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Third-person shooter (TPS or 3PS) is a genre of 3D computer and video games in which the player character is seen at a distance from a number of different possible perspective angles, as opposed to the first-person model in which the player views everything in the game world as if through the character’s own eyes. Tomb Raider was an early third-person shooter which popularized the genre.^[1]

Leon S. Kennedy in Salazar's Castle in Resident Evil 4.

Owing to the general nature of the term, many games are placed outside of the third-person shooter genre because their styles are covered by more specific genre labels. Prior to Resident Evil 4, the Resident Evil games, though they incorporate both third-person gameplay and shooting, are not considered third-person shooters; because of the emphasis on fear and survival, they are called survival horror. In contrast, the GTA series from Grand Theft Auto III on has been labeled by some as third-person shooters, but also incorporates driving and RPG elements. Examples of traditional third-person shooters include MDK and Gears of War.

Third-person shooters have advantages and disadvantages. A third-person perspective gives the player more awareness of his surroundings; however, this leaves the camera disconnected from movement, unlike in an FPS. Poor camera control can leave the player viewing the wrong area, having his line-of-sight covered by an enemy behind him, or worse. Many solutions to these problems have been both proposed and implemented. For example, if the player positions the character with his back to a wall, the wall may become transparent as not to obstruct the player’s view. However, camera control continues to hinder the genre.

This has led many third-person shooters, such as Star Wars: Battlefront and James Bond 007: Everything or Nothing, to give the player the option to enter a first-person view, should a situation arise where the third-person perspective becomes problematic, while allowing them to otherwise remain in a third-person view.