As one of the game's core experiences is sniping, the accuracy of long-range shots is affected by various factors, such as calibration of the rifle's scope, weather, wind speed, distance, gravity, and the protagonist's breathing strength and rate.

The player can activate Scout Mode, which is an ability of the game's protagonist to highlight places of interest and detect explosives such as mines.

[3] The game also focuses on realism; as a result, it also features a dynamic weather system and day-night cycle which affects the gameplay and enemy behavior.

[14] In addition, the player can travel to the "safe house" where they can collect supplies and resources like first-aid kits and ammunition for weapons.

[3] Safehouse is a safe place where the player can choose equipment, sleep to a designated hour, craft, buy items in the shop and start missions.

The player can fast-travel to safe houses from any place in the world (fast travel is disabled after entering a mission area).

The road to the mission area leads through open maps, where the player can encounter random events, points of interest, hunt for animals, etc.

The player takes the role of U.S. Marine Captain Jonathan "Jon" North,[7] who, along with his brother Robert, is sent to the Russian-Ukrainian border to destroy an abandoned stockpile of Soviet-era bio-weapons before they can be stolen by terrorists.

The two succeed in their mission, but are ambushed by an unidentified group of special forces soldiers, led by a man named Vasilisk who plays a game of Russian roulette with Jon before knocking him out and capturing Robert.

Two years later, Jon is sent to Georgia to help destabilize the local Georgian separatist cells, who are reported to be receiving an abnormally high level of funding and resources.

Jon accepted the assignment with the hidden agenda of locating his brother Robert, after hearing intelligence chatter placing him in the region.

Continuing other missions against the Separatists, Jon learns that events in Georgia are being manipulated by an international conspiracy known as the 23 Society, whose forces are equipped with high-tech experimental weaponry and led by a mysterious soldier with seemingly superhuman abilities known as Armazi.

Jon is eventually confronted by Armazi himself, who turns out to be Robert, who has been subjected to drug therapy, genetic engineering, and brainwashing to transform him into a supersoldier loyal to the 23 Society.

Jon travels to the location where the captured soldier is being held and discovers it is Cole Anderson, the protagonist of the previous game.

Flostov contacts Jon over the radio and gloats about how the 23 Society killed Robert's wife Milla, then used her death to break his mind and brainwash him.

Upon learning how he had been brainwashed and manipulated, Robert kills Flostov, then locks himself in the reactor room to manually stop the meltdown in order to give Jon time to escape, dying of radiation poisoning in the process.

[19] The lead narrative designer is Jess Lebow, who had worked on franchises like League of Legends, Guild Wars and Far Cry.

[31] "Pockets of civilian life do their best to present the illusion of a living, breathing society, but their nonplussed reactions to a burly marine barging into their houses aren't exactly believable," wrote Richard Wakeling of GameSpot.

[35] Porreca called the game dull; a "boring open-world shooter stitched together with half-baked gameplay systems and incongruous storytelling".

"[36] Will Freeman from The Guardian seemed he couldn't make up his mind whether Sniper Ghost Warrior 3 manages to distinguish itself from other shooters.

[37] CI Games CEO Marek Tyminski stated that the title had achieved a relatively successful outcome despite mediocre media reception.