Since 2020, Rebellion Developments has released games like Zombie Army 4: Dead War, Evil Genius 2: World Domination, Sniper Elite VR, Sniper Elite 5, Zombie Army VR, and Sniper Elite: Resistance. Somewhere in all of that, Rebellion also began development on Atomfall, an upcoming action-survival game, as a “back burner” among its other titles. Rebellion is essentially synonymous with its Sniper Elite franchise, and fans of Sniper Elite have more reason to check out Atomfall than just the fact the two come from the same developer.
Sniper Elite is a tactical shooter franchise, while Atomfall is an action-survival game set in an alternate timeline after the real-world Windscale Incident. The two, on the surface, don’t seem all that similar. Recently, however, Game Rant spoke with Rebellion’s head of design Ben Fisher about the learnings taken from Sniper Elite and applied to Atomfall. There’s more to the relationship between the two than first meets the eye.
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Game Rant speaks with the head of design at Rebellion, Ben Fisher, about the world and narrative design choices present in Atomfall.
Sniper Elite, Atomfall, and Player Agency, Oh My
There are a few familiar technical aspects to Sniper Elite and Atomfall. Both use Rebellion’s proprietary Asura engine, which allows the team at Rebellion to use all its knowledge and skill, while being quick and agile in its pipelines. Meanwhile, both Sniper Elite: Resistance and Atomfall use the same photogrammetry methods for assets, which Fisher said “adds to the level of immersion you have in the game world and the beautiful landscape.” But perhaps the most important distinction is how the team builds on Sniper Elite’s sandbox approach in Atomfall.
Fisher explained that Sniper Elite defines sandbox gaming for Rebellion, where the team gives players large, open maps to conquer, freedom regarding how they approach each mission, and the agency for each player to play they want to. It’s a defining element of each Sniper Elite game, with Fisher saying that Atomfall takes these learnings even further:
“We have taken these learnings and dialed this up a notch in Atomfall by increasing the scope of the sandbox and offering the player even more agency in the way they play the game. For example, it’s possible to complete the entire story without fighting absolutely anyone, but at the same time, you can also choose to wipe everyone out! Player choice and agency is hugely important to us.”
A modern criticism of a lot of game design elements today is that they are too handholdy and/or do not give players enough agency to figure things out on their own. Atomfall is not that. Atomfall embodies player agency and represents Rebellion giving its players as much freedom as they want. While there are options for a more guided experience for those who want/need them, Atomfall is meant to be a definitive experience in player agency. And what’s more is that players will be able to check this out themselves thanks to Xbox Game Pass.
Survival
Action
Adventure
- Released
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March 27, 2025
- ESRB
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Teen // Blood, Language, Violence