The First-Person Shooter is a subgenre of shooters, and a really popular form of them. Its basic style of play is exactly what the name says: the perspective is through the eyes of the player character, and the action revolves around shooting within a three-dimensional environment.
Contrary to popular belief, it's not always about shooting the first person you see.
This is a game genre that was first widely popularized by id Software, via Trope Maker Wolfenstein 3-D (1992) and especially Trope Codifier Doom (1993). Indeed, before the genre's name finally crystallized, many following games were referred to as "Doom Clones".
It actually had two potential sets of progenitors:
- There were games such as Wolfenstein 3-D (1992), Gun Buster
(1992), Doom (1993), and Duke Nukem 3D (1996), which had full freedom of movement but used it solely to let you shoot everything and proceed to the end of the level. These games have origins in flight Simulation Games, dating as far back as Sega's Jet Rocket
(1970), the Ur-Example of the genre.
- There were games with a first-person, but not quite 3D because it was rendered in discrete steps, view of the surroundings, typically a dungeon, and which had sensible and consistent worlds, NPC interaction, relatively few artificial restrictions, plotlines, and puzzles. These games were typically Role-Playing Game or Adventure Game titles. Several games of this type were full 3D with freedom of movement, notably Action RPG titles Star Cruiser
(1988) and Ultima Underworld (1992).
Game designers went with the latter for a while, but as technology advanced, the genre has begun to shift towards having more interactive surroundings, setpieces, friendly NPCs, vehicle driving sections, physics-based puzzles, cover mechanics and RPG Elements with games like System Shock, F.E.A.R. or Half-Life.
See also: Standard FPS Guns and Fackler Scale of FPS Realism. If a game never breaks from the first-person perspective of the player character, that's Unbroken First-Person Perspective. Some Third Person Shooters have similar gameplay.
Contrast Fixed Camera (in terms of perspective).
Examples of this genre:
- 007: Agent Under Fire
- 007 Legends
- 8Bit Killer
- The Abyss: Incident at Europa
- Ace of Spades
- The Adventures Of Square
- Aliens: Colonial Marines
- Aliens Online
- Alien Trilogy
- Alien Rage
- Alien: Resurrection
- Alien vs. Predator
- Alliance of Valiant Arms
- Alpha Prime
- America's Army
- AMID EVIL
- Anaksha: Female Assassin
- Apex Legends
- Area 51 (FPS)
- Blacksite: Area 51
- Armorines: Project S.W.A.R.M.
- Back 4 Blood
- Back Track
- Bad Toys
- Ballistic Weapons (mod for Unreal Tournament 2004)
- Battleborn
- Battlefield
- Battlezone (1980) - a very early example
- Battlezone (1998) - incorporates Real-Time Strategy elements
- Battlezone (2006) - a PSP remake emphasizing multiplayer Vehicular Combat
- Battlezone (2016) - an early PSVR game emphasizing Virtual Reality immersion
- Bet On Soldier (2005)
- Beyond Sunset
- BioShock
- Black
- Black ICE
- Blacklight Retribution
- Blake Stone: Aliens of Gold
- Blake Stone: Planet Strike
- Blood
- BLOODCRUSHER II
- Bloodline
- Bloodwings: Pumpkinhead's Revenge
- Bloody Good Time
- Bodycount
- Boiling Point: Road to Hell
- Boneworks
- Borderlands
- BPM: Bullets Per Minute
- BRAHMA Force: The Assault on Beltlogger 9
- Breakdown
- Breed
- Brink
- Bright Memory
- Brothers in Arms
- Brute Force
- Bulletstorm
- Cabelas Dangerous Hunts
- Call of Duty
- Call of Duty
- Call of Duty: Finest Hour
- Call of Duty 2
- Modern Warfare
- Call of Duty: World at War
- Call of Duty: Black Ops
- Call of Duty: Black Ops II
- Call of Duty: Zombies
- Call of Duty: Ghosts
- Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare
- Call of Duty: Black Ops III
- Call Of Duty Infinite Warfare
- Call of Duty: WWII
- Call of Duty: Black Ops 4
- Call of Duty: Modern Warfare (2019)
- Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War
- Call of Duty: Vanguard
- Call of Juarez (slightly Action-Adventure)
- Carnivores
- Catacomb Fantasy Trilogy
- Chaser
- Chasm: The Rift
- Chex Quest
- Chrome
- The Citadel
- Clive Barker's Jericho
- Clive Barker's Undying
- Coded Arms
- Coded Arms: Contagion
- Codename Tenka
- The Colony
- Combat Arms
- Command & Conquer: Renegade
- Condemned: Criminal Origins (also Survival Horror)
- The Conduit
- Contagion
- Consortium
- Counter-Strike
- Contract Wars
- Crossfire
- Cruelty Squad
- Crysis
- CTHON
- Cube
- CyberMage: Darklight Awakening
- Cyberpunk 2077
- Daikatana
- Damage Incorporated
- Darkest of Days
- Dark Watch
- Dark Forces Saga
- The Darkness
- Day of Infamy
- Day One: Garry's Incident
- Dead Effect
- Deadfall Adventures
- Deathloop
- Deep Rock Galactic
- Delta Force
- Descent
- Desolate
- Depth
- Destiny
- DUSK
- Deus Ex
- Devil Daggers
- Devastation
- Dino D-Day
- Dirty Bomb
- Dishonored
- Disintegration (2020)
- Disruptor
- Doom
- Doom II
- Final Doom
- Doom 64
- Doom³
- DOOM (2016)
- DOOM Eternal
- Action Doom 2: Urban Brawl
- Aetherius
- Batman Doom
- Brutal Doom
- Call of Dooty
- Demonsteele
- Ghouls vs. Humans
- Grezzo 2
- Guncaster
- Hideous Destructor
- High Noon Drifter
- Highway Acceleroid Booster
- Mega Man 8-Bit Deathmatch
- Project Brutality
- Quake Champions: Doom Edition
- Reelism
- Russian Overkill
- Strange Aeons
- Trailblazer
- Trench Foot
- TurboCharged ARCADE!
- Zdoom Wars
- Dragon Rage
- Drunken Robot Pornography - yes, it's an FPS, you didn't read it wrong
- Duke Nukem 3D
- DUST 514
- Duty Calls
- Dying Light
- Earthfall
- Eldritch
- Eliminate Pro
- The End Times: Vermintide
- Escape from Tarkov
- Ethnic Cleansing
- Evolve
- Executive Assault
- Expert
- E.Y.E.: Divine Cybermancy
- Face Raiders
- Fallout (Also Western RPGs)
- Far Cry
- Fern Game Series
- Final Combat
- Firefall
- Fire Warrior
- First Encounter Assault Recon
- Forgive Me Father
- Forsaken
- Frontlines: Fuel of War
- G-Police
- Galeoz
- GAME OF THE YEAR 420BLAZEIT
- Geist
- Generation Zero
- Germs Nerawareta Machi
- Get Even
- Ghost in the Shell: First Assault Online
- Ghost Recon
- Ghostship series.
- Global Operations
- GoldenEye (1997)
- GoldenEye: Rogue Agent
- Goosebumps: Night of Scares - the second game's final stage is a hilarious spoof to FPS in general, where you can collect a laser to blow up armies andromorphic Gummi bears trying to eat you.
- Gotham City Impostors
- Grand Theft Auto V (Playstation 4, Xbox One, and PC versions have this as an available gameplay mode)
- Gravity Bone
- Gun Buster
- Gungriffon
- Gunfire Reborn
- Gunman Chronicles
- Hacx
- Half-Life series
- Half-Life
- Half-Life 2
- Half-Life: Alyx
- Afraid of Monsters
- Cry of Fear
- Counter-Strike
- Cthulhu: An Unspeakable Mod
- Dystopia
- Grey
- Heart of Evil
- The Hidden
- MINERVA: Metastasis
- Missing Information
- Nuclear Winter
- Sven Co-op
- They Hunger
- Garry's Mod
- NeoTokyo (2014)
- 1187
- Scientist Slaughterhouse
- Sweet Half-Life
- Halo
- Halo: Combat Evolved
- SPV3 (A mod of Halo: Custom Edition)
- Halo 2
- Halo 3
- Halo 3: ODST
- Halo: Reach
- Halo 4
- Halo 5: Guardians
- Halo: Combat Evolved
- Hard Reset
- Havoc
- Haze
- Hell Let Loose
- Heretic
- Heroes & Generals (The Action Game part)
- Hexen
- Homefront
- Homefront: The Revolution
- Hovertank 3D
- HROT
- Hunt: Showdown
- I. M. Meen
- Immortal Redneck
- Inner Chains
- Insurgency
- Ion Fury
- Iron Grip (on the La Résistance side; The Empire side is either a player controlled RTS or AI-driven)
- Iron Storm
- James Bond 007: Nightfire
- Jet Rocket
- JFK: Reloaded
- J-SWAT
- Judge Dredd: Dredd vs. Death
- Jumping Flash!
- Jurassic Park: Trespasser
- Jurassic: The Hunted
- Ken's Labyrinth
- The Kileak duology
- Kileak: The DNA Imperative
- Kileak 2: Epidemic
- Killing Floor
- Killing Time
- Killzone
- Kingdom of the Dead
- Kingpin: Life of Crime
- KISS: Psycho Circus: The Nightmare Child
- Krazy Ivan
- Krunker.io
- Land of the Dead: Road to Fiddler's Green
- LawBreakers
- Left 4 Dead
- Legendary: The Box
- The Legend Of Alfur
- Legend Of The Seven Paladins 3 D
- Mace Griffin: Bounty Hunter
- Magic Carpet
- Marathon
- MAG (ties in with MMOFPS)
- Maze War
- Medal of Honor
- Men in Black: The Crashdown
- Men of Valor
- Metal Head
- Metro
- Metroid Prime Trilogy (Also falls under Action-Adventure)
- Mission Against Terror
- Modern Combat
- Moon Chronicles
- Mortyr
- Nightmare Reaper
- Nitemare 3D
- Natural Selection 2 (Hybrid with Real Time Strategy)
- Necromunda: Hired Gun
- NecroVisioN
- Neon White
- NeonXSZ
- Nexuiz
- Nightmare Of Decay (Survival Horror from a first-person perspective)
- No One Lives Forever
- Nosferatu: The Wrath Of Malachi
- Nuclear Dawn
- Oddworld: Stranger's Wrath
- Office Jerk and its other versions
- Onslaught
- OpenArena
- Operation Body Count
- Operation Flashpoint
- Outlaws
- Outtrigger
- Overkill's The Walking Dead
- Overload
- Overwatch
- Painkiller
- Paranautical Activity
- Paranoiascape - sort of, you control a pair of bone pedals in first-person and consistently use it to deflect an energy orb back and forth at enemies
- Pariah
- Pathways into Darkness
- PAYDAY: The Heist
- Perfect Dark
- Peter Jackson's King Kong
- Pirates Vikings and Knights
- PlanetSide
- Po'ed - it's like Doom, but you're a Chef of Iron instead of a Space Marine
- Police 911
- Polygod
- Post Void
- PowerSlave note
- The Precursors
- Prey (2006)
- Prey (2017) (also Immersive Sim)
- Project Blackout
- Project Downfall
- Project IGI
- Prodeus
- Project: Snowblind
- Project Warlock
- Pursuit
- Quake
- Quantum Conundrum
- Radix: Beyond The Void
- RAID World War II
- Rage (2011)
- Rainbow Six (Also squad-based Simulation Games)
- Ravenfield
- Ready or Not
- Receiver
- Receiver 2
- Red Alliance
- Red Dead Redemption II (has this as an available gameplay mode just like GTA V)
- Red Faction (the first two)
- Redline: Gang Warfare 2066
- Redneck Rampage
- Red Orchestra
- Red Steel
- Requiem: Avenging Angel
- Resistance
- Rise of the Triad
- Robotica
- Rogue Warrior
- SCP Pandemic
- Sanctum
- Scathe
- Secret Service
- Section 8
- Serious Sam
- Serious Sam: The First Encounter
- Serious Sam: The Second Encounter
- Serious Sam Advance
- Serious Sam: Next Encounter
- Serious Sam II
- Serious Sam 3: BFE
- Serious Sam VR: The Last Hope
- Serious Sam 4
- Severed Steel
- Shadow Master
- Shadow Warrior (1997)
- Shattered Horizon
- Shaw's Nightmare
- Shellshock 2
- The Ship: Murder Party
- Shogo: Mobile Armor Division
- Sift Heads
- Silent Hill: The Escape
- SiN
- Singularity
- Sniper: Ghost Warrior
- Solarix
- Soldier of Fortune
- South Park
- Space Cruiser
- Space Griffon VF-9
- Spasim
- Spectre (1991)
- Splitgate
- Squad
- S.T.A.L.K.E.R.
- Star Cruiser
- Strafe
- Starship 1
- Starship Troopers
- Star Wars: Battlefront
- Star Wars: Republic Commando
- Star Wars: Secrets of the Empire
- Star Trek: Elite Force
- Star Trek The Next Generation Klingon Honor Guard
- Strife
- Sub Rosa (FPS Game)
- Super 3D Noah's Ark
- Superhot
- The Super Spy
- S.W.A.T. - though only the third and fourth game in the series and the spin-off SWAT: Global Strike Team:
- System Shock
- Takedown: Red Sabre
- Team Fortress 1
- Team Fortress Classic
- Team Fortress 2
- Terminator Future Shock
- Terminator: Resistance
- Thief - First Person Sneaker.
- Time Crisis 4 - the fourth game have a Japan-exclusive special edition which is in first-person starring William Rush as a playable hero
- TimeShift
- TimeSplitters
- Time Warpers
- Titanfall (combines this with Mecha Game)
- Tower of Guns
- Trepang 2
- Tribes
- Tron 2.0
- Turning Point: Fall of Liberty
- Turok
- ULTRAKILL
- Umbrella Corps (half hybrid with Third Person shooter)
- Unkilled (mobile game)
- Unreal series:
- Unturned
- Urban Chaos: Riot Response
- Urban Terror
- VALORANT
- Verdun
- Vietcong
- Viscerafest
- Vivisector: Beast Within
- Void Bastards
- The Walking Dead: Survival Instinct
- War Brokers
- Warface
- Warsow
- Water Warfare
- The Wheel of Time
- White Hell
- Will Rock
- Witchaven
- Wolfenstein
- Wolf Team
- The World Is Not Enough
- World War II Online
- World War 3
- WRATH: Aeon of Ruin
- XIII
- Xonotic
- XS
- You Are Empty
- ZAR
- ZPC
- Zeno Clash
- Zeno Clash 2
- Ziggurat
- ZombiU (with elements of old school Survival Horror)