Section 8 is a first-person shooter video game developed by TimeGate Studios and published by SouthPeak Games. It utilizes the Unreal Engine 3 and was released for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. It was released in September 2009 for Xbox 360 and PC, and for the PlayStation 3 on March 25 in North America and April 15, 2010, in the PAL region.

In Section 8, characters wear powered armor suits which provide damage absorption and augmented mobility. Players can use "overdrive" to move horizontally at superhuman speeds, or activate vertical thrusters (jetpack) to achieve new heights.

Players are able to "burn-in" by dropping onto the battlefield from orbital dropships hovering at 15,000 feet (4,600 meters) from the surface, thus eliminating fixed spawn points. "Burning-in" also creates the opportunity for the player to choose where they drop on the map, granting the game an increased aspect of unpredictability. This process is an interactive experience as players can be shot down upon entry by players and anti-aircraft turrets alike, though these situations can be avoided or mitigated by using the "air-brake" feature which allows the player to make mid-air adjustments.^{[citation needed]}

Players are encouraged to work in teams to achieve objectives and defend one another. They may deploy defensive structures such as Mini-Gun Turrets, Rocket Turrets, Anti-Air Turrets, Supply Depots, or Sensor Arrays to protect friendly-controlled objectives, or deploy vehicles such as Tanks or Heavy Armors which can operate to assault enemy-controlled objectives.^{[citation needed]} Players can purchase these using "Requisition Points" which are awarded to the player for various feats they perform through play.

Players are able to choose their primary and secondary weapons, such as assault rifles, pistols, shotguns, and sniper rifles, as well as grenades, explosives, knives, mortar launchers and healing units. The player is also able to create their own player class through various stackable modules that determine the player's speed, stealth, or the regeneration of the limited-use jetpack. Excessive damage endured by the player to certain parts of their body, such as their legs, arms, head, or chest, may disable or hinder the use of these enhancements.^{[citation needed]}

Dynamic Combat Missions (DCMs), a type of mini-game, can be activated mid-combat by the player, and can reward the player with Requisition Points when completed successfully. Some DCMs will include protecting a convoy, capture intelligence, or assassinating an enemy character.

Section 8 includes a single-player campaign mode called "Corde's Story" that allows the player to proceed as a character named Alex Corde of the 8th Armored Infantry. The first several missions take place on the arid planet New Madrid and later move to a temperate planet. The single-player campaign consists of eight objective-based missions on the same maps as multiplayer that serve as a tutorial to the player for multiplayer play.

Section 8 supports X-Server functionality, where players can run their own dedicated servers for Xbox 360 games using a Windows-based PC. An X Server can handle up to 32 players at once. Similar to this, the PlayStation 3 version supports TGNServer technology which allows players to host dedicated servers using a Windows-based PC with up to 32 players. The PC version also features a 40-player maximum with dedicated servers, and 32-player maximum with P2P servers. Computer-controlled characters (bots) may also be used to fill remaining slots in multiplayer games for Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and PC.^{[citation needed]}