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What is a Third-Person Shooter (TPS)?
The Third-Person Shooter (TPS—also “third-person shooter”) is a subcategory of the shooter gaming genre. In 3D gaming, it is characterized by players taking a view from behind or over the shoulder of a character or protagonist.
Third-person shooters can also be 2D, with the player seeing the character move in the 2D gaming environment. Both 2D and 3D TPS games differ from first-person shooter (FPS) games, as the player view is drawn back and detached the player from the direct perspective of the character holding a weapon.
Key Takeaways
- Third-person shooters are a sub-genre of shooters that require a detached. third-person and/or over-the-shoulder view of the controlled character and game actions.
- 1962’s Spacwear! is often credited as the first third-person shooter game, developed by American computer scientist Steve Russell.
- TPS games can be in 2D or 3D, but many modern third-person shooters generally adopt a 3D environment to deliver an immersive and world-bound story.
- The most common third-person shooter game types are competitive TPS games and story-driven single-player or cooperative games.
- TPS elements continue to evolve. Since the 2000s, cover, hide behind, blind fire, and fully player-controlled aiming have been added to existing TPS elements across many games.
History of Third-Person Shooters
How Third-Person Shooters Work
In Fortnite, you pick up various weapons to eliminate other players and NPCs. Source: Epic Games
Third-person shooters work by providing the player with a view of a gaming environment that is detached from the player or protagonist being controlled. Players may have a top-down, overview, or over-the-shoulder perspective.
From these third-person perspectives, players are required to shoot enemies, targets, and other elements—sometimes while taking cover to avoid incoming fire—to complete stages or missions and progress through a game.
Types of Third-Person Shooters
There are generally two types of third-person shooter games: 2D and 3D. However, third-person shooter titles can also be split into competitive and story-driven titles.
Sub-Genres of Third-Person Shooters
There are only two clear sub-genres of third-person shooters. This is aside from dividing further into survival, action, horror, fantasy and so on. The clearest sub-genres of third-person shooters are
- Competitive titles. Battle-royale or competitive-type games, like Fortnite, World of Tanks, PUBG (PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds), Apex Legends
- Story-driven. Single-player or cooperative story-driven titles like Gears of War, Max Payne, The Division, Helldivers 2
Features of Third-Person Shooters
There are many different features of third-person shooters, but these are the ones you need to know.
- Dependence on player accuracy from an over-the-shoulder perspective.
- Interactions with the environments for puzzle solving and defense.
- Aim assist usually features in third-person shooters available on consoles.
- Third-person shooters are symbiotic with other genres of video games.
- Adaptability with story-driven or competitive genres.
- Character and weapon models are usually the standouts graphically.
Popular Examples of Third-Person Shooters
These are examples of popular and some of the best third-person shooter games.
- Nintendo’s Radar Scope (1979), Atari’s Tempest (1981)
- Sega’s Space Harrier (1985)
- Atari’s single-player or cooperative shooter Xybots (1987)
- Konami’s two-player title Devastators (1988) – notably included objects to take cover behind.
- Sega’s Last Survivor (1988) – an arcade title where four cabinets could be connected on one network to allow for an eight-player deathmatch.
- Cyber Sled (1993)
- Flashback follow-up Fade To Black (1995)
- Tomb Raider (1996) – considered by some to not be a true third-person shooter, but given credit for a surge in popularity in the genre)
- MDK (1997).
- Mega Man Legends (1997) combined RPG elements into the TPS genre,
- Die Hard trilogy (1998) – critically acclaimed for TPS elements in the first part.
- Army Men: Sarge’s Heros (1999) – introduced player aim using two control sticks
- WinBack (1999) – introduced a ‘cover’ system
- Max Payne (2001)
- Jak & Daxter (2001)
- SOCOM (2002)
- Ratchet & Clank (2002)
- Kill Switch (2003) – introduced blind fire from behind cover
- Resident Evil 4 (2004) – popularized the over-the-shoulder camera
- Gears of War (2006)
- Dead Space (2008)
- Alan Wake (2010)
- Max Payne 3 (2012)
- Splatoon (2015)
- Splatoon (2017)
- Fortnite (2017)
- Control (2019)
- Resident Evil 3 (remake) (2020)
- Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart (2021)
- Splatoon 3 (2022)
- Alan Wake 2 (2023)
- Helldivers 2 (2024)
4 Ways to Improve Third-Person Shooter Game Performance
Use a VPN service to reduce lag and provide a secure connection when playing online.
Check your PC’s specs, such as your graphics card and CPU, for ideal performance.
Update your third-person shooters regularly through clients like Steam and Epic Games.
Protect your digital distribution accounts with a strong password and 2FA where possible.
Third-Person Shooters Pros and Cons
Pros
- TPS games offer engaging, story-driven experiences
- TPS games have a wider field of view than FPS games
- More experimentation with camera angles
- It is a very versatile genre incorporating many different gameplay possibilities
Cons
- TPS games can feel unnatural to those who primarily play FPS titles
- The free movement camera system could cause motion sickness
- Third-person shooters can be slower-paced than FPS games
The Bottom Line
Third-person shooters have been around for over 60 years in various guises, and they continue to evolve and develop within gaming. Offering excellent story-telling, strong world creation, and narrative-driven environments, they are some of the best titles available for gamers. They are not for everyone, but from 2D to 3D, incorporating player aim abilities and interactive elements, they are a hugely fun staple across gaming platforms.
