At Gamescom 2026, Team17 and Absolutely Games announced that the Worms franchise — long defined by its anarchic 2D artillery chaos — is stepping into a new dimension entirely. Worms: Galactic Tactics reimagines the series as an isometric, turn-based tactical roguelike, trading twitch reflexes for deliberate, chess-like strategy while preserving the absurdist humor and destructible mayhem that made the worms beloved in the first place. It is a reminder that even the most established creative identities must occasionally ask themselves not just what they are, but what they might yet become.
Worms: Galactic Tactics Revealed as XCOM-Style Tactical Roguelike
The franchise trades twitch reflexes for deliberate, chess-like strategy
Mark
Why move away from the side-scrolling view that defined Worms for so long? That's the thing people recognize.
Mimi
Because the side view was always a constraint, not a feature. In 2D, you're managing a thin slice of space. In isometric 3D, you can build arenas with real depth, real verticality. You can hide behind a rock that's actually in front of you or behind you. It changes how you think about cover.
Mark
And the turn-based system—that's a huge departure from the real-time gameplay.
Mimi
It is, but it makes sense for a roguelike structure. Real-time demands constant attention. Turn-based lets you breathe, plan, experiment. You can think three moves ahead. That's where the tactical depth comes from.
Mark
The gladiator arena premise feels thin, though. Does it matter why they're fighting?
Mimi
Not really. It's permission structure. It explains why the difficulty escalates, why you keep going. The real story is in the gameplay—in how you adapt when a new enemy type shows up, or when your favorite weapon gets nerfed by the mod system.
Mark
What about the humor? That's always been central to Worms.
Mimi
They're keeping it. The goofy voice lines, the ridiculous weapons, the character designs. That tone is non-negotiable. But now it's wrapped in a game that asks you to think strategically. You're laughing while you're planning.
Mark
Local multiplayer—is that enough in 2026?
Mimi
For a game like this, yes. Worms has always been about passing the controller, watching your friend sweat over a decision. That doesn't change just because the camera angle does.
O Pulso
- A franchise built on decades of side-scrolling artillery chaos is abandoning its defining perspective for a fully three-dimensional, XCOM-style tactical grid — a shift that will either reinvent Worms or alienate its core audience.
- The gladiator arena premise — worms kidnapped and forced into escalating alien death matches — creates a narrative pressure cooker that justifies the roguelike structure's relentless difficulty climb.
- Weapon mod systems, skills-based mini-games, and specialist boss encounters are layered together to ensure no two runs feel identical, pushing players to adapt rather than simply repeat winning strategies.
- The game is confirmed for PC, Xbox, PlayStation 5, and Nintendo Switch 2, but no launch date has been set — and a surprise 2.5D remake of the original classic was quietly announced alongside it, signaling that Team17 is hedging nostalgia against innovation.
At Gamescom 2026, Team17 and Absolutely Games announced that the Worms franchise — long defined by its anarchic 2D artillery chaos — is stepping into a new dimension entirely. Worms: Galactic Tactics reimagines the series as an isometric, turn-based tactical roguelike, trading twitch reflexes for deliberate, chess-like strategy while preserving the absurdist humor and destructible mayhem that made the worms beloved in the first place. It is a reminder that even the most established creative identities must occasionally ask themselves not just what they are, but what they might yet become.
At Gamescom 2026, Team17 and developer Absolutely Games unveiled Worms: Galactic Tactics — a game that makes a dramatic break from the franchise's 2D side-scrolling roots in favor of an isometric, fully three-dimensional tactical roguelike. The shift draws obvious comparisons to XCOM: turn-based, grid-driven, and deliberate, where the originals rewarded quick reflexes and artillery instinct. Yet the studio has preserved the series' essential character — the absurdist humor, cartoonish aesthetics, ridiculous weapons, and destructible environments that let players reshape the battlefield mid-fight.
The game wraps its new mechanics in a gladiator narrative: worms kidnapped from their home world and forced to compete in escalating alien death matches. It's a premise thin enough to stay out of the way, but sturdy enough to justify the roguelike structure's rising difficulty and the need to keep fighting. Both single-player and multiplayer modes are included, with local multiplayer confirmed.
Absolutely Games has built the experience around meaningful player choice. Cosmetic customization and swappable voice lines let you personalize your squad, while a weapon mod system means the same armament can behave differently depending on how you configure it. A skills-based mini-game governs shot accuracy and damage, injecting genuine agency into moments that might otherwise feel random. Specialist enemies and boss encounters are designed to force tactical adaptation rather than reward repetition.
The game is headed to PC via Steam, Xbox, PlayStation 5, and Nintendo Switch 2, though no release date has been announced. Team17 also quietly revealed a 2.5D remake of the original Worms — a signal that the studio is pursuing both reinvention and nostalgia simultaneously. Whether Galactic Tactics will convert longtime fans or recruit an entirely new audience to the franchise remains the open question.
The Worms franchise is making a bold dimensional leap. At Gamescom 2026, Team17 and developer Absolutely Games pulled back the curtain on Worms: Galactic Tactics, a game that abandons the series' signature side-scrolling perspective in favor of an isometric, fully three-dimensional tactical experience. The shift is dramatic—think XCOM's turn-based strategy grid rather than the real-time artillery duels fans have known for decades—yet the studio has kept the DNA intact: the absurdist humor, the cartoonish character designs, the arsenal of ridiculous weapons, and crucially, the ability to reshape the battlefield by blowing holes in it.
The premise wraps this new gameplay in a gladiator narrative. The worms have been kidnapped from their home world and forced to compete in a series of escalating death matches in an alien arena. It's thin scaffolding, but it serves its purpose: justifying why these creatures keep fighting, and why the difficulty keeps climbing. The game will support both single-player and multiplayer modes, with local multiplayer confirmed as part of the package.
Absolutely Games has loaded the game with systems designed to give players meaningful choices and replayability. Character customization allows you to swap cosmetics and voice lines, letting you personalize your squad before each run. Weapons can be modified through a mod system, suggesting that the same gun might behave differently depending on what attachments you bolt to it. When it comes time to fire, a skills-based mini-game determines whether your shot lands true and how much damage it deals—a mechanic that injects player agency into moments that might otherwise feel purely random. The enemy roster includes specialist units and boss encounters, the kind of encounters designed to force you to adapt your tactics rather than simply repeat what worked last time.
The game is coming to PC via Steam, Xbox, PlayStation 5, and Nintendo Switch 2, though Team17 has not yet announced when players will actually get their hands on it. The studio did slip in one additional announcement at the tail end of the Galactic Tactics reveal: a 2.5D remake of the original Worms game is in the works, suggesting that nostalgia and innovation are both on the menu.
What makes this announcement significant is not that Worms is changing—franchises do that—but that it's changing in a direction that feels genuinely considered. The turn-based tactical layer is not a gimmick bolted onto the side of the familiar formula. It's a fundamental reimagining of how the game plays, one that trades the twitch reflexes of the originals for the deliberate, chess-like pacing of modern strategy games. Whether that trade-off will appeal to longtime fans, or whether it will open the series to an entirely new audience, remains to be seen.
Citações Notáveis
The game will inherit the goofy voice lines, whimsical character design, over-the-top weapons, and destructible environments from its predecessor, but will no longer be confined to a 2D side view.— Absolutely Games / Team17 (from official reveal)
Quer a matéria completa?
Leia o original em TechPowerUp ↗
General News