15 Most Powerful Rifles in Games

From one-shot legends to sci-fi rail cannons, video games are packed with rifles that hit like trucks, break the rules of physics, or simply dominate their metas. “Power” can mean raw damage, armor penetration, or unique mechanics that change how a fight plays out—so this roundup looks squarely at what the games themselves establish: in-game stats, ammunition, damage models, and official descriptions.

Below are 15 rifles—ballistic and energy—that are documented in their games or official wikis as delivering extreme damage or fight-warping effects. Each entry cites primary game resources so you can verify exactly what makes them so formidable where they appear.

AWP — Counter-Strike series

The AWP is documented as “the most powerful weapon in the CS series,” capable of killing with a single shot to anywhere except the legs, regardless of armor—its stopping power is offset by a very low rate of fire because it’s bolt-action. These behaviors are recorded across major CS resources that summarize weapon characteristics and practical usage.

Across titles, the AWP’s lethality defines round-to-round economy and tactics, with players pairing it with high-damage or fast secondaries to cover the long bolt cycle. That one-shot body-kill capability (bar legs) and its economy impact are consistently noted in long-running weapon references.

AWM — PUBG: Battlegrounds

PUBG’s AWM is the game’s airdrop-only, .300 Magnum sniper rifle with maximum damage out to 150 meters and damage falloff reaching out to 679 meters. Official wiki pages track those ranges and emphasize its “monster” reputation in-game.

Category pages and weapon breakdowns position sniper rifles—particularly the AWM—as high-damage, low-rate-of-fire options built for extreme range, which informs why the AWM is restricted to care packages and limited ammo.

Kraber .50-Cal Sniper — Apex Legends

The Kraber is supply-drop-only, uses unique Mythic Sniper Ammo, and spawns pre-equipped with its optic; these constraints reflect its extremely high damage profile that can down armored targets with precision hits. Apex resources document its care-package exclusivity, fixed ammo allotment, and role.

Weapon pages also list its typical damage numbers and confirm it ships with a 6x–10x optic, reinforcing why it’s limited to drops and balanced around scarcity rather than attachments.

SRS99 Anti-Matériel Sniper Rifle — Halo series

Halo’s SRS99 fires 14.5×114 mm rounds from a four-round magazine and is classified in-lore as an anti-materiel system; canon timelines place its adoption centuries before the games’ events. Halopedia details designation, caliber, service entry, and modularity across the SRS99 family.

Additional references note it as semi-automatic, gas-operated, with remarks on effective long-range performance against shielded targets—context that explains its battlefield role in Halo’s sandbox.

Whisper of the Worm — Destiny 2

Whisper of the Worm is a Heavy exotic sniper whose signature intrinsic, White Nail, grants higher base precision damage and refills the magazine after rapidly landing three precision hits. Officially maintained databases and encyclopedias capture those intrinsic behaviors.

The weapon returned via the 2024 ‘Into the Light’ update with craftable upgrades to White Nail documented by community databases and Bungie forums, preserving its identity as a sustained-DPS boss weapon without conventional reloading.

Gauss Rifle — Fallout 4

Fallout’s Gauss Rifle accelerates projectiles via magnetic induction and deals “very high damage” when fully charged; the official wikis outline its charge mechanic and extensive mod pool (capacitors, shielded barrel, muzzle devices) that scale damage and handling.

Archive and community documentation further explain its operation—holding the trigger to charge shots for maximum impact—clarifying why it sits at the top of Fallout 4’s ballistic damage hierarchy.

M-98 Widow — Mass Effect series

The M-98 Widow is recorded as a direct upgrade over the Mantis in Mass Effect, delivering more damage per shot and a higher spare-ammo capacity, which makes it one of the series’ hardest-hitting precision rifles. Official wikis log those comparisons.

Item pages and guides emphasize its anti-materiel design intent and extreme stopping power against armored targets in-universe, detailing its weight and role across factions and missions.

Railgun — Quake series

Quake’s Railgun is described as a hitscan, pinpoint-accurate weapon with effectively infinite range and extremely high damage per shot, surpassing even direct Rocket Launcher hits in certain titles. Official franchise wikis record its accuracy, damage, and long cooldown.

Across later entries, notes on shot delay and one-shot potential against weaker enemies mark it as a precision power weapon whose balance lever is its slow refire. Community and franchise documentation detail these traits.

CSRX 300 — Rainbow Six Siege

Kali’s CSRX 300 is a bolt-action marksman rifle firing high-penetration rounds; official wikis specify a variable 5x/12x optic and the ability to penetrate multiple surfaces and Operators, enabling wall-bang eliminations and gadget removal in conjunction with her LV Explosive Lance.

Stat pages list base damage and ammo capacity, while operator pages describe the rifle’s interaction with gadgets and reinforced surfaces, explaining its niche as a hard-breacher counter and long-range threat.

Heavy Sniper Rifle — Fortnite

Fortnite’s Heavy Sniper Rifle is documented as dealing extremely high damage to players and exceptional structure damage, with Epic/Legendary variants historically capable of destroying wooden builds in one shot; official and archival wiki entries capture those values and use cases.

Listings note its availability via floor loot, chests, and supply drops in specific seasons, and highlight its long reload that balances its building-busting rounds and player damage.

Accuracy International AXMC (.338 LM) — Escape from Tarkov

In Escape from Tarkov, the AXMC is chambered in .338 Lapua Magnum and documented as a modular, quick-change-barrel sniper platform; the official wiki outlines its cartridge options, parts ecosystem, and bolt-action operation.

Item and cartridge pages detail .338 LM’s role and the AXMC’s magazines and receivers, reflecting why it sits at the high end of Tarkov’s damage and penetration spectrum when loaded with appropriate ammunition.

Intervention (CheyTac M200 platform) — Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2

Call of Duty’s Intervention is documented as a bolt-action sniper rifle with a capped intended fire rate and specific cycle time between shots, reinforcing its high-damage, precision-first role in multiplayer. The series wiki provides those technical timings and mechanics.

Weapon entries also record its unlock conditions and operational specifics across titles and remasters, explaining its enduring presence as a high-impact long-range option within the franchise’s sandbox.

Anti-Materiel Rifle (.50 MG) — Fallout: New Vegas

New Vegas features an anti-materiel rifle using .50 MG ammunition, described as a high-caliber precision weapon intended for use against materiel and hard targets; official wikis detail its design features, muzzle brake, and handling to manage recoil.

Ammunition entries further confirm .50 MG as the largest and most expensive conventional round in the game, explaining the rifle’s extreme damage output and resource cost.

Overwatch Standard Issue Pulse Rifle (AR2) — Half-Life 2

Half-Life’s Pulse Rifle is documented as a directed-energy assault rifle with a 30-round energy cell and an alt-fire that launches a dark-energy orb capable of disintegrating most targets on contact; official franchise wikis describe both primary and secondary fire.

Community curation and retrospectives add developer-adjacent details—like its “AR2” moniker usage and ammo limits—clarifying why its secondary fire is treated as a fight-ending tool against certain enemy types.

Longshot Sniper Rifle — Gears of War series

The Longshot is listed with “Very High to Lethal” per-hit damage, extreme range, and bolt-action operation, forming the series’ baseline high-damage sniper platform across multiple wars in the timeline. Official franchise wikis include magazine size, ammunition type, and role.

Series documentation also notes its high accuracy and use by the Coalition of Ordered Governments throughout conflicts, explaining its persistent appearance as the primary precision rifle.

Share your pick for the most powerful rifle you’ve used in a game in the comments!