This Is Not a Drill: Delta Force Unleashes Black Hawk Down Campaign

The reimagined Delta Force stormed into gamers’ compounds late last year, ending years of speculation as to when the legendary shooter would return. The latest DLC, Delta Force Black Hawk Down, takes you back to the scene of the deadliest battle involving US troops since Vietnam—the Battle of Mogadishu. Developers Team Jade dispatched game director Shadow to give Intel Gaming Access a full debrief.

The Delta Force franchise has put boots on the ground here once before, of course. 2003’s Delta Force Black Hawk Down took its inspiration from the book about the desperate fight to survive facing outnumbered special forces troops after two US helicopters were brought down in the Somali capital. “The Black Hawk Down campaign of our game, which launches February 21^st, is particularly special because it draws inspiration from both the 2001 movie [the Oscar-winning Black Hawk Down] and the 2003 game,” Shadow explains. “We even had several watch parties for the movie to make sure we captured its tone and intensity. This campaign is all about teamwork and strategy. You’ll navigate the streets of Mogadishu as the city changes around you, with every mission presenting new dangers. It’s immersive, co-op-driven, and full of callbacks to both the movie and the original games, but reimagined with modern visuals and mechanics.”

The twenty-plus years that have elapsed since Delta Force first plunged players into this adrenalin-fueled, sinew-straining scenario has seen tectonic shifts in immersive gameplay. For Team Jade, that made it the right time to revisit the mission. “Players aren’t just watching a story unfold—they’re part of it,” Shadow enthuses. “We wanted to make you feel like you’re right there, experiencing the intensity as one of the soldiers. The game runs on Unreal Engine 5, so the visuals are incredibly detailed, bringing Mogadishu to life in a way that feels real and gripping. The co-op nature is a big highlight—it’s a unique multiplayer experience that combines story-driven gameplay with teamwork. It’s something we don’t see much in FPS games, and we think players will find it exciting.”

It’s not just the gameplay that turns up the heat of battle. Team Jade sought further inspiration in the 2001 movie to make this campaign a 360-degree experience. “We picked voice actors whose tones matched the characters from the film and recreated some of the emotional intensity during recording sessions,” Shadow tells us. “The game also includes NPCs who speak rare regional dialects, adding to the realism. We even recreated small touches, like TVs showing international news, or loudspeakers making announcements dated back then. One of my favorite moments is the Mogadishu marathon from the movie’s finale—we worked really hard hoping to capture its mood and intensity by carefully designing the sound and pacing of that scene.”

The movie’s tagline was ‘Leave No Man Behind’, and you know we never want to see a player left behind either. Team Jade are on the same page there. “In shooter games, performance is critical,” Shadow notes. “A sudden stutter or unexpected lag can mean the difference between victory and defeat. That’s why optimizing Delta Force for a seamless experience across different devices has been a top priority for us. We are dedicated to ensuring that Delta Force not only looks great but also runs smoothly for all of our players. Our belief is simple—everyone deserves to enjoy quality gaming, no matter what hardware they use.” We couldn’t say it better ourselves, and that commitment to performance is how we came to be a part of the mission to make Delta Force the best it can be.

“Delta Force is our first project to ship with support for Intel^Ⓡ X^e Super Sampling (X^eSS) systems,” Shadow tells us. “The team is truly impressed by how capable yet efficient X^eSS is, offering significant performance improvements without compromising the game’s graphics. The Intel team has been incredibly supportive, providing valuable insights and guidelines on tools and best practices for harnessing the full potential of the latest Intel chips. Intel^Ⓡ Vtune^TM optimized 40% of memory bandwidth overhead and improved the cache hit rate by 30% on machines with low memory frequency. This significant improvement will greatly enhance the game’s stability and performance, especially on lower-end PCs.”

With Delta Force Black Hawk Down about to unlock, where will Team Jade be deployed next? “We are fully committed to supporting Delta Force for years to come, which means you won’t see us jumping to another title anytime soon,” Shadow says. “2025 will be a big year for Delta Force, with several exciting new seasons that will introduce fresh content and further elevate the player experience. Stay tuned, squad up, and join us in the game!”

Delta Force Black Hawk Down Unlocks 21 February on Steam