Following the success of last year's Sniper Elite V2, British developer Rebellion is polishing its scope in preparation for a third entry in the wartime headshot extravaganza.
Sniper Elite 3 will launch in 2014 for both current and next generation consoles, published by 505 Games. More details will be released soon, but it will definitely retain the World War 2 setting of its predecessors. According to a statement made by Rebellion to Eurogamer, the title "features a completely new story and atmospheric World War 2 setting, and a greater focus on sandbox-style sniper gameplay."
The original Sniper Elite came out way back in 2005 and quickly gained a cult fanbase with its tense one-shot style of play. Those fans had to wait seven years for another squeeze of the trigger, though their patience was rewarded. Sniper Elite V2 was a remake-slash-sequel that enhanced everything good about the original. It also added a gruesome x-ray kill-cam that showed the passage of your bullets through enemies in surgical detail. Nice.
Sniper Elite is no longer alone in the long-distance sniping genre. Rival franchise Sniper Ghost Warrior came out of nowhere in 2010 and gets its first sequel this week.
Sniper Elite 3 will be out next year on all formats. Sniper: Ghost Warrior 2 is out this Friday for Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and PC.