We Love It's Guide to…
Lead Task Force Dagger through open-ended tactical missions, shaping your loadout and approach across large maps in solo or co-op play.
Released 13 Aug 2026
Scout With Drones
Choose Day Or Night
Customize Weapon Loadouts
Dagger Directive is a tactical FPS that allows you to approach each mission in your own way. Select equipment, decide the time of day, then move methodically to complete your mission. Enjoy the modern mechanics and old school graphics as you fight across a variety of missions and environments.
Developed by Arcane Alpacas LLC · Published by MicroProse Software
You play as a member of Task Force Dagger, an international special forces unit sent on missions across three campaigns set in the Bering Sea, the South Pacific, and Eastern Europe. Each mission takes place in a large area with multiple routes and objectives.
Before an operation, choose your equipment and its starting time. You can approach objectives with long-range fire, close combat, stealth, or a mix of tactics, and use tools such as reconnaissance and explosive drones, grenades, mines, and mortar support.
The armory offers more than 25 weapons and attachments, while inventory management and simulated bullet travel, drop, and trajectory shape combat. Missions can be played solo or cooperatively, with objectives that can be tackled in different ways.
Players who enjoy the game often praise its throwback tactical-shooter feel, large maps that allow different approaches, weapon and equipment choices, and satisfying gunfights. Co-op with friends is a recurring highlight. Criticism most often focuses on inconsistent enemy AI and unreliable stealth, with some players also reporting poor performance and long stretches of travel between objectives. Experiences with AI and performance vary across reviews.
You are a member of Task Force Dagger, an elite international special forces unit. Your missions take you across the globe—through frozen coasts, dense jungles, and war-torn cities. In Dagger Directive, tactical freedom is everything: pick your loadout, choose the time of day, and decide whether to strike hard and fast or move like a ghost.
Every mission is yours to shape.
Fight across three full campaigns, each set in a distinct region with its own atmosphere, enemies, and tactical challenges. Disrupt an eco-terrorist operation in the frigid Bering Sea. Battle organized crime across the volatile South Pacific. Crush an extremist uprising in Eastern Europe.
Each mission offers a different tactical sandbox, with objectives you can approach from multiple angles.
Gear up from a robust arsenal of 25+ weapons, each customizable with a wide range of attachments. Whether you're breaching doors with an underbarrel shotgun, clearing angles with suppressed SMGs, or picking off targets at extreme range, the armory has you covered. Supplement your firepower with drones, tripwires, grenades, and mines, and experiment with combinations that suit your style.
Dagger Directive blends modern game feel with grounded mechanics. Every bullet and piece of shrapnel has weight, velocity, and trajectory—simulated in real time. Adjust your scope for distance, lead moving targets, and respect the chaos of ricochets. Even grenades scatter deadly fragments that obey real physics.
This isn’t just spray and pray—it’s precision under pressure.
Each mission takes place in a large open area with multiple entry points, dense foliage, and tactical verticality. Control the environment by shooting out lights, hiding in tall grass, or stalking through shadows. Select the time of day before each op—just don’t forget your NVGs if you’re going in after dark.
The battlefield is a tool, if you know how to use it.
The Early Access version of Dagger Directive is already packed with depth and variety:
A 15-mission campaign that spans all three global theaters, offering replayability through multiple tactical approaches.
Full co-op multiplayer, so you and your squad can coordinate, flank, and execute missions together.
Over 25 weapons, dozens of attachments, and a wide variety of tactical gear—already giving you the tools to play your way.
A broad range of tactical equipment including deployable drones, anti-personnel mines, and multiple grenade types, adding layers of strategic options.
Post-launch development will expand both depth and customization:
A mission editor with full Steam Workshop support, allowing players to build and share their own operations.
An expanded tutorial system that dives deeper into advanced weapons, tools, and stealth mechanics.
A powerful Free Play Mode, where players can spawn enemies, allies, vehicles, and gear to experiment or create their own combat scenarios.
Modding support for weapons and gear, empowering the community to add entirely new content to the sandbox.
| Platforms | Windows |
|---|---|
| Achievements | 50 |
| Age ratings |
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| Controller support | Xbox |
| Controller required | No |
| Content notices |
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| Website | Official website |
