10 Best Sniper Games for Long-Range Thrills in 2025
The best sniper games, in my opinion, are those that offer a blend of stealth, immersion, and realism. It’s a slow, methodical process that emphasizes careful timing and positioning rather than brute force.
I think we can all agree that these games are in a pretty niche genre, and if we’re going strictly by the rule that most of the game must be played as a sniper, we’d get a very short list.
Thus, we’ll have to expand the definition a bit to include some military sims, extraction shooters, and other fare. While all of these titles aren’t 100% sniper games, they’ve got fantastic sniper gameplay that’ll scratch that itch!
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Our Top Picks for Sniper Games
As with most lists, there are some real standouts here:
- Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 (2024) – Call of Duty is always worth a shot if you’re looking for gunplay, and this one’s got a great campaign, too. Oh, and zombies are back.
- Sniper: Ghost Warrior 3 (2017) – if you can get past the jankiness, the feeling of waging a one-man war against a deserted backdrop is sublime.
- Call of Duty: Warzone (2022) – a F2P Call of Duty battle royale.
But while these are the best entries on this list, every one of these games is worth a look!
10 Best Sniper Games That Hit the Mark
Sure, there are easy picks like the Sniper Elite series, but otherwise, I had to use my own set of criteria.
After some sniffing around, I narrowed down “sniper games” to games with good sniper gameplay, and gave extra points for realism (bullet drop, wind direction, or other factors), stealth (since most sniper gameplay relies on ambushes), and immersion (does the gun handle and feel like a strong weapon).
With that rubric in mind, here’s my list of the best sniper games you can get right now.
1. Call of Duty: Black Ops 6
| Platforms | PC, PS4/5, Xbox 1, Xbox Series X/S |
| Release Year | 2024 |
| Developer | Treyarch, Raven Software |
| Average Playtime | ~10 hours (campaign), variable (multiplayer) |
As the latest iteration of the Black Ops series, Black Ops 6 returned in rather triumphant fashion. With tight, responsive gunplay, the much-lauded omni-movement feature, and a new approach to the campaign that incorporates stealth and subterfuge, Treyarch came up with a game that’ll not only win back old, disillusioned CoD players but also keep them playing. Suffice to say that this one is easily on my list of the best Call of Duty games Treyarch has released!
The meat of the gameplay, as always, is in competitive multiplayer. Snipers looking for a difficult challenge are in for a treat – each sniper rifle demands thorough mastery, maps are small enough that you can’t simply camp, and there are many tells (scope glint, in particular) that can alert your enemies to your position.
All of this to say that the skill ceiling for a sniper in Black Ops 6 is high, and the difference between an average sniper and a good one is incredibly tangible. Thankfully, there’s a lot of guides online to teach you to snipe better!
2. Sniper: Ghost Warrior 3
| Platforms | PC, PS4, Xbox 1 |
| Release Year | 2017 |
| Developer | CI Games |
| Average Playtime | ~30 hours |
Let me preface this blurb with a warning: Sniper: Ghost Warrior 3 has a lot of technical issues. The game tends to chug, especially during loading, and it often feels like it’s held together with nothing but old chewing gum and faith. There’s no manual save system, and the autosave system is meh. However, all these problems don’t detract from the fact that Sniper: Ghost Warrior 3 has a great sniper game and amazing stealth gameplay, both of which will make you overlook most of its issues.
As a faceless, nameless, and incredibly deadly phantom, Jon North will not only wage a lonely war against separatists, but also search for his brother, who’s been sighted in the region for some reason. To do that, you’ll need to take out enemy outposts and strongholds while gunning down key targets – all without being seen.
Sniper: Ghost Warrior 3 is often described as a mix of Far Cry and Sniper Elite. The sniper game here involves bullet drop, wind direction, and distance, all of which can spell the difference between a certain kill and a miss, which will alert your foes. Ghost Warrior 3 also features a long-range kill cam, so that’s an added bonus!
3. Call of Duty: Warzone (2022)
| Platforms | PC, PS4/5, Xbox 1, Xbox Series X/S |
| Release Year | 2022 |
| Developers | Infinity Ward, Raven Software |
| Average Playtime | Variable |
While the new version of Call of Duty: Warzone may be contentious (300GB without major assets), it’s still a fun battle royale and a nice addition to the list of sniper games.
Warzone is a free-to-play take on Call of Duty. Instead of earning stuff by playing the game, you use CoD points (which can be bought or earned in various ways) to buy in-game cosmetics instead of earning stuff via progression. Gameplay-wise, Warzone is very similar to previous titles; the main difference here is that it’s a battle royale, which means you’ll need to get accustomed to its pacing.
Warzone offers mostly the same gunplay as Black Ops 6. This means that if you’ve put in the time and practiced your sniper game in 6, you shouldn’t have trouble adapting. New snipers will need to practice with each sniper rifle to learn the different use cases, as well as get used to Warzone’s shooting physics, which include bullet drop and recoil – hardly realistic, yeah, but plenty fun. No point having the HDR if you can’t land a single shot!
4. Metal Gear Solid V: The Definitive Experience
| Platforms | PC, PS3/4, Xbox 1, Xbox 360 |
| Release Year | 2016 |
| Developer | Konami Digital Entertainment |
| Average Playtime | ~100 hours |
The tagline “tactical espionage action” has always been associated with the Metal Gear series, and there’s a lot more gung-ho explosions and straight-up gunfights, landing this entry a spot alongside other great action RPGs. While some may decry the departure from sneaking around, it doesn’t take away from the fact that this video game is very fun.
Metal Gear Solid V: The Definitive Experience packs both MGS5 games into an easily-accessible bundle (so you don’t have to pick just one game) . Unlike traditional MGS games, you’ll be running missions with a variety of objectives, from rescuing a specific target to taking out the base.
You have carte blanche on how you approach these missions: storm enemies and shoot ‘em up, use tricks and traps to thin their ranks. Or you could always go the traditional route of picking up your sniper rifle, slap on some attachments, and surgically dismantle your enemies’ defenses before moving in for the kill. No matter which way you play it, MGS5’s TPS gameplay is superb, and it’s easily one of the best TPS games you can get right now.
One last thing that may be of particular interest is that the game adapts to and counters your playstyle, keeping you constantly on your toes!
5. Escape from Tarkov
| Platforms | PC |
| Release Year | 2017 |
| Developer | Battlestate Games |
| Average Playtime | Variable |
On paper, Escape from Tarkov sounds incredibly simple: join a faction, deploy to a match, kill other players, take their stuff, and escape. In practice, the game offers an incredibly challenging and immersive strategy game experience where a single misstep or missed shot makes all the difference between getting away with your loot or dying and ending up as a piñata for someone else.
Of course, this tense environment makes Escape from Tarkov ripe for sniper ambushes. You’ll need to hone your shooting skills and learn to account for distance, air resistance, bullet drop, and each sniper rifle’s unique characteristics before taking your shot. And remember – you’re surrounded by enemies who will figure out your position, so learning to escape and mask your presence is just as important. Losing is fun!
If the stakes of Tarkov’s PVP mode are too much, you can also purchase a PVE-only expansion. Progression in this mode is separate from PVP mode, and is persistent, meaning you won’t ever lose progress from server wipes.
6. Arma 3
| Platforms | PC, Linux, macOS |
| Release Year | 2013 |
| Developer | Bohemia Interactive |
| Average Playtime | Variable |
Some video games are built to withstand the test of time. Titles such as Minecraft, Terraria, and Stardew Valley are still going incredibly strong, and Arma 3 is another addition to that list.
This TPS/FPS hybrid is renowned for its realistic gunplay, steep learning curve, and team-centered gameplay. Even if you’ve got amazing shooting skills, Arma 3 will require you to work as a cohesive unit with other players if you want to get anywhere. Case in point: Arma 3’s snipers often work in tandem with a spotter, just like real life.
If you’re planning to play Arma 3 as a sniper game, keep in mind that the learning curve is often described as “harsh”. You can’t just grab a sniper rifle and go to town unlike other games; patience and practice are key, and communicating with your team is absolutely necessary. But once you’ve mastered Arma 3’s sniper game, you’ll be a huge asset to your team, landing long range kills from almost a kilometer away, clearing enemies with ease and paving the way for your team.
Lastly, Arma 3 does not only have a very active community, but there’s also a ton of mods for it, too.
7. Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon Wildlands
| Platforms | PC, PS4, Xbox 1, Xbox Series X/S |
| Release Year | 2017 |
| Developer | Ubisoft (Paris, Milan) |
| Average Playtime | ~80 hours |
If what you’re looking for is a fun open world adventure, it’s hard to go wrong with Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon Wildlands.
Set in an alternative timeline, Wildlands drops the Ghosts in the middle of Bolivia after the Santa Blanca cartel’s successful usurpation of power. As Nomad, you’ll need to lead your AI-controlled squadmates across the country to undertake several missions, with the ultimate goal of wresting control back from the cartel. To do that, you’ll need to use a variety of tools – assault rifles, explosives, melee weapons, and yes, sniper rifles – in a variety of environments.
Keep in mind that Wildlands is not the latest installment in the series, but after the debacle that was Breakpoint (clunky controls, bugs aplenty, NFTs, and shuttered servers), I can’t recommend the latest game. But while Wildlands is old, its community is still going strong!
8. Sniper Elite 5
| Platforms | PC, PS4/5, Xbox 1, Xbox Series X/S, iOS |
| Release Year | 2022 |
| Developer | Rebellion Developments |
| Average Playtime | 50 hours |
No list of sniper games is complete without including the Sniper Elite series, all of which are fantastic World War 2 games that have you play as an elite operative deep within the Axis’ lines.
Recon, sabotage, assassination: all of these are fair game for Karl Fairburne. Sniper Elite 5 places you deep within Vichy France, where you’ll need to use a vast array of tools – guns (not just sniper rifles), explosives, traps, and more – to secure victories for the resistance and take out key enemies that will help the Allies end the conflict. Combat is swift, precise, and deadly, and the x-ray camera for long range kills is always immensely satisfying.
Sniper Elite 5 comes with many difficulty options to cater to both new players and hardened veterans. With realism settings ranging from “I want to have fun” to “the meaning of life is pain” (which includes no HUD, no visual context clues, and less hearing range, to name a few) Sniper Elite 5 is a surefire hit.
9. Insurgency: Sandstorm
| Platforms | PC, PS4/5, Xbox 1, Xbox Series X/S |
| Release Year | 2018 |
| Developer | Rebellion Developments |
| Average Playtime | 50 hours |
While Insurgency: Sandstorm could have been so much more (the cancelled campaign, for starters), few will contest that this is a very fun FPS game.
Set in a callback to the early 2000s, Insurgency: Sandstorm has players taking up the roles of either Security or Insurgent agents, who will compete with each other to complete (or deny) objectives. Combat is swift and deadly; just as in real life, all it takes is a few shots to kill. Because of how brutal gunfights can be, each player must work as a single unit.
Commanders and Observers must use fire support tactically to flush out foes and push objectives, versatile Riflemen must be ready to quickly respond to changing battlefield conditions, and Marksmen, with their sniper rifles, need nerves of steel and a quick eye to take out prime targets and pave the way for their team. Hope you’ve got a good mechanical keyboard and FPS mouse!
What really sells Insurgency: Sandstorm for me is its stellar gunplay. The game’s guns are quick, responsive, and feel great to use. The fun doesn’t stop there, either, as the game’s audio contributes to the immersion. Every shot, from low caliber rounds to the roaring booms of DMRs reverberates in your ears and makes you feel as if you were in the combat zone yourself.
10. theHunter: Call of the Wild
| Platforms | PC, PS4/5, Xbox 1, Xbox Series X/S |
| Release Year | 2017 |
| Developer | Expansive Worlds |
| Average Playtime | Variable |
Let’s cap off this list with just one game that isn’t a MilSim. theHunter: Call of the Wild is a game where, instead of completing a mission or running from maybe 50 guys that want to kill you, you’re a hunter, and it’s open season on a bunch of wildlife.
If this sounds like it’d be a recipe for a relaxing, almost cozy FPS game, it is. theHunter: Call of the Wild may not have the adrenaline-pumping action or super-realistic gunplay of the other sniper games on this list, but trekking through various maps, finding ways to not startle your quarry, and bagging your target is very fulfilling.
For those who want to go the extra mile, Call of the Wild both rewards you for clean, efficient kills as well as trophies for especially noteworthy specimens. Oh, and there’s more than long range hunting here – there are also handguns, shotguns, and bows – and using the correct weapon nets you more points.
Lastly, Call of the Wild has multiplayer. You, your friends, a couple beers, and some virtual shotguns, bows, and scoped rifles. What could be better?
FAQs
What is the best sniper game?
Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 is a top contender for the best sniper game, especially if you’re looking for a mix of cinematic campaign moments and tight, responsive gunplay.
What game has the most realistic sniping?
Arma 3 has the most realistic sniping experience. If you’re looking for something a little tamer, you can also try the Sniper Elite games with the realism settings cranked up.
What is the Snipers Only game mode?
Snipers Only is a game mode for some shooters, such as Call of Duty. It’s exactly what it sounds like: no other weapons but snipers.
