Sniper Elite is a huge franchise at this point, with multiple entries, inspiring spin-off franchises of its own with Zombie Army, and it just recently released Sniper Elite: Resistance, with a fresh new protagonist in Harry Hawker.
That last tidbit of information left many fans shocked and surprised when it was revealed, not due to any dislike of Hawker, after all, he is the Player Two character model, but in fact because we all expected to see the return of Karl Fairburne, the protagonist of every other Sniper Elite game. Well, it looks like that will still be happening.
Sniper Elite 6, or Just Some DLC?
We recently spoke to Beck Shaw, the Lead Level Designer for Sniper Elite: Resistance, and had to ask them several questions surrounding the surprising exclusion of Karl Fairburne, and more importantly, if he was likely to return, or if Harry Hawker was the new guy the franchise was going with.
Shaw revealed that the decision for the spin-off was a story-based idea, not a change in direction for the franchise itself, saying:
The decision to tell a story away from the main Sniper Elite entries, wasn’t so much about changing our release strategy. When we finished Sniper Elite 5, we felt there was so much more to explore in that setting, particularly around the hidden war being waged by the Resistance deep within occupied France. So, Sniper Elite: Resistance was more about addressing that sense of unfinished business.
And regarding the lack of Karl Fairburne in Sniper Elite: Resistance, Shaw put our minds at ease quite quickly:
With Sniper Elite: Resistance we wanted to tell a different story, away from the mainline Sniper Elite franchise. As Karl has always been the protagonist of the series, it felt fitting to pass the torch, so to speak, to one of his companions (Harry Hawker) who has become a cult hit in his own right.
So not only is Sniper Elite: Resistance a sort of continuation of the story told in Sniper Elite 5, but it’s not a permanent goodbye to Karl Fairburne, as some expected, with Shaw going on to say, regarding Fairburne’s future appearances, “I am sure Karl will be popping up again in the not-too-distant future!”.
As far as confirmation’s go, that’s about as concrete as we can expect at this point, but what we don’t know is whether it’ll be in the next Sniper Elite mainline entry, which is as of yet unannounced, but an almost certainty with the franchise’s growing appeal; or if Karl Fairburne will be returning in some way with the pipeline of Sniper Elite: Resistance DLC Rebellion have announced.
But What of Harry Hawker?
Of course, the return of Karl Fairburne will then have us questioning where new fan-favorite Harry Hawker is/will be. We made sure to touch upon this point with Shaw, asking if Fairburne will be getting another companion in place of Hawker, and Shaw didn’t hesitate to make us aware that we will be seeing more of Hawker too:
There haven’t been any decisions around this just yet [a new companion], but Harry is a fan favourite so I think it’s safe to say he will appear again in some guise.
Whether this means we should get used to spin-offs featuring Hawker on the regular, or that he’ll be returning in Sniper Elite 6 is anyone’s guess, but it does leave Rebellion’s Sniper Elite franchise in a very good position for years to come.
For more Thumb Wars Gaming coverage, check out our review of Sniper Elite: Resistance, or how long it should take you to beat the game.
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Luke Addison is the Founder and Editor-in-Chief of Thumb Wars. Having previously been a part of multiple outlets over the years, including building an entire gaming team from nothing to something, he thought it best to forge his own path and answer only to himself. As likely to be found playing the latest game as he is in the kitchen relaxing (by cooking), he always brings the same bold and brash attitude to everything he does, with a heavy leaning on sarcasm and dry wit!
As good as harry is we must get Karl back love the sniper games more please
I would like to see kal fairburn back where he belongs.
I’ve really enjoyed this franchise. I hope we see more of both characters. I love that there’s no right way to complete objectives. Sniping is obviously the main draw, but having the option to get up close and personal adds just the right touch of depth to the gameplay to make it less of a one trick pony.
I personally don’t like harry hawker, the game is very good,but when you have to shoot a person 3-4 time to kill the enemy I feel it’s spoils it,but when the enemy shoots me I die straight away, (if not enough life in the bar)
I really liked resistance, and it would be a happy thing if they would produce new of both concurrently. That said while I find hawkers voice to be a bit too bob hoskins, it’s good to have a different protagonist and the game, while still rough around the edges, is a really fun romp into the series. I do hope future dlc allows me to play the other characters, if I haven’t missed how. I’m already speedrunning the game, and steer clear of those few bits of unfinished map they get you falling for miles or stuck in a crack you should definitely be able to walk over