
The most difficult realism setting in the game allows a player to manually target torpedoes for an attack on enemy vessels. The player also has the option to change realism settings on the submarine, adding challenges such as fuel being limited as well as various game play assistance features involving navigation, weapons, and the ability to switch to external camera mode to view the submarine's surroundings.

How the mission proceeds and what targets are attacked is left totally up to the player. The Silent Hunter III campaign will assign the player a certain patrol grid with appropriate naval traffic (such as convoys, destroyer escorts, and task forces) automatically generated by the simulation engine. The war time and political situation of World War II is reflected in the geographical area and time period which the player begins their career. In the campaign version of the game, a player begins their career as a "Lieutenant, Jr." (corresponding to Leutnant zur See), with the choice of initial assignments to a U-boat base between the years 19. German World War II veteran and sub commander Jürgen Oesten was a technical advisor for the game. Silent Hunter III features two methods of play - either a dynamic campaign or select historically-inspired missions, such as an operation to save the German battleship Bismarck, or the sinking of HMS Royal Oak in Scapa Flow. How the mission proceeds and what targets are attacked is determined by the player. Instead of giving the player a specific set of objectives for each mission, Silent Hunter III simply assigns the player a certain patrol grid, and appropriate naval traffic, such as convoys, destroyer escorts, and task forces are automatically generated by the simulation engine. Silent Hunter III features a dynamic campaign.

Like Silent Hunter II, it places the player in command of a German U-boat during the Battle of the Atlantic in World War II.

It was released for Windows on March 15, 2005. Silent Hunter III is a submarine simulation developed by Ubisoft Bucharest and published by Ubisoft.
