Hired Ops
Hired Ops is a free to play shooter built around modern mercenary squads clashing in quick, objective-driven firefights. You pick a class, load into maps set in grounded locations, then fine-tune your kit with a large selection of firearms and attachments, leaning into either tactical play or straight-up aggression depending on the mode.
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Publisher: AbsolutSoft Playerbase: Low Type: Shooter Release Date: October 21, 2016 Pros: +Distinct class roles that encourage teamwork. +Multiple modes that change the pace of matches. +Huge armory with 100+ weapons and 80+ mods. Cons: -Population is very small, matchmaking can be rough. -Presentation feels dated, with weak animation and audio. -Monetization can tilt balance (pay to win concerns). |
Hired Ops Overview
Hired Ops is a free to play FPS that began life under the name Contract Wars Standalone, effectively a Steam-focused adaptation of the original browser shooter Contract Wars. Even though it shares the same general universe and the familiar gunplay focus, it is positioned as its own release, with adjusted balancing and a broader feature set that includes sprinting, additional modes, and the ability to develop a base.
At its core, the game revolves around mercenary classes and progression. Players select from multiple mercenary roles and grow their character via a branching skill system that lets you specialize rather than simply stack raw stats. Match-to-match variety comes from a spread of modes, including objective formats like point assaults and search and destroy, plus options such as night operations and deathmatch. Maps lean toward believable locations, for example stations, villages, office spaces, and other grounded environments that support both long sightlines and close-quarters pushes.
The mercenary framing also ties into a contract and reputation loop. You take on contracts to earn money and improve standing within your faction, and clan-focused players can invest in a shared base. That clan base acts as a long-term goal, unlocking access to extra contracts and clan-oriented perks, along with specialized gear that reinforces the “hired gun” theme.
Hired Ops Key Features:
- Variety of Gameplay Modes – jump between objective assaults, demolition-style rounds, tense night missions, elimination variants, and a hardcore option where injuries and realistic damage have a meaningful impact on how you move and fight.
- Take on Contracts – accept contracts that push you toward specific tasks, building reputation and earning strong payouts, with rankings that let you measure progress against other players.
- Four Playable Classes – choose from four class archetypes, each supported by multi-branch skill trees, so you can shape a stealthy operator, a heavy hitter, or a flexible all-rounder.
- Large Weapon Arsenal – equip from 100+ modern firearms, then customize your loadout with 80+ modifications to dial in recoil control, handling, and role-specific performance.
- Clans and Clan Bases – team up under a faction banner, contribute to a clan base, and unlock clan contracts, special skills, and access to unique modules, weapons, and camouflage options.
Hired Ops Screenshots
Hired Ops Featured Video
Hired Ops Review
Hired Ops aims for a more grounded, kit-driven style of multiplayer FPS, where your effectiveness is as much about loadout planning as it is about mechanical aim. Moment to moment, matches tend to be brisk and lethal, with engagements that reward using cover and controlling angles rather than simply sprinting into fights. The overall feel lands somewhere between an arcade shooter and a more tactical experience, depending on the mode you pick and how disciplined the lobby is.
Class choice is one of the better parts of the design. Each role pushes you toward a job in the squad, and the multi-path skill progression helps define your operator beyond just weapon selection. In practice, this creates a solid team dynamic when players actually coordinate, especially in objective modes where clearing rooms, holding lanes, and timing pushes matters. When coordination breaks down, the game can feel more like a chaotic deathmatch, which is not always bad, but it does undercut what the class system is trying to accomplish.
The armory is a major draw. With over a hundred weapons and a large pool of modifications, there is plenty of room to experiment, whether you want a stable rifle for midrange fights, a compact weapon for tight interiors, or something tuned for controlled bursts. The downside of such a wide customization system is that balance perception becomes fragile, and players are quick to blame gear advantages rather than positioning. That ties into one of the game’s biggest knocks, the presence of pay to win concerns, which can make progression and competitive matches feel less trustworthy than they should.
Presentation is functional but uneven. The maps generally do their job and offer believable spaces to fight through, but animations and sound effects can come across as dated, which affects feedback during firefights. In a shooter, “readability” matters, and weaker audio and animation cues can make deaths feel abrupt rather than earned, even when the underlying mechanics are consistent.
The most practical issue today is the low playerbase. A small population impacts matchmaking quality, the variety of opponents you run into, and how often you can reliably play less popular modes. If you have friends to squad with, that helps a lot, but going solo can be hit or miss depending on the time of day and region.
Overall, Hired Ops is easiest to recommend to players who enjoy tinkering with loadouts and can accept a rougher, smaller-scale multiplayer ecosystem. There is a solid foundation in its class structure and weapon customization, but the game’s long-term appeal is limited by population and by how fair the economy feels to different types of players.
Hired Ops Online Links
Hired Ops Official Site
Hired Ops Steam Greenlight
Hired Ops Facebook
Hired Ops Twitter
Hired Ops Youtube
Hired Ops System Requirements
Minimum Requirements:
Operating System: 64 Bit Windows 7 / 8.1 / 10
CPU: Intel Core i5-2500K | AMD FX-8120
Video Card:1024 MB and DirectX 11 compatible
RAM: 6 GB
Hard Disk Space: 8 GB
Recommended Requirements:
Operating System: Windows 10 64-bit
CPU: Intel Core i5-8400 | AMD Ryzen 5 2600 or better
Video Card: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060 | Radeon RX 480
RAM: 8 GB
Hard Disk Space: 8 GB SSD
Hired Ops Music & Soundtrack
Coming Soon…
Hired Ops Additional Information
Developer: AbsolutSoft
Publisher: AbsolutSoft
Game Engine: Unity
Announcement Date: May 2015
Teaser Website Date: September 19, 2016
Release Date: October 21, 2016
Free To Play Date: July 05, 2019
Development History / Background:
Hired Ops is developed and published by AbsolutSoft, a Russian studio recognized for its earlier browser FPS, Contract Wars. The project started as Contract Wars Standalone, intended as a Steam version that carried over the setting and core gunplay ideas, but over time it grew into something the team treated as its own game. With added systems and reworked balance, the title was reintroduced under the Hired Ops name on September 19, 2016, separating it from the original Contract Wars branding.
The game uses the same Russia 2028 backdrop often associated with Escape From Tarkov, although the teams behind the two games are not directly linked. Hired Ops ultimately launched on October 21, 2016, and later shifted its business model, becoming free to play on July 05, 2019.