Set in World War II, the player character, a German-American OSS operative named Karl Fairburne, utilises appropriate weapons for the era.

Realistic ballistics are optional, taking into consideration factors such as wind direction and strength and bullet drop, potentially altering the outcome of a shot even with the use of the scope.

Players are then forced to relocate periodically to prevent detection with a white ghost image to mark their last known position and the enemy will search a wider area.

[35][36] In this book, Karl Fairburne's mission is to stop Nazi SS general Helmstadt from selling a working atomic bomb to the Soviets.

On 29 March 2021, Variety reported that a film adaptation of Sniper Elite is in development with Marla Studios' Jean-Julien Baronnet producing along with the game's producer and CEO of Rebellion Jason Kingsley, Gary Graham writing and Brad Peyton directing with the film follows Karl Fairburne engage in a cat-and-mouse chase through the streets of London at the height of the Blitz during World War II, as he tries to save British Prime Minister Winston Churchill from a Nazi assassin.