ShootLikeMe - Unreal Engine Third Person Shooter Template

In a third-person combat scene, this template already gives you the moving parts that make firefights feel complete: functioning weapons, grenade types, enemy AI, and supporting battlefield systems. It is built as a third-person shooter project in Unreal Engine, with the goal of covering the kind of features a full shooter needs instead of stopping at a basic character controller.

The project has been in development since 2020, and its focus is clear: provide a template capable enough to support many kinds of third-person shooter games. That makes it useful as a starting point for projects that need gameplay systems working together from the beginning, rather than being assembled one at a time from scratch.

Weapons that already behave like part of the scene

The most immediate part of the package is its weapon set. There are 13 fully functioning weapons, and each one comes with sounds, muzzle flashes, and damage behavior. They can be used by both the player and NPC AI characters, which is important for any game where enemies and allies need to rely on the same combat rules.

The weapons included are:

• AK47
• M16
• MP5
• Machine Gun
• Uzi
• M1870 bolt action rifle
• Shotgun
• Sniper
• Pistol
• Revolver
• Crossbow
• Flamethrower
• Rocket Launcher

That spread gives the template a wide combat range, from close-quarters encounters to longer-range fights and explosive pressure. Because the same weapons can be used by both player-controlled and AI-controlled characters, they fit naturally into scenes where player enemies, allies, and faction forces all need to share the same combat toolkit.

Grenades and the combat flow around them

Alongside the main weapons, the template includes three grenade types. Those are flashbangs or stun grenades, smoke grenades, and regular grenades. Each one adds a different kind of battlefield behavior, which helps a shooter scene move beyond simple direct fire.

Flashbangs or stun grenades support sudden disruption. Smoke grenades can break sightlines and create cover. Regular grenades add a more direct explosive threat. Together, they give encounters more variety and make it easier to build combat situations that shift over time instead of relying only on sustained weapon fire.

Because the weapon and grenade systems are already present in the same project, they can be treated as part of a single combat layer. That matters in production when a level needs consistent damage behavior, clear combat feedback, and tools that work for both the player and AI characters.

NPC factions, allies, and enemy behavior

Enemy NPCs include advanced AI behaviors, and the system supports multiple factions. That means the project can handle scenarios where two or more factions fight each other, with AI battling AI as well as the player. Ally and enemy NPCs are both part of the setup, which opens the door to more than one side of combat in the same scene.

This is the kind of structure that helps a shooter move from isolated encounters to larger skirmishes. Instead of one enemy type acting alone, the project is arranged so factions can exist alongside each other and engage both the player and other AI groups. For games built around war-like encounters, patrol clashes, or multi-side combat spaces, that faction support is one of the most practical parts of the template.

The AI layer also lines up with the rest of the combat systems. Since the same weapons can be used by NPCs, the faction behavior is not separate from the shooting mechanics; it is tied into them. That makes the combat setup feel like a connected system rather than a collection of unrelated parts.

Searchlights, helicopters, traps, and other battlefield elements

Beyond weapons and enemy behavior, the project includes searchlight systems, helicopters, traps, explosive barrels, alarms, and more features needed to create a complete game. These elements are not just visual dressing. They help define how a combat space behaves and how a level can feel active before and during a firefight.

Searchlights can support guarded areas or tense patrol spaces. Helicopters add another layer to the battlefield setup. Traps, explosive barrels, and alarms give level design more ways to trigger danger or change the pace of an encounter. In a practical workflow, these are the kinds of features that help a prototype look and behave like a game world rather than a test corridor.

For teams planning a third-person shooter, this matters because the template covers both the active combat loop and the surrounding scene logic. You are not only getting guns and enemies; you are also getting elements that help shape how a mission area is read by the player.

Where it fits in production

This project is positioned as a template for building third-person shooter games in Unreal Engine. Its strongest use case is as a foundation for a project that needs functional combat systems, faction-based AI, and level elements that support larger encounters. It also comes with a free tutorial series showing how each system is implemented from scratch, which makes it easier to understand how the moving parts are put together.

The package itself is a ZIP archive with 2 files and a total size of 6.34 GB. That gives a clear sense of scale: this is a substantial project rather than a small sample scene. For production planning, that means it is the sort of setup you would evaluate when you want a fuller shooter base with multiple gameplay systems already present.

The practical takeaway is straightforward. If a project needs a third-person shooter foundation with working weapons, grenade behavior, faction-based NPC combat, and supporting battlefield systems, this template already brings those pieces into one Unreal Engine project.

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