We Love It's Guide to…
Play as a CIA special-operations operative, customizing your kit and clearing tactical missions solo or with other players.
Released 16 Jul 2026
Position Weapon Attachments
Build Mission Loadouts
Clear Nonlinear Missions
From one of the developers behind the original Rainbow Six® and Ghost Recon® games, comes a thinking-man's first-person shooter featuring in-depth character and weapon customization. Take your time. Think ahead. Get the job done.
Developed by BlackFoot Studios, MicroProse Software · Published by MicroProse Software
GROUND BRANCH is a tactical first-person shooter in which you play as an operative of the CIA’s Special Activities Center/Special Operations Group. Missions take place in locations around the world, with maps designed to allow different approaches.
You can play alone, team up in co-op for up to eight players, or compete in 8v8 modes. Missions include objectives such as retrieving intelligence and defusing or planting bombs; training areas include shooting ranges and a killhouse. The supplied reviews describe a two-mission campaign.
Customize your operator’s clothing, equipment, and weapon attachments, including their placement. Stances, leaning, weapon-ready positions, encumbrance, and stamina shape movement and handling, while ballistics include bullet drop and penetration. Loadouts are available without unlock requirements.
Players who enjoy GROUND BRANCH praise its detailed weapon and operator customization, satisfying shooting, and the tactical co-op missions they play with friends. Many supplied reviews, however, criticize the limited campaign and mission variety, inconsistent enemy AI, slow content updates, and movement or technical problems.
In GROUND BRANCH, you will play as the elite paramilitary arm of the CIA's Special Activities Center/Special Operations Group (SAC/SOG) and lead other special operations forces through challenging deniable ops all over the globe. With deliberate, calculated and unforgiving gameplay, GROUND BRANCH aims to be the true rebirth of the tactical realism genre of the late '90s and early 2000s. Powered by Epic's Unreal Engine 4, GB puts the "tactical" back in "tactical shooter" — no compromises.
GROUND BRANCH's unique True First-Person System improves world immersion and awareness of your surroundings, providing zero disconnect between your view and your character's physical presence in the environment. See your foot sticking out of cover? Better tuck it in — enemies may be able to see it (and shoot it) too, but only if their line of sight and muzzle are verifiably unobstructed. Cameras are placed at the character's eyes and bullets originate from the weapon's muzzle. Managing your height over bore when shooting around obstacles or aiming for precision in CQB is critical. In GROUND BRANCH, what you see is what you get.
A minimal HUD with multiple optional elements ensures that vital information is available, but never a constant obstacle to either immersion or your field of view.
Say goodbye to pre-defined kits and fully customize your character. From gear, basic appearance, and outfit, to in-depth vest and weapon platform customization, down to individual pouch and attachment placement. What you bring to your mission is determined by your loadout choice, which carries realistic consequences: with the encumbrance and stamina system, too much equipment will impact your character’s speed and performance; place a scope too forward on the rail and your sight picture will be too small; bring a long rifle into CQB and weapon collision may prove a hindrance.
Forget unlocks, microtransactions and loot boxes. Ground Branch operators get all the right tools for the job straight away — courtesy of the Agency.
Whether in 8-player co-op or 8v8 adversarial game modes, GROUND BRANCH’s unforgiving gameplay makes careful and calculated teamwork essential. Gather your teammates and practice in full-featured training areas, including shooting ranges with dynamic targets and a killhouse with multiple floor plans. Integrated VOIP with both 3D positional voice and team radio ensures full communication capabilities with no need for third-party software. Text chat and pre-recorded voice messages (commo rose-style) are also available for the mic-less and the shy.
Prefer single-player? Missions with friendly A.I. and a full command system are planned for the future.
In the tactical shooter realm, movement and weapon handling are king. Take full control of your character with standing, crouching and prone stances, each with multiple movement speeds. Unique weapon postures (including low- and high-ready), leaning, free-look (head movement independent from aim), and optional and customizable free-aim (dead zone) put every part of your movement in your hands. Add dedicated mouse sensitivity sliders for point-shooting, unmagnified, and magnified aiming, and highly configurable key binding options.
You can also alternate between default actions of certain controls, such as whether a bolt action operates itself after firing or requires another click to operate.
☑️ = FULLY or PARTIALLY IMPLEMENTED
⏳ = PLANNED/UPCOMING
⏳ GROUND BRANCH's unique "campaign" format will deliver smaller, more localized sets of missions based around global hotspots, with a centralized intelligence interface to monitor them and receive new mission orders over time. The choices you make along the way may affect future engagements.
☑️ Based on unique environments all over the world, the non-linear mission and map designs offer multiple entry points and open-ended outcomes.
☑️ Enemies are spawned at mission start, with a degree of randomization to quantity and location. No "monster closets" or magic enemy spawns based on player location or mission progress.
☑️ Ready Room: A physical multiplayer lobby where you can plan your approach, see your teammates' loadouts, test weapon configurations on a firing range and jointly select insertion points.
☑️ Full and 100% free dedicated server support. Host a server wherever you want!
☑️ Unit patches that can be attached to your character's sleeves and gear.
⏳ Full support for MP ladders.
☑️ After-action review (AAR) following each mission/round.
☑️ Server-side options.
⏳ Full mod support.
☑️ No item unlocking, hit markers, kill confirmations or score pop-ups.
⏳ Weapon bracing/supporting.
☑️ Varied arsenal: Multiple handguns, submachine guns, carbines, assault and battle rifles, machine guns, DMRs, sniper rifles and explosives to choose from, with a full suite of optics and attachments to complement them.
☑️ Map variation: In addition to day and night versions as well as weather variation, maps have small details that can change between rounds, such as doors and windows that may be open, closed or blocked.
☑️ Unlimited loadout save slots.
☑️ Item sharing/dropping/pickups.
☑️ Accurate ballistics with penetration, bullet drop and stopping power simulation.
⏳ No regenerating health or health packs: Administer first aid to non-lethal injuries that would further reduce combat effectiveness if not treated.
⏳ Location damage model: Expect visible injuries and consequences, such as limping, reduced arm function, and/or hits to stamina and accuracy. Players immobilized from a non-lethal injury can stay in the fight.
⏳ Drag teammates to safety to administer first aid – or to safely recover their ammo, gear, or cargo.
☑️ Appropriate and realistic playable female characters.
☑️ Partial controller support (configurable).
GROUND BRANCH V1.0 launches with the campaign Prologue and the base multiplayer experience. Each following release expands the campaign with a new chapter and various upgrades, eventually wrapping up the current roadmap with a major multiplayer update bringing new gear, map updates, an improved health system and new game modes.
| Platforms | Windows |
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| Age ratings |
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| Players | 1–16 |
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| Other modes |
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| Multiplayer | GROUND BRANCH supports single-player, online co-op, and online PvP. Store and description text state 8-player co-op and 8v8 adversarial modes, implying 2 to 16 players in official described multiplayer matches. It includes dedicated server support, a Ready Room multiplayer lobby, integrated VOIP with positional voice and radio, text chat, and locally hosted or private/public sessions. |
| Multiplayer & mods | Steam Workshop is listed, full mod support is planned, and reviews state mods and Workshop content extend maps, scenarios, and game variety. No provided text states any special multiplayer restrictions or requirements for modded play. |
| Controller support | Xbox |
| Controller required | No |
| DRM / EULA |
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| Content notices |
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| Website | Official website |
