We’re in the dead of winter right now in the Northern Hemisphere, which means it’s the perfect time to kick back and turn up the heat against some noobs online. (People still say noobs, right?) Snowy locales in video games make for some stunning vistas, and there’s nothing better than whipping out your favorite gun and mowing down foes, coating the glistening white ground in their glossy blood.
So we’re taking a look at some of the best snow maps of all time in FPS games, from iconic picks to some underrated and long-forgotten gems.
10
Chalet (Rainbow Six Siege)
Given most of Chalet’s gameplay takes place indoors, this is a slightly cheeky inclusion, but there’s no denying it’s a snowy map: the grounds around the eponymous building are coated in a thick layer of the white stuff.
Chalet is one of Rainbow Six Siege’s most iconic maps; in the game since launch and a regular feature in competitive play. Most Siege maps feature plenty of entry points for the attackers, but Chalet’s rooms are smaller than most, with tight, winding corridors making for an intense, tactical match.
9
Sub Base (Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2)
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 (the original from 2009, not the 2021 reboot) had no shortage of snowy maps, with Derail and Salvage alongside Sub Base. But it’s the latter that was by far the best, and it was no surprise it got remastered for Modern Warfare 3 (2023).
As you’d expect, Sub Base is set in a sprawling submarine base, and it’s the perfect example of a mid-range map which offers plenty of close-quarters engagements — but if you want to sit back and pick off foes from afar, you can. I’ve fond memories of hurtling around the snow-laden paths, Intervention in hand, which also earned me my first ever tactical nuke.
8
Alborz Mountains (Battlefield 3)
Battlefield 3 is by far my favorite of the series. Bad Company 2 nailed the environmental destruction, then 3 took things one step further and perfected the pace and atmosphere. While some maps — Operation Metro and Tehran Highway, for example — ramped up the intensity, Alborz Mountains, introduced with the Armored Kill DLC, felt like classic Battlefield again.
This map was huge, meaning you had the full range of vehicles at your disposal, from jets and choppers to tanks and humvees. To add to the immersion, driving up a snow-laden hill in a ground-based vehicle would kick up so much snow, you could hardly see where you were going. It had a suitable amount of both natural and manmade cover, meaning it was an example of Battlefield at an epic scale.
7
Lockout (Halo 2)
Halo doesn’t have too many snowy maps compared to a series like Call of Duty, but Lockout was so good, it was remade not once, not twice, but three times, in Halo 3, 4, and 2: Anniversary, as Blackout, Shutout, and Lockdown respectively. Lockout is where it’s the snowiest though, and as the original, this is the version that deserves a spot on our list.
A relatively small map in the grand scheme of Halo, Lockout provides non-stop action thanks to its open central platform. Walkways connect four small outposts that all branch off from the middle, each having three floors. With energy swords up for grabs, hanging around those close-quarters combat areas is a surefire way to nab some one-hit kills.
6
Bloc (Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare)
“Fifty thousand people used to live here… now it’s a ghost town.” One of the all-time greatest single-player FPS missions, All Ghillied Up, is from Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare, and Bloc is the multiplayer map set in that level. Some of the all-time best FPS maps come from this game, and while Bloc wouldn’t typically be considered on that list without the snowy criteria, it’s still an excellent map in its own right.
This is an example of a true three-lane map, with two apartment blocks surrounding an urban square. Although saying that, the central lane is so open and unguarded, it’s practically a death trap. This map excelled in Search & Destroy though, with any type of playstyle available. Snipers could pick enemies off from across the map, while close-quarters players could rush into the buildings and play the corners effectively.
5
Vikendi (PUBG)
Including a battle royale game in this list may be slightly cheating due to the size of the map, but Vikendi — now known as Vikendi Reborn, after the team expanded it in 2022 — is a delight to play and explore. Erangel will always be a fan favorite as the original locale, but Vikendi often ranks highly among players, which is impressive, as snowy maps are often considered to be worse than non-snowy ones.
Vikendi has numerous iconic landmarks: Dino Park, Castle, and Cosmodrome, as well as the hotspots of Podvosto and Goroka. This map has some of the most interesting terrain and topography in PUBG, with Mount Kreznic in the very center, and the river running from north to south.
4
Port Valdez (Battlefield Bad Company 2)
While Alborz Mountains is great, the best snow map in the Battlefield series has to go to Port Valdez in Bad Company 2. This is a long, narrow area along the icy coastline of Alaska, with smaller houses and huge warehouses interspersed through thin forest and oil pipelines.
Port Valdez was phenomenal to play Rush on, thanks to its shape. Taking the first set of objectives was always the hardest, mostly due to the mounted machine guns and launchers, but once taken, the rest of the map for the attackers was all about carrying forward the momentum. Port Valdez has a special place in many early adopters’ hearts too, as it was one of the maps in the pre-launch beta, making it especially nostalgic.
3
Summit (Call of Duty: Black Ops)
Another game with quite a few snowy maps to choose from — Array, Grid, WMD — Summit is the cream of the crop, and arguably one of the best maps in the entire game. Set in a mountaintop listening post, it was quite unorthodox in its layout while retaining that classic three-lane philosophy.
One side of the map followed a winding mountain path along the outside of the facility, while the opposite side was a much straighter walkway. The central building was pure chaos, with one window overlooking the entire room. Summit works for practically any mode or playstyle, and would often be voted for in the pre-match veto in the original Black Ops.
2
Office (Counter-Strike)
Name a more iconic Counter-Strike map than Office, I dare you. (Dust2 excluded, obviously.) Thing is, Office isn’t available in the classic Bomb Defusal mode. It originally showed up in Counter-Strike 1.0 and has persisted throughout the series since, primarily as a Hostage Rescue map.
While most of the gameplay takes place indoors, there are a couple of outdoor sections where the ground underfoot is coated in snow, making it eligible for our list. The many corridors and winding paths are what make it such a popular map, because the gameplay is so tactical, with various sightlines to hold and grenade spots to pre-throw. It’s also a highly popular map on Garry’s Mod, for various modes such as Trouble in Terrorist Town and Prop Hunt.
1
Winter Crash (Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare)
Is it cheating to put a map variant in our top spot? Maybe, but since Crash is possibly the best Call of Duty map of all time, it’s a no-brainer for Winter Crash to take the crown here. Crash’s layout is fantastic: not to sound like a broken record, but the three-lane design means it flows so well, with both team spawns on equal footing.
Every playstyle is supported, from sniping down the alley or from the top of the three-story building to running with an SMG through the tighter paths. And when you introduce Winter Crash, it elevates the whole experience. There’s snow falling from the sky, a Christmas tree next to the crashed helicopter, fairy lights everywhere, and the planes in airstrikes sound like jingle bells, dropping presents instead of bombs. In Modern Warfare Remastered, the planes themselves were replaced with reindeer pulling sleighs. The vibes are immaculate.
