Sniper: Ghost Warrior 2 is a tactical shooter and the second installment in the Sniper series after Sniper: Ghost Warrior. The game follows the previous protagonist Captain Cole Anderson through a campaign in three parts. The game's opening takes place in the Philippines, where you are tasked to destroy an old radar post as well as disrupt supposed mercenary activity in the area. The story then shifts to the second part of the campaign, which takes place 20 years prior in Yugoslovia, where a then Private Cole Anderson was tasked to take pictures of the genocide of Serbian forces led by a man named Marko Vladic. Finally the game then shifts back to present time, where Cole Anderson is ordered to Tibet to stop a set of mercenaries from selling a Bio-Agent to an insane Jihadi Warlord, with the success of the mercenaries causing a war between Pakistan and India.

The game is a first-person shooter where players employ stealth tactics in order to efficiently use their sniper. Players must account for bullet drop, wind, and distance in order to successfully use the sniper. In addition, the game includes stealth based hand-to-hand assassinations as well as many other weapons in addition to the sniper. Stealth is far more emphasized than the previous game, with poor stealth tactic leading to imminent failure. The game also comes equipped with a 12-person online team deathmatch multiplayer mode.