Not every video game community is a welcoming one. Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we're counting down our picks for the most notorious, hostile, and downright toxic communities in the video game world.
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00:00Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we're counting down our picks for the top 30 most deplorable,
00:10offensive, and outright toxic communities in video games.
00:14If you don't behave this way, then great.
00:17Keep being a positive beacon for your fellow players to follow.
00:2630.
00:27The Pokemon Series For the most part, the Pokemon community
00:35can be a fairly decent bunch.
00:38It's a fandom with more fandoms within it made of players from various generations of
00:43pocket monsters.
00:45But whereas this half of the community is welcoming and mingles with like-minded individuals,
00:50some folks take things a bit too far.
00:53If you say your favorite Pokemon game is a game not from one's generation, you might
00:59find yourself under fire simply for liking something different.
01:03On top of that, every new game is treated as the worst thing to have ever existed.
01:08So sometimes it's best to wait in the dark and observe until you find the folks to hang
01:13with.
01:1529.
01:19The NBA 2K Series Whereas the Pokemon community has some elitism
01:29in its generations, the NBA 2K fanbase is toxic in a more classist fashion.
01:35While some may enjoy the NBA 2K games simply because they love basketball, others will
01:41dump their wallets into the microtransactions to get the best players so they can go online
01:47and destroy.
01:49In other words, the playerbase has a serious case of the haves and have-nots.
01:54And even though some will complain about this microtransaction-fueled system, next year's
01:59game will still sell an absurd number of copies and rake in the dough with more microtransactions.
02:0828.
02:12Cyberpunk 2077 Cyberpunk 2077 has a rather unique case of
02:24toxicity within the fandom.
02:26Sure, it is nice that many folks have seen why the game got so many great reviews despite
02:32the technical problems at launch.
02:34However, there has been some toxic positivity surrounding the game as some players will
02:40act like the game has always been the greatest thing and that it was always loved.
02:45Even our own video game team remembers the amount of vitriol that was flung at them at
02:49the time the game launched.
02:51So this sudden wave of revisionist history is baffling to witness whenever it crops up.
02:56We'll just stick to talking with our fellow Judy and Panam fans, thank you.
03:0627.
03:07Rocket League Rocket League has seen fluctuating levels
03:16of toxicity ever since the game initially launched.
03:20When we had a trading system, it was very common to see someone in the chat begging
03:24for someone to trade with them instead of playing the game.
03:28Then you had the min-maxing individuals who put every car under a microscope, causing
03:34each car's geometry to be a part of the meta.
03:37And do we even need to mention the slurs and hateful language that occurs in every
03:41other game?
03:43For a game about cars playing soccer, there are an alarming number of folks taking the
03:47game way too seriously.
03:5526.
04:00Rainbow Six Siege Even though our previous entries have some
04:07awful behavior going around, Rainbow Six Siege has some toxic behavior being flung constantly.
04:14You can't ever seem to get a single match of genuine CGs.
04:18Instead, it's a lot of the usual manners you'd expect from most online games.
04:24Hateful language, accusations of cheating, all while sweating hard as if they're actually
04:29playing for money.
04:31Supposedly, there are corners of the community where you can find reasonable individuals
04:36who just want a good time.
04:38Just be prepared for opposing teams to not be as calm.
04:4625.
04:49Night By Daylight It seems like every single day, this community
04:57is on fire over something absurd.
04:59Whether it's because someone lost a game to a meta build, or someone said they enjoy
05:05playing as a killer or survivor that someone else despises.
05:10There is always, always something wrong in the DbD community.
05:15And when there isn't something wrong, killer mains and survivor mains are arguing about
05:21who has the unfair advantage and how the game is unbalanced.
05:25Level-headed individuals are thankfully quick to end and ignore these scuttles by simply
05:30pointing out how DbD is, overall, a party game.
05:34And then they get called slurs, and are shamed for being low-level or for tunneling.
05:4424.
05:47The Silent Hill Series If seeing the Silent Hill community on our
05:57list is shocking, well, one may not be spending a ton of time online.
06:02Don't get us wrong, there are some wholesome individuals here.
06:06Unfortunately, many of the terminally online folks came out when Silent Hill 2's remake
06:11launched in October 2024.
06:14So many of them complained about the game supposedly being woke because Angela had cheeks
06:20and Maria wasn't as scantily clad as she was in the original game.
06:25Some even took it so far as to fabricate information on the game's Wikipedia page.
06:30And of course, review Bomit on various sites.
06:34Video games are fun.
06:4023.
06:45Fortnite The most toxic Fortnite used to get was just
06:54dancing on each other's graves after getting eliminated.
06:58And then, it wasn't toxic, it was just light-hearted fun.
07:02However, in recent years, parents have discovered how their kids are getting bullied at school
07:06because of how they're playing Fortnite.
07:09It isn't enough to diss somebody because they're playing the game that is cool to
07:12hate on, now kids are bullying each other over character skins.
07:17Character skins!
07:18A study conducted by Oslo Metropolitan University found that premium skins were highly valued
07:24by Fortnite's younger audiences, and those playing with freebies and defaults were often
07:29subjected to ridicule by their peers.
07:32In other words, it's another case of the haves versus the have-nots, just like in NBA
07:402K.
07:4422.
07:47The Mortal Kombat series When it comes to traditional one-versus-one
07:57fighting games, Mortal Kombat has often received the title for having the most toxic player
08:03base within the fighting game community.
08:05In almost every online match, the name-calling can get egregious and sometimes bigoted.
08:11Some of this will even stem from the character you're playing as because that character
08:16has cheap moves, doesn't most of the roster.
08:20The only reason MK isn't higher on the list is because it, thank God, has the option to
08:26preemptively mute other players.
08:3521.
08:38Genshin Impact Genshin Impact is strange because of all
08:48the games Hojoverse has put out.
08:51None have been as vocally hostile as this one.
08:54Unfortunately, Genshin Impact's player base has an extensive history of stalking, harassment,
09:00and death threats being thrown not just at fellow players, but voice actors as well.
09:05It's gotten so bad over the years that most fans will choose to play independently away
09:10from the community rather than risk saying one small thing that could set someone off.
09:15At Genshin Fest 2024, director Da Wei even expressed how the harsh criticisms of some
09:21of the fans inflicted an extreme amount of anxiety on himself and the rest of the team.
09:27Fractured and out of control does not even begin to describe this fandom.
09:31That's a cool story, but is the Knight's Gliding Manual really written in that style?
09:3820.
09:39Fall Guys Ultimate Knockout As it quickly became one of the most surprising
09:51hits of 2020, Fall Guys garnered a massive following almost immediately upon its release.
09:57Of course, with that fame comes a plethora of toxic players.
10:07One can't expect a good handful of cheaters to infiltrate games and steal victories left
10:12and right.
10:13While the anti-cheatus update has caught a good portion of hackers, there's still another
10:17toxic side to the community.
10:19One of griefers actually trying to eliminate players by simply pushing or waiting around
10:24at the finish line to troll the lobby.
10:27Suffice to say, these types of players can ruin most sessions.
10:3419.
10:37RuneScape While the RuneScape community has most
10:47definitely improved in the last decade or so, there are still some troubling individuals
10:52walking about.
10:53For one thing, some of the die-hard and elitist players will verbally berate others, and new
10:58members can be attacked simply for being new.
11:09The fans have also been known to exploit in-game mechanics for their own personal gain.
11:13The constant whining about the game dying doesn't help either, especially when the
11:18vocal players are so unwelcoming and hostile.
11:21While we're sure most RuneScape players are delightful, and the toxic ones are a vocal
11:25minority, there are more than enough to make us want to stay clear.
11:29All of that, and the time commitment.
11:3618.
11:38The FIFA Series Soccer is one of the most popular sports in
11:49the world, so it's natural that the FIFA series draws in millions of players every
11:54year.
11:55Unfortunately, most of these players are cheaters and crybabies.
11:58The series has a history of hackers ruining the infrastructure of the games, but it's
12:03the general attitude in the matches themselves that annoy us most.
12:12You'll be lucky to even finish a game in the first place, as many players are known to
12:17simply disconnect after letting in a goal or two.
12:19For those of us who are lucky enough to finish a game, we're often treated to childish screaming,
12:24spamming, and obnoxious celebrations.
12:27So exactly like real soccer, I mean, football fans.
12:30Crap.
12:31Sorry not sorry.
12:4017.
12:43Undertale How exactly could a single-player game have
12:54a toxic community?
12:56Well, it all comes down to reputation.
12:58We agree with most people.
13:00Undertale is a fantastic game with clever humor and writing.
13:04However, there are some folks who take the word good and twist it into factually perfect.
13:15There are a number of Undertale fans that live and die by this game, and if you so much
13:20as say anything bad about it, you know nothing about video games and insert threat here.
13:26Thankfully, there are more light-hearted fans who love the memes that have spawned, but
13:30even that has grown tiresome to bear.
13:3516.
13:38The Sonic the Hedgehog Series Man, for such a cute and harmless little rodent,
13:51Sonic sure does stir up a lot of controversy.
13:54The Sonic games are spread throughout so many years and generations that the fanbase has
13:58long been split and broken, leading to constant fights, name-calling, and general negativity
14:04online over which game sucks, why this new mechanic is game-breaking, etc.
14:16Of course, the inconsistent quality of the titles in recent years certainly hasn't helped
14:21ease the boiling pot between trolls and the most die-hard of Sonic defenders, both of
14:25whom can get very aggressive.
14:28We're not even going to touch on some of the more adult things that fans often do with
14:33these characters.
14:3915.
14:42Team Fortress 2 While many players of Team Fortress 2 are
14:53perfectly fine, there is a small vocal minority that makes the game unbearable for everyone,
14:59but especially for new players.
15:02The game seems to draw a lot of elitist gamers who believe that they are better than everyone,
15:07but being vote-kicked for playing poorly or playing as the wrong character is not uncommon.
15:18This on top of the constant whining about minis on Hightower, despite it being a perfectly
15:24legal and legit form of playing, and the incessant complaining about bad or inexperienced teammates.
15:31If you've never played this game but have always wanted to check it out, we recommend
15:34that you mute your chat for the first few months.
15:4214.
15:44EVE Online While many players of this game are friendly
15:53and helpful, it's the bad apples that give EVE a rotten name.
15:58Some players will treat the inexperienced with total disdain, even to the point of harassment.
16:03It is also the Wild West of gaming.
16:05Players will rob, cheat, scam, or screw over others as often as they can in the name of
16:10self-fulfillment.
16:11However, we can accept that behavior like this is part of the game, and we can forgive
16:22it.
16:23What we can't forgive is the toxicity that extends beyond the gameplay.
16:27Not cool, EVE fanboys, not cool.
16:3513.
16:36The Halo Series Back in the day, Halo was the pinnacle of
16:48the online multiplayer experience as Halo 2 perfected the art of Xbox Live and became
16:54immensely popular.
16:55However, due to its popularity, it has drawn both children, childish adults, and new fans
17:00who do nothing but clash with the old.
17:11Most online games revolve around childish screaming matches and immature teabagging,
17:16while forums are filled with arguments regarding the quality of each game.
17:19Old fans want the classic Halo gameplay returned and whine about every new gameplay element
17:24that 343 implements.
17:26New fans enjoy the experimentation in progress, and both sets do nothing but clash with each
17:31other.
17:32Can't we just enjoy the games for what they are?
17:3912.
17:43The Dark Souls Series There's no denying that these games are
17:56spectacular, featuring some of the most impressive worlds and challenging gameplay we've ever
18:01seen.
18:02Unfortunately, with the series' infamous difficulty comes an elitist, hardcore community
18:07who feels as if they are superior to the filthy casuals of gaming due to their mastering of
18:13the complex series.
18:23Those seeking help or guidance in these notoriously opaque games are often told to just get good,
18:29which is always helpful.
18:30Finally, the online community itself isn't too great, as it's filled with constant showboaters,
18:35hackers, and leg-stabbers adding a layer of frustration that even the developers didn't
18:40fully intend.
18:4511.
18:49The Super Smash Bros. Series When the original was released in 1999, everyone
19:01was instantly smitten with the game due to its addicting combat, memorable characters,
19:06and for its ability to bring friends together for some harmless fun.
19:10Then esports happened and that harmless fun soon turned into professional dedication and
19:14its fanbase quickly went far too serious for its own good.
19:24Some of the professional players are now overly antagonistic to casuals and refuse to play
19:30unless the rules are altered to be more competitive, such as by removing items.
19:35We hope you like playing on the same map 5,000 times in a row as well.
19:39Oh, and God help the person that says they actually liked Brawl.
20:03Much like Riot's other, more notorious game, Valorant has become so toxic that it'd make
20:09a chemical plant, Blush.
20:11We're talking about players making bigoted remarks in games, acting sexist towards female
20:16players, and overall acting elitist to most of their teammates.
20:24Already there have been several articles written and Twitter threads bringing these issues
20:28to light.
20:29Even one of Riot's own developers was a victim of this behavior.
20:33Riot claims that they were working on an initiative to control and diminish the toxicity, but
20:37encouraging players to continue reporting only gets you so far.
20:40From the looks of it, history may be doomed to repeat itself.
20:43In this game, players are able to design their own virtual worlds, and essentially
21:08create their own games within them.
21:10It sounds interesting, but stay clear.
21:13The game is essentially for kids, and as we all know, kids will be kids.
21:25While it's inevitable that you'll run into some unsavory and immature characters, there
21:29are also the constant friend requests, the classic name-calling from 7-year-olds, and
21:34the comments section of games, which is just a whole bunch of cancerous nonsense, including
21:39lots and lots of spam.
21:40It wouldn't be so bad if the children knew how to spell or use proper grammar, but come
21:44on, this is the internet we're talking about.
21:48Time's up!
21:49I got him with a knife!
21:50Yippee!
21:52I feel joy, wow, yay, this audio goes on way too long.
21:56Number 8.
21:57Overwatch.
22:08The problem with Overwatch is similar to Valorant's, wherein you'll often encounter players who
22:13believe they're MLG pro-gamer material, and can rack up high kill-death ratio.
22:18Then you have the people who cry out that a certain hero needs to be buffed or nerfed.
22:23And you should listen to them, because they supposedly clocked X amount of hours into
22:26playing certain characters.
22:38While the addition of endorsements has certainly put a damper on the harassment and entitlement,
22:43it feels like some praise may be undeserved or given out for the sake of earning more
22:47XP.
22:57Number 7.
22:58World of Warcraft.
23:08Part of the fun in World of Warcraft was meeting new players to ally with and embark on
23:12quests together.
23:14Many have formed friendships through the game, but as online gaming has grown, the game has
23:19become another hotspot for venomous people.
23:26Raids can devolve from team missions into screaming sessions, and it isn't uncommon
23:31for players to be booted for simply being a lower level than everyone else.
23:35Basically, there's some unofficial requirement to be dealing a certain amount of damage per
23:40second, or you can't play with anyone.
23:43Number 6.
23:47Dota 2.
23:55As is the case with games as complicated as Dota 2, it can be tough for new players to
24:00join when the learning curve is so steep.
24:03A good player would include and inform newbies on how to play their character or how the
24:07game works.
24:08Alas, that is not the case for the majority of the time.
24:13One could expect a cornucopia of insults to be hurled at them for simply not knowing how
24:23the game works or what they should be doing.
24:26With this attitude towards newbies, what's the point in jumping in if you haven't already?
24:36Number 5.
24:38Minecraft.
24:43While many people in the Minecraft community will work together and create magnificent
24:50things, there are others who will do the exact opposite, particularly in the public servers.
25:04Unfortunately, with popular games come the immature gamers, and Minecraft is filled to
25:10the brim with them.
25:11Not only will they spam the chat function with garbage, but they will actively troll
25:15and destroy other players' creations at will.
25:18The malicious behavior even led to the popularization of the term griefing as Minecraft
25:22became well-known for its troublesome players.
25:25This has become a serious problem for server admins and neutral gamers alike.
25:38Number 4.
25:39The Counter-Strike series.
25:48While the Counter-Strike games may be a blast to play, the community, and Global Offensives
25:54community in particular, is so darn toxic that it negates any sense of fun you may have.
25:59The games always devolve into a mess of children screaming into the microphone,
26:03vocal abuse towards other players, higher-ranked players getting unnecessarily upset,
26:08team killers, derankers, and griefers.
26:18If that wasn't all, the servers are also poorly managed, encouraging shady tactics,
26:24and in some cases, hacking.
26:26To truly experience the series, you need to find friends and play with them, because the
26:31games are otherwise unplayable due to the childish community.
26:35Number 3.
26:36The Call of Duty series.
26:52Perhaps one of the most infamous communities in video gaming are the Call of Duty fans.
26:57Well, we say fans extremely lightly, because it seems to us that no one actually cares
27:02because it seems to us that no one actually enjoys playing these games.
27:14Many online discussions, mostly from non-fans, revolve around how these games are literally
27:18the worst of all time, and players declaring that they'll never buy another COD game again,
27:23because they're all the same man, yet continuing to buy the new iteration anyway.
27:28The online portion is also no picnic, as it is well-known for the whiny children,
27:33all of which are either spamming, accusing good players of hacking,
27:37or just being loud and annoying in general.
27:51Number 2.
27:52Grand Theft Auto Online.
27:58We've been waiting for this for years.
28:03Too bad about the players though.
28:04While the initial launch was problematic, the game's toxic community has lingered.
28:09The game is full of trolls and griefers, and there always seems to be that one player who
28:14is completely incompetent and refuses to play along with everyone else.
28:23There is also an extremely bad case of gang mentality,
28:27as groups often talk trash too, and single out players simply for not being part of their clique.
28:32There are also the screaming kids who yell profanity, the likes of which you've never heard.
28:37When it comes to hypothetically meeting Trevor in real life or playing this game online,
28:41we'd pick Trevor.
28:42It's that bad.
28:57Number 1.
29:06League of Legends.
29:15Where to begin with these two?
29:17Gamers typically reference League and Dota when speaking about toxic MOBA communities,
29:22and for good reason.
29:23Something about these games just seems to bring out the worst in people,
29:27as you'll hear some of the most racist, profane, and inappropriate language you'll ever hear while
29:32playing.
29:33Players sabotage teammates with intentional feeding and verbally assault other gamers
29:37for performing poorly.
29:44Many remain unapologetic in their behavior, and it's gotten so bad that major gaming websites
29:50have actively written about the problem.
29:52But perhaps the worst part is how the two communities are incredibly hostile to each
29:56other.
29:56Why can't they just be nice to each other?
29:58That's a very good question.
30:06Which of these communities have you stayed away from?
30:09Let us know down in the comments!