Demolition
In the buildOne satchel charge starts in the middle of the map. Either side can carry it to the other side's target, kneel and plant it: four seconds of work while the charge flashes. Defusing takes the same four seconds.
DIRECT ACTION: Tactical Operations
Early development · Windows PC · PS5 port coming
A tactical third-person team shooter where you get one life per round. Tac-Ops against Mercs, objective rounds, and clans that fight for a place on the ladder.
- Genre
- Tactical third-person shooter
- Mode
- Online team rounds, one life
- Platform
- Windows PC, PS5 port coming
- Status
- Early development
Closed beta signups
Sign up and you could be picked for a small Pre-Alpha testing group before the wider closed beta opens — reporting bugs and helping us fix what's broken, so the game is more solid for everyone when the doors open wider.
Sign in to join the list
Your RV-ID is how we track signups and reach the players we pick for Pre-Alpha testing. Sign in with Discord to join.
Join the closed beta list
A small group of signups will be picked for Pre-Alpha testing, to help find and fix bugs before the wider closed beta opens.
One life. Every round.
DIRECT ACTION is played from a classic third-person camera centred behind your operator, in short rounds with no respawns. You move with your team, you talk, and when you go down you watch the rest of the round from the spectator camera.
Tactical team play, one life
Rounds are short and every death sticks until the next one starts. Crouch, check corners, cook a grenade, throw a flashbang before you push. The team that keeps its players alive wins the round.
- Round length
- 6 min
- Match
- Best of 5 or 11
- Respawns
- None
Tac-Ops against Mercs
Two sides, every match. The Coalition's Tac-Ops operators against the Mercenaries, hired guns who know the ground. Each side has 24 operators: 12 ready from the start and 12 more unlocked as you rise through DA Rank. Each game type gives them a different job, in 8 v 8 rooms now and 16 v 16 rooms with larger maps coming.
- Sides
- 2
- Operators
- 48
- Rooms
- 8 v 8 · 16 v 16
Clans at the centre
Your clan tag goes into every room with you. Clans challenge each other to Clan Battles, climb a ladder, enter tournaments and run their own Clan HQ. The whole system has its own section further down.
How a round is won
The room votes on a map, then the game type is picked. Three game types are in the build today; Breach and Convoy are designed and come next; Gauntlet is a bigger mode still further out.
VIP Extraction
In the buildTac-Ops find three VIPs, lead them to the red smoke and hold the zone while the helicopter comes in. Every VIP flown out scores. Next to come: two extraction points per map, and Mercs able to bring the helicopter down with an RPG before its last ten seconds out.
Team Deathmatch
In the buildNo objective, one life each. The round ends when one side has nobody left standing.
Breach
DesignedMercs hold a sealed compound. Tac-Ops pick a breach point, blow it with C4 and go in for the intel case, then carry it back to their own zone, or clear every defender.
Convoy
DesignedTac-Ops drive two transport trucks down a long route to the destination, escorted by armed Humvees, a tank and bikes scouting ahead. Mercs ambush the road with mines, RPGs and roadblocks.
Gauntlet
Coming laterA 16 v 16 push in three stages: blow a vault for the intel, breach the compound, then find the VIPs and get them out. The map opens up after each stage.
Two sides, no middle ground
Pick a side, then pick the operator you fight as. Your loadouts are saved per set, so the kit you built is ready the next time you play that side.
Coalition
Tac-Ops
Special operations with suppressed rifles, weapon lights and a helicopter on call. In VIP Extraction they are the ones getting people out.
Mercenaries
Mercs
Hired guns who hold ground and make the other side pay to take it. In Breach they defend the compound; in Extraction they stop the VIPs reaching the helicopter.
Operators
48 operators, 24 on each side. A few of their files:
FrostTac-Ops · white camo, built for snow 
VladMercs 
NightfallTac-Ops · black kit for night work 
GhoulMercs 
KestrelTac-Ops · scout in black kit, at home on night maps 
WarlordMercs
Full operator list48 operators, 24 per side
Every player starts with 12 operators on each side. The other 12 per side unlock as you rise through DA Rank in the game. F marks a female operator.
Tac-Ops 24 · 6 female
Ready from the start 12
- Frost
- Nightfall
- Taiga
- Grizzly
- Timber
- Mirage
- Whiteout
- Siren F
- Onyx F
- Talon F
- Kestrel F
- Jade F
Unlocked with DA Rank 12
- Aurora F
- Ironside
- Granite
- Sentinel
- Bastion
- Harrier
- Osprey
- Atlas
- Echo
- Longbow
- Breaker
- Valkyrie
Mercenaries 24 · 6 female
Ready from the start 12
- Vlad
- Ghoul
- Warlord
- Jackal
- Hyena
- Scorpion
- Cobra
- Raider
- Hornet
- Widow F
- Banshee F
- Vixen F
Unlocked with DA Rank 12
- Vulture
- Sabre
- Shade
- Marauder
- Machete
- Basilisk
- Tyrant
- Hex
- Phantom
- Medusa F
- Lynx F
- Harpy F
Ground worth learning
Every map lives in the Maps Index with its own layout, weather and list of game types. Learn the lanes, the cover and where the other side likes to wait.
-
Slums
Tight streets and rooftops · day -
Shipping Yard
Shipping containers · night -
Evening Highway
Overpass and open road · day -
Seaside Town
Cliffside streets above the sea · day -
Train Yard
Rail lines, freight cars and sheds · night
Every map has a day and a night version. These maps play 8 v 8. 16 v 16 game modes are coming, with larger versions of these maps and new large maps built for them.
Real guns, built your way
Weapons carry their real names and one damage model covers every calibre. Build them on the Gunsmith bench, then take them into the field on foot, by road or by air.
The Gunsmith
Fit a red dot, a suppressor or a front grip, check the build on the bench, and save it to a loadout. The server checks every build, so what you carry is what everyone else sees.
Damage comes from one sheet of 14 calibres. Each gun has its own recoil, and a balance change is one value on that sheet, not a new build of the game.
- Calibres
- 14
- Gunsmith parts
- 20
- Builds
- Checked on the server
| Weapon | Type |
|---|---|
| M4A1 | Assault rifle |
| MK18 | Carbine, modular |
| AK-74U | Carbine |
| Pump shotgun | Close quarters |
| Desert Eagle .50 | Pistol |
| Glock 22 | Pistol |
| RPG | Rocket launcher |
| Frag, flashbang | Grenades |
AH Sparrow helicopter
In the buildSix seats, two miniguns that spin up and overheat, and flares. The front passenger runs an infrared camera that marks enemies on the whole team's map. In VIP Extraction it is the ride out.
Ground vehicles
In progressThe M1 Patriot tank, the APC Puma and the LSV Rhino: a driver who fires the main gun and a teammate on the turret. Crashes and rockets damage them; at zero they go up with everyone inside.
Development updates
Every update video from the DIRECT ACTION channel, newest first. Watch them here; the player loads only when you press play. What changed in each build is in Game Development Updates.
Loading the update videos.
Clans and Clan Battles
Clans are how DIRECT ACTION is meant to be played. The clan system is already built and running for another RV game; DIRECT ACTION gets its own clans, ladder and tournaments on the same accounts.
Start one or join one
Sign in with Discord and your RV-ID is your clan identity. Create a clan with a tag, a name and a motto, or find one that is recruiting and join it.
Ranks and the roster
Leaders and officers run the roster: who joins, who gets promoted, who leads on match night. Your rank goes with your name everywhere the clan appears.
The Clan HQ
Every clan gets a command post on this site. These are its rooms:
- Briefing
- The next battle, open challenges and the officers' notice.
- War Rooms
- Booked matches and check-in before they start.
- Tactical Room
- Plans for each map, drawn up before the match.
- Roster and schedule
- Members, ranks, and when the clan plays.
- Battles and matches
- Every Clan Battle and clan match with its result.
- Forum, media, accolades
- A members-only forum, the clan's clips and screenshots, and what it has won.
Level up your Clan HQ
Playing matches raises your clan's level. Higher levels unlock bigger HQ maps and add-ons the whole clan can use between matches. Queue against your own clan or challenge another clan for bragging rights — every game keeps its own Mini Games stats and leaderboards, tracked on your profile and your clan's page. Never counted toward DA Rank or ranked military stats.
- Firing Range
- Weapon practice for the clan, built onto the HQ. Designed
- Clan Paintball
- Members against members with paintball markers: one hit and you're out, splats and all. Designed
- Skate park
- Skateboards, BMX and trick scooters, Tony Hawk-style tricks and combos, clan high scores on the board. Designed
- Dart board
- A proper 501, 301, Cricket and Around the Clock darts game, checkout calls and all. Designed
- Sports court
- One court, three games: basketball, street soccer and ball hockey. Designed
- Arcade machines
- Classic cabinets your clan plays against each other, with every member's high score remembered. Designed
- Clan races
- Dirt bikes, quads, dune buggies, rally cars and monster trucks on pre-made tracks, started from the HQ. Designed
Clan Battles
- ChallengePick a clan and send the challenge from your Clan HQ.
- Book itAgree a time. The battle goes on both clans' schedules.
- Play itBoth rosters check in and fight it out on the agreed maps.
- Take the ladderThe result is recorded and both clans move on the ladder.
Tournaments
RV staff run tournaments with brackets: single elimination, double elimination, or groups and a playoff. Clans enter as a team; players without a clan can sign up as free agents.
The calendar
Tournaments, your clan's booked battles and match nights in one calendar, so nobody misses a start time.
Sign in with your RV-ID
You sign in with Discord, and your account is your RV-ID, the same one the RV-HUB uses. If you have used the RV-HUB, your name, avatar and level come with you.
DIRECT ACTION has no online servers yet, so Clan Battles and matches start being recorded once they are live.
You are signed in as
Your RV-ID is your DIRECT ACTION account. The command centre is open: make or join a clan, run your Clan HQ, challenge other clans, enter tournaments and follow the calendar.
DIRECT ACTION has no online servers yet, so Clan Battles and matches start being recorded once they are live.
Straight answers
When can I play?
There is no release date yet. DIRECT ACTION is in early development and runs in internal test builds. Test sessions and the release will be announced in Development updates and on this site first.
How do I sign in?
With Discord. Your account is your RV-ID, the same one the RV-HUB uses. If you have signed in to the RV-HUB before, your profile is already there; if not, signing in here creates it.
Is it free?
Pricing has not been decided. It will be announced here and in Development updates before anything is sold. Signing in costs nothing.
Which platforms?
Windows PC first. A PS5 console port is coming after it.
How do clans work?
After you sign in you can create a clan or join one. Leaders and officers manage the roster and ranks, book Clan Battles against other clans and enter tournaments. Results move clans on the ladder.
DIRECT ACTION clans are separate from clans in other RV games: being in a clan elsewhere does not stop you joining one here.
Where are the development updates?
In Development updates on this page, and on the DIRECT ACTION channel on YouTube: youtube.com/@DirectActionOps.
Are the pictures from the real game?
The pictures and videos on this site come from development builds, and the key art is promotional. Weapons, maps and features will change before release.