Sniper Elite 5
Sniper Elite 5 is a third-person tactical shooter developed by Rebellion Developments and released in 2022, for PC, PS4/5 and Xbox One/X/S. Set in 1944 France, players return as Karl Fairburne to stop a secret Nazi plot, with the series' signature sniping and enhanced kill cam.
I worked as a Level Designer on Sniper Elite 5, where I was responsible for Level 7, "Secret Weapons". When I took over the level, it was in its early whitebox stage. I oversaw all aspects of its design, including:
My Role
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Creating and maintaining the whitebox from early concepts through to final art handoff.
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Designing the level’s flow, points of interest, and overall themes.
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Placing enemies, interactive objects, dialogue triggers, combat encounters, and cover layouts.
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Designing and implementing all events and objectives.
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Managing loot distribution and balance across the entire map.
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Setting up and maintaining player collision and enemy navigation meshes.
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Fixing bugs and refining content to ensure stability and performance.
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Working closely with art, VFX, code, and audio teams to deliver on level design requirements.
Mission 7 Secret Weapons
Secret Weapons is set in a Nazi weapons research facility located in the Massif Central region of France. The player's main objective is to infiltrate the facility and gather intelligence on Operation Kraken - a plan to launch V2 rockets from stealth U-boats aimed at New York and Washington.
The narrative and gameplay flow begin with stealth and a sense of uncertainty as Karl uncovers new information and reacts to it. Sniper Elite 5 was designed to offer a unique experience in every level. For Secret Weapons, I wanted to create a slower, more deliberate pace, with a focus on stealth and carefully spaced encounters. Early on, I aimed to teach players that infiltration and stealth are essential to fully experience everything the level has to offer.
The level features a cool dome housing a secret underground V2 site, a weapons lab, a V2 launch pad and a lake compound for submerged V2 rockets. Players must overcome elite enemies, snipers, tanks and dangerous vehicle convoy that patrols the map. Secondary objectives include sabotaging a radio tower located in a castle and stealing prototype weapon intel from a train station. Additionally, there are 19 collectibles hidden throughout the level, including personal letters, classified documents, stone eagles and unmarked storylines players can discover and follow.
The map is divided into two main areas: optional objectives outside the perimeter wall, and the rest, including the primary objectives, inside the base. Players can explore and complete objectives in any order, but eventually need to figure out how to get past the wall and infiltrate the main research facility. There are multiple ways to do this, supporting both stealthy and more direct approaches.
The mission culminates in the neutralization of the facility and its V2 launch capabilities, effectively thwarting the Nazi plan to strike Normandy's shores. Below, I’ll highlight key areas and features of the level and share my thoughts on the work I did.
Train Station
The train station is in the southeastern part of the map, patrolled by multiple enemies with several buildings to explore. The optional objective here is to acquire intel on the shipments.
This objective has two parts:
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Acquire the Manifest – Players can get this intel by finding the engineer with the documents or by opening the safe in the station’s main building, either with a key from an officer or with explosives. This building also contains intel about Christian Jungers, an optional Kill List target.
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Take Recon Images – Players must find specific viewpoints and take photos. Taking photos wasn’t a common mechanic in the game, but I felt it fit well here thematically, reinforcing the idea of a spy infiltrating enemy territory and gathering intel. It also complemented a stealth-focused playstyle.
Completing this optional objective will provide more story context for Operation Kraken.
Since it’s an open area, I wanted to make sure the station’s train track entry point was noticeable but strategically risky. Using this approach requires dealing with a guard in a watchtower. Players can neutralize the guard by sniping them or disabling the searchlight to lure them out. The pillbox nearby makes this the most dangerous infiltration route, encouraging players to use stealth and explore alternative ways inside.
This area encourages stealth gameplay, so going in loud would have significant consequences. If one enemy is alerted, all nearby enemies will join the fight, including an elite sniper positioned on a small hill on the east side. To heighten the challenge, an additional elite sniper in the hidden watchtower behind the large checkpoint wall will also engage, making fighting in the open a risky proposition.
Castle
An old castle that has been repurposed as a Nazi communications base. The objective here is called Neutralize the Radio Tower. To complete this objective, players must infiltrate the castle, which is in the south-west corner of the map, and sabotage the radio tower.
The castle looms over the players with its high walls, offering the perfect setting for multiple infiltration options. I designed several entry points to encourage different playstyles, including a zipline, a sewer passage, climbing up the rear tower, or going loud through the main entrance.
Once inside the castle, players have two options to sabotage the radio tower. One method involves destroying the cables attached to the walls in the castle interior by shooting the hooks. The other method requires accessing the generator on the ground floor of the main tower. After gaining access to the tower, players can use a crowbar on the fuse box next to the generator to disable it.
Weapons Lab
The Weapons Lab is situated in the northeastern part of the map and is a location for an optional infiltration mission in "Secret Weapons". It serves as a hub for cutting-edge WWII research, including the development of a new fuel type for winged V2 rockets. Players can access the lab in a few different ways. Inside, they can overhear various conversations that add to the story of the lab and connect to the game's larger narrative. With this space, I wanted to capture the feeling of being a real spy, encourage infiltration, intelligence gathering, and the thrill of uncovering secret technology.
Key objectives in this area include:
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Investigate Weapons Lab – An objective that tasks players with collecting five pieces of evidence scattered throughout the facility. One of them included taking a photograph of the V2 rocket wind tunnel test.
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Assassinate Christian Jungers – A Kill List target tied to the Weapons Lab. He visits to review prototype rocket aerodynamic test results and inspect lab operations. He’s an old friend of Obergruppenführer Möller and someone deserving of a brutal end. I had fun naming him after a real-life friend, and a fun way to take him out is by dropping a V2 prototype on him while he stands beneath it.
The Finale
The finale of Mission 7 centers on infiltrating the enemy’s main base of operations and sabotaging key parts of Operation Kraken’s V2 program. Players must complete sabotage objectives across three key locations: the V2 Launch Site, the V2 Capsule Test Compound, and the Dome, which contains both the war room with vital intel and the V2 refueling facilities. These areas can be tackled in any order, but all objectives must be completed before players can exfiltrate.
The V2 Capsule Test Facility
Set on a vast dam lake, this location features a V2 rocket partially hoisted from the water. The main objective tasks players with finding the perfect vantage point to snipe a square fuse box attached to the launch pad. Once the floating structure is sabotaged, players must pull a lever inside the nearby compound to complete the objective.
The V2 Launch Site
This mandatory location features a large V2 rocket on a launch pad. To sabotage the rocket, players can climb a ladder to a platform and interact with the rocket to tamper with it. The final step involves accessing an observation room north of the launch pad and pulling a lever to destroy the rocket.
The Dome and V2 Refueling Site
The Dome is a key location on the map, essentially the brains behind Operation Kraken. This large, circular structure houses a central war room and appears massive from the outside, though its even more expansive once players step inside. For its design, I used the "Beehive" approach, a level design technique where a space features multiple entry points and is densely populated with enemies who spill out to engage the player if alerted during infiltration.
Inside the Dome are various support facilities tied to the V2 operation, including research labs, maintenance areas, and systems for transporting rockets from storage to the launch site. The lower levels contain infantry barracks, ensuring the facility is well-defended.
There's a lot to see and do in this space, and I really enjoyed creating it. It originally started as a simple, square-shaped building, but after collaborating with the concept artist, we brainstormed a more distinctive and visually interesting layout that led to the final dome-shaped structure.
One unique aspect of this space is how reinforcements are handled when players are discovered. They’re tasked with sabotaging the V2 refueling systems and gathering intel in the war room—both of which can be approached stealthily or head-on. If players go loud, they’ll not only have to deal with the Dome's full internal security, but also a wave of external reinforcements, including vehicles, arriving from outside the facility.
Content Creators Playing My Level
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