people can kill more of the bots. It’s very common in Asia.”
When Team Jade tested Delta Force in the US and Europe, however, the reaction to the presence of bots was visceral. “We found that people are very, very against bots, and they post on YouTube, Reddit, Discord, ‘Remove bots!’” Yao says.
According to Yao, Team Jade “struggled for a while” with this dilemma, because in their experience, bots were just a normal part of multiplayer games and built into the design of Delta Force. Eventually, they agreed to the demands of Western players though. “We decided to respect the players’ habits, and we announced that we were going to remove bots.”
While Team Jade may have been blindsided by the reaction to Delta Force’s bots, the studio was more cognizant of Western players’ skepticism toward free-to-play games.
“We want to earn the players by showing our commitment,” Guo says. “It’s a live service game, and the service really matters. If you look at other games trying to be live-service titles, we feel their service is lacking.”
To this end, Team Jade intends to bring “constant and meaningful” updates to the game. This includes a new season every two to three months, with a new map for each mode bundled into seasonal updates, a new Operator, and new items and skins. There will also be specific game updates, including the ability for players to customize their class-specific gadgets, giving them more freedom in tailoring their build.
“We are aware that there are a lot of players who would prefer premium games, but we really believe that—with our commitment and how we try to honor the word ‘service’ in our live-service titles—Delta Force will be able to earn its community and thrive.”
The long war
Breaking into the space occupied by Call of Duty and Battlefield for so long won’t be easy. Countless games tried at the height of Modern Warfare’s popularity, and the FPS graveyard is littered with now-obscure names like Frontlines: Fuel of War, Turning Point: Fall of Liberty, Conflict: Denied Ops, and of course, NovaLogic’s latter Delta Force efforts. Even EA couldn’t replicate the success of Battlefield with its other military-themed FPS franchises, like Medal of Honor and Titanfall.
Yet a decade has passed since these franchises last had a true competitor, and the FPS landscape has changed considerably in that time. Since 2017, other shooters have largely been setting the pace—games like PUBG: Battlegrounds, Apex Legends, and Escape from Tarkov.
Call of Duty has maintained its popularity by adapting many of these games’ ideas, delivering its own excellent battle royale experience in Call of Duty: Warzone. But DICE’s series hasn't had as much luck, with Battlefield: 2042 struggling despite admirable efforts to reverse the shooter’s fortunes.
Into this increasingly wild FPS frontier, it's plausible that a new shooter could take root. It’s a formidable task, one that Yao is mindful of. “We just really learn from and have respect for these two giants. They have dominated the whole FPS genre for decades, and keep doing great. So we feel very humble, and just really want to learn as a newcomer.”
Nonetheless, Team Jade is in it for the long haul, hoping to deliver a live-service experience that will last “five to 10 years”, that can adapt rapidly to the needs and demands of players. And while Yao is respectful of Call of Duty and Battlefield’s legacy, he also reckons Delta Force has momentum in its favour.
“We fix bugs very quickly. We [have a] great anti-hack system. We really communicate with the community. I think we have a lot of advantages," says Yao. "Maybe for the short term, we may not perform that great—but if we persist, if we continue to polish, I believe that we can have some place in the whole global FPS market.”
Delta Force is available now on the Epic Games Store.