First-Person Shooter-Z (FPS-Z, FPS+Z, or simply FPSZ) is a sub-genre of first-person shooters that emphasizes player movement in the Z-axis through the use of jetpacks or other similar device.

The term FPS-Z was first coined sometime around 2006 or 2007 by former Tribes Vengeance: Renegades and Ascension developer Rooster128 to help differentiate games like Tribes from other first-person shooters. FPS-Z’s are essentially the same as first-person shooters, with the obvious emphasis on movement in the Z axis. Generally, FPS-Z’s are played in the first-person perspective, but some do include an optional third-person view.

Though not the first, many consider the Tribes franchise to be the quintessential and most successful FPS-Z series. While many games before and after included elements of Z-axis movement, the Tribes series completely revolves around this aspect.

FPS-Z’s shouldn’t be confused with six degrees of freedom(6DoF) games. These include space combat and simulation games such as Freespace, Freelancer, and Eve Online. When dealing with Arena shooters such as Quake there’s a bit of a grey area, since while players can easily propel themselves through the air by using rocket jumps or other similar mechanics in these games, it’s hard to say whether or not there’s an emphasis on this kind of movement when compared to a game like Tribes.