GEMS Publications

Towards a Sociology of
Gaming and Radicalisation
A report on the state of the art

Maja HALILOVIC-PASTUOVIC, Gillian WYLIE, and Neven VUKIC

GEMS Project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon
research and innovation programme under
grant agreement no. 101121345.
GEMS – Trinity College Dublin | Publication #03/2024
Towards a Sociology of Gaming and Radicalisation: A report on the state of the art
Copyright © October 2024 | All Rights Reserved

This publication is a result of the Horizon Europe research project, GEMS - Gaming
Ecosystem as a Multi-layered Security Threat, which is dedicated to addressing the
acceleration of extremism within the gaming ecosystem.

The document was produced by Trinity College Dublin (TCD) under Work Package 1 (WP1) of
the GEMS project, which is coordinated by TCD. The content of this publication is the sole
responsibility of its authors and does not reflect the views of the European Commission.
Furthermore, the European Commission is not liable for any use that may be made of the
information contained herein.

Authors:
Maja HALILOVIC-PASTUOVIC
Assistant Research Professor
School of Religion, Theology, and Peace Studies
Trinity College Dublin, the University of Dublin
GEMS Project Coordinator
WP1 Lead

Gillian WYLIE
Associate Professor, International Peace Studies
Head of School
School of Religion, Theology, and Peace Studies
Trinity College Dublin, the University of Dublin
Member of GEMS Research Team

Neven VUKIC
Research Fellow
School of Religion, Theology, and Peace Studies
Trinity College Dublin, the University of Dublin
GEMS Project Manager
Member of GEMS Research Team

Recommended citation:
Maja Halilovic-Pastuovic, Gillian Wylie, and Neven Vukic (2024). “Towards a Sociology of
Gaming and Radicalisation: A Report on the State of the Art,” GEMS Project Publication
No.03/2024.
Executive Summary
This literature review explores the intricate relationship between gaming, gaming-adjacent
technologies, and extremism, highlighting the evolving dynamics and challenges in
understanding this multifaceted phenomenon. While early research focused on the debunked
link between violent video games and real-world aggression, a more nuanced perspective has
emerged, recognizing the potential for both harmful and beneficial influences within the
gaming ecosystem. The long-term purpose of the report is to establish foundational elements
of a sociology of gaming and radicalisation as a separate field of research.
The review examines how extremist groups, particularly those affiliated with far-right
ideologies, exploit gaming spaces for recruitment, propaganda dissemination, and ideological
indoctrination. This exploitation includes developing bespoke games, modifying existing
games to incorporate extremist themes, utilizing in-game chat for communication and
coordination, and leveraging gaming-adjacent platforms like Discord and Twitch to reach
wider audiences.
The concept of "gamification," the application of game design elements in non-gaming
contexts, has emerged as a central theme. Extremist groups are utilizing gamified techniques
to enhance engagement, motivate action, and normalize their ideologies, particularly among
younger demographics.
However, recent research has challenged some established assumptions, highlighting the
need for greater clarity and nuance in understanding this complex relationship – extremism
and gaming. The overemphasis on aesthetic similarities between extremist content and first-
person shooter games, as well as the direct link between gamification and the gaming
ecosystem, have been questioned.
Furthermore, the literature suffers from terminological inconsistencies, particularly in defining
"gaming" and "gaming-adjacent" spaces, hindering meaningful comparisons across studies.
The over-reliance on broad terms and generalizations also risks perpetuating harmful
stereotypes about gamers and obscuring the diverse and often positive aspects of gaming
culture.
Policy and Security Implications
A key challenge is to mitigate the risks posed by extremism within the gaming ecosystem
without stifling innovation or encroaching on free speech. A balanced and collaborative
approach is crucial, requiring close cooperation between policymakers, security agencies, and
the gaming industry.
It is important to:
• Promote digital literacy and critical thinking.
• Empower gaming communities.
• Provide accessible moderation tools and resources.
• Invest in research.
By fostering collaboration, transparency, and a nuanced understanding of the gaming
ecosystem, policymakers and industry leaders can effectively address the challenges of
extremism while ensuring a thriving and innovative gaming industry within the EU.
Table of Contents
1. Introduction ....................................................................................................................... 1
2. Gaming & Radicalisation: A Literature Review .................................................................. 2
2.1. Introduction: Concepts and Clarifications ................................................................. 2
2.2. Radicalisation ............................................................................................................. 3
2.3. Gaming and Radicalisation ......................................................................................... 5
2.3.1. The First Wave ........................................................................................................ 6
2.3.2. Gamergate: Gaming and Gamer Misogyny under Scrutiny ............................... 8
2.3.3. Second Wave: Gaming and Extremism after Christchurch .............................. 12
3. Recent Developments in the Field: An Emergent Critical Discourse ............................... 15
3.1. “Gamification of Extremism” and “Gaming Aesthetics” .......................................... 15
3.2. The need for a unified terminology ......................................................................... 17
3.3. Sample Sizes and Conflicting Results ....................................................................... 19
4. Conclusion ........................................................................................................................ 22
Bibliography ............................................................................................................................. 24
Appendix 01 – GEMS Glossary of Key Terms and Concepts .................................................... 35
1. Introduction
This literature review explores the evolving dynamics between gaming, gaming-adjacent
technologies, i.e., the gaming ecosystem, and extremism, synthesizing a wide range of
academic contributions. It provides an updated perspective on how gaming interacts with
extremist tendencies. The long-term purpose of the report is to establish foundational
elements of a sociology of gaming and radicalisation as a separate field of research.
The review utilized meta-analyses not only as background for the topic but also to collect
bibliographical data, assess the extent of previous work, identify potential points of
engagement, and avoid duplication of efforts. 3 This thorough examination of meta-analyses
and systematic reviews was crucial for outlining the academic landscape and determining
where our review could contribute novel insights. Studies published after the meta-analyses'
cut-off dates were incorporated to ensure coverage of the latest developments in the field. A
snowballing technique was then employed to further enrich the source pool, ensuring a
comprehensive coverage of relevant literature.
The materials gathered were analyzed and thematically sorted. A selection of these materials
(n=66) was carefully chosen for inclusion in this report, aimed at continuing the analytical rigor
typical of previous meta-analyses and surveys while focusing specifically on the intersections
relevant to our topic of gaming and radicalisation. This structured approach has facilitated a
detailed and critical examination of the current state of research at the intersection of gaming
and extremism.
To ensure clarity and accessibility for all readers, including those unfamiliar with the specific
topics discussed, the literature review will include a basic glossary (Appendix 01). This
glossary, utilized by project partners, will define key terms and concepts, establishing a solid
foundation for the subsequent analysis.

3
For example: Garrison Wells, et al. “Right-Wing Extremism in Mainstream Games: A Review of the
Literature.” Games and Culture 19:4 (2023), 469-492; Rachel Kowert and Elizabeth Kilmer, Extremism in Games:
A Primer (N.A.: Take This, 2023); Galen Lamphere-Englund, and Luxinaree Bunmathong, State of Play:
Reviewing the Literature on Gaming & Extremism, (N.A., Extremism and Gaming Research Network-EGRN,
2021).

Page 1 of 34
2. Gaming & Radicalisation: A Literature Review
2.1. Introduction: Concepts and Clarifications
In this report, our primary focus is on the processes of radicalization and recruitment toward
right-wing extremism within the gaming ecosystem. 4 Historically, research on extremism in
gaming predominantly, and prominently addressed Islam-themed extremism. This area of
study has been extensively covered and incorporated into the meta studies that inform our
current analysis. To avoid redundancy and to stay abreast of emerging trends, we have chosen
to concentrate more extensively on far-right extremism. Recent research within the GEMS
project confirms this shift, indicating both a decli ne in the presence of jihadi materials in
gaming and a corresponding decrease in academic attention to this specific overlap. Instead,
there is a growing focus on far-right and ideologically fluid forms of extremism. 5 A more
detailed exploration of these newer developments will follow later in the report.
In keeping with Europol's definition of it, right-wing terrorism is defined here as a political
ideology rooted in exclusionary nationalism, racism, xenophobia, and related forms of
intolerance, which advocates an authoritarian system that fundamentally opposes democratic
values, the rule of law, and basic human rights. 6 When “extremism” is used in the text below,
it will refer to far-right extremism, unless specified otherwise.

4 Clark McCauley, and Sophia Moskalenko. “Mechanisms of Political Radicalisation: Pathways Toward Terrorism.” Terrorism
and Political Violence 20:3 (2008): 415-433; Gilbert McLaughlin. Radicalisation: A Conceptual Inquiry. (London: Routledge,
2024); Moorthy S. Muthuswamy. “Radicalisation ecosystem as a confounder of violent extremism’s drivers.” Dynamics of
Asymmetric Conflict (2024).Mitja Sardoč. Making Sense of Radicalisation and Violent Extremism: Interviews and
Conversations. London: Routledge, 2022.
5 Moonshot. Extremism across the online gaming ecosystem (2024), 8-12. Report available at, Moonshot Team. “Extremism

across the online gaming ecosystem.” Moonshot Team (03 June 2024), last accessed 04 August 2024,
https://tinyurl.com/3fymjp4z. The report is based on an analysis of over 64 million posts from gaming platforms and other
forums frequented by gamers. Initially, the preparatory phase revealed only negligible amounts of Islam-inspired materials
across these platforms.
6 EUROPOL. European Union Terrorism Situation and Trend report 2023 (TE-SAT). (Luxembourg: Publications Office of the

European Union, 2023), 43.

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Our analysis considers both non-violent and violent manifestations of far-right extremism,
with "violent far-right extremism" used synonymously with "far-right terrorism." Throughout,
we are mindful of the nuances in these terms and strive to address them appropriately in our
discussion. We use the term "gaming ecosystem" to describe gaming and gaming-adjacent
spaces taken together.
“The gaming ecosystem,” as defined here, serves as an umbrella term for a wide range of
interconnected activities (both online and offline) broadly associated with what is commonly
referred to as “gaming culture.” This ecosystem encompasses games (whether computer,
mobile, console, or hybrid), in-game communication platforms, streaming services (e.g.,
Twitch, Discord), social media, gaming-related news outlets, and cultural events (such as
conventions and tournaments). While these are sometimes classified as gaming or gaming-
adjacent spaces, there are issues with this terminology, which are discussed further in the
report.

2.2. Radicalisation
The study of radicalisation is currently experiencing a significant transition, prompting a
reassessment of foundational concepts and their connections to related fields such as
extremism and terrorism studies. Recent developments in the field of radicalisation studies
have seen an expansion from its initial, almost exclusive focus on post-9/11 religious
extremism to include a broader array of extremist ideologies, notably those associated with
the far-right. Despite this shift, the emphasis remains predominantly on Islam-affiliated
radicalisation.
An initial Scopus analysis of publications in the social sciences (N=714) using the keyword
"radicalisation" reveals a significant disparity: 35.29% of these publications explicitly pair
"radicalisation" with Islam-related keywords, compared to just 4.62% that associate it with
far-right ideologies. This demonstrates still persistent imbalance in scholarly attention, with
too much focus on “Islam-themed” extremism.
In comparison, gender as a topic of consideration appears as an outlier, with a relatively
smaller number of publications on this issue – at least when compared to the amount of
research done on their male counterparts. 7 However, the role of gender as a consideration in
radicalisation and extremism is highlighted in several well-researched publications, including
those stemming from the EU’s Horizon Programme. 8 The role of the internet, and emerging
technologies, in the process of radicalisation was investigated as well, and with somewhat
surprising results. For example, in a study which analysed the offence histories of 235

7 Shahla Shahreen, Shafi Mostofa, “Female radicalisation in Bangladesh: an investigation of its scope, extent and key
motivations behind,” Critical Studies on Terrorism 17:2 (2024), 153-175; Shafi Mostofa, “Redefining gender roles: women in
South Asia's Jihadist Movements,” Behavioral Sciences of Terrorism and Political Aggression (2024),
https://doi.org/10.1080/19434472.2024.2312112.
8 Katherine Johnson and Kim Ebert, ““A Future for White Children”: Examining Family Ideologies of White Extremist Groups

at the Intersection of Race and Gender” Social Currents (2024), https://doi.org/10.1177/23294965241275141; Muhammad
Najib Azca, and Rani Dwi Putri, “The Women ‘Behind’ the Mujahidin Eastern Indonesia: Negotiating Agency and Gender
Dynamics,” Studies in Conflict & Terrorism (2024), 1-15; Mehr Latif et al. “Do White Supremacist Women Adopt Movement
Archetypes of Mother, Whore, and Fighter?” Studies in Conflict & Terrorism 46:4 (2023), 415-432; Sead Turcalo et al., Pave
Working Paper 1: Cumulative Extremisms in the Balkans (Pave Project Publications, 2022), 17-18; Ramadan Ilazi et al.,
Working Paper 5: Online and Offline (De)radicalisation in the Balkans (Pave Project Publications, 2022), 38-41.

Page 3 of 34
individuals convicted of extremist offences in England and Wales the internet was at best a
complementary vector of radicalisation, with those exclusively radicalised online being less
likely to contact real-world groups, and less likely to take part in violent offences, or violence
in general. 9
Overall, it can be said that the very concept of radicalisation has become contentious and
controversial. Initially viewed with optimism for its potential to illuminate aspects of terrorism
studies, it has since been subject to major criticism. There is a realization of an apparent
fragmentation of the field, as well as concerns about its core concepts, which in turn seem to
have questioned the identity of the discipline.
Rik Coolsaet, a Belgian academic, and a veteran of numerous EU terrorism related initiatives,
for example, criticized the introduction of the concept, as well as the field at large, for fostering
confusion through uncritical use and an over-reliance on micro-level research. Coolsaet
further highlights that, despite numerous proposed models of radicalisation, contemporary
understanding mirrors conclusions from the 1980s—radicalisation involves a complex
interplay of personal characteristics, group dynamics, belief systems, and contextual factors. 10
On the topic of the proposed models of radicalisation themselves, recent research additionally
testifies to their limited usability. That is, earlier models often focused on youth as the primary
targets of radicalizing agents. However, recent research has challenged this youth-centric
view, demonstrating that radicalisation and violent extremism can be just as prevalent among
older demographics. 11 Furthermore, the established notion that grievances are the
fundamental drivers of radicalisation has been contested. Recent scholarly work proposes a
shift towards considering envy as a more pivotal factor. This perspective suggests that envy,
unlike grievances, endows individuals with agency—actions driven by envy are seen as
proactive rather than merely reactive responses to perceived injustices.12
Gilbert McLaughlin, an expert in criminology from Liverpool University, offers another critical
perspective, arguing that radicalisation is a social construct, which brings with it significant
implications for how we comprehend the pathways towards terrorism and violent extremism.
He emphasizes the need to scrutinize not just the process by which individuals engage in
terrorism but also how radicalisation is conceptualized and utilized within academic and policy
frameworks. 13
In another recent major volume on radicalisation, Ford and Jackson deliver perhaps the most
rigorous criticism of the radicalisation discourse to date, identifying ten key problems that
should, according to the analysis, cause serious concern among scholars engaged in this area.
The crux of the critique is that the concept of radicalisation is fundamentally "state-centric."
It serves, perhaps unintentionally, to obscure discussions about state violence and, by
extension, to legitimize the authoritarian tendencies apparent in contemporary governments.

9 Jonathan Kenyon, Jens B. Finder, and Christopher Baker-Beall. “Online radicalisation: Profile and risk analysis of individuals
convicted of extremist offences,” Legal and Criminological Psychology 28:1 (2022), 74-90.
10 Rik Coolsaet, “’Radicalisation’ and ‘Countering Radicalisation’ The Emergence and expansion of a contentious concept,”

The Routledge Handbook on Radicalisation and Countering Radicalisation, Ed. Joel Busher, Leena Malkki, and Sarah
Marsden (London: Routledge, 2024), 47-48.
11 Maja Halilovic-Pastuovic, Gillian Wylie. “Challenging the youth assumptions behind P/CVE: acknowledging older

extremists,” Critical Studies on Terrorism (2024), DOI:10.1080/17539153.2024.2380547

12 Michelle Moncrieff, Pierre Lienard. “From Envy to Radicalisation,” Evolutionary Psychological Science 10:1 (2024), 70-86.
13 Gilbert McLaughlin, Radicalisation: A Conceptual Inquiry (London: Routledge, 2024).

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Furthermore, the authors contend that the radicalisation discourse is irredeemable for both
analytical and policy-related purposes. This assertion is based on the concept’s deep
entanglement with ideologies and extremes, as well as its perpetuation of an Orientalist
discourse about 'the Other,' making its redemption unfeasible. A major issue highlighted
involves the problematic distinctions made between types of violence—what is deemed
legitimate versus illegitimate. Such distinctions, the authors argue, not only justify certain
forms of violence but also provoke violence. Ultimately, the concept of radicalisation, fraught
with these and other issues, obstructs a genuine consideration of political alternatives that
have been suppressed—often through brutal means. 14
This is not to say that the interest in radicalisation, understood as the process of adoption of
extremist ideologies, is waning. It is not. However, what is emerging is a realization of a need
for critical reassessment of both the theoretical and empirical underpinnings of radicalisation,
including a more holistic reconceptualization of the term – radicalisation.15 16 In addition to
these, a more recent development includes video games as potentially relevant factors within
the debate on radicalisation.

2.3. Gaming and Radicalisation

Gaming has successfully transitioned from being a parental "public enemy number one" and
a source as well as a target of several waves of moral panic: to a legitimate (and very profitable)
activity. 17 Today, top gamers are not only recognized for their considerable skills and talents
but also attract major endorsements. Nearly every major brand has engaged with the esports
and gaming phenomenon, leading to an exponential increase in investments and profits each
year. Beyond the expected sponsors like energy drink companies and electronics
manufacturers, even the United States Air Force has also entered the arena by sponsoring
jerseys for the esports team Cloud9, prominently featuring the Air Force logo. 18
This is not to suggest, however, that gaming reached a point where it is no longer seen as
problematic, and there are still stigmas associated with both gaming and gamers. Unlike other
targets of past moral panics, gaming continues to be viewed with scepticism. 19 This

14 Kieran Ford, Richard Jackson. “Problematising Radicalisation,” Radicalisation: A Global and Comparative Perspective, ed.
Akil N. Awan, James R. Lewis (London: Hurst & Company, 2024), 11-32.
15 Gilbert McLaughlin, Radicalisation: A Conceptual Inquiry (London: Routledge, 2024); Maja Halilovic-Pastuovic, Gillian

Wylie. “Challenging the youth assumptions behind P/CVE: acknowledging older extremists,” Critical Studies on Terrorism
(2024); Michelle Moncrieff, Pierre Lienard. “From Envy to Radicalisation,” Evolutionary Psychological Science 10:1 (2024),
70-86; Kieran Ford, Richard Jackson. “Problematising Radicalisation,” Radicalisation: A Global and Comparative Perspective,
ed. Akil N. Awan, James R. Lewis (London: Hurst & Company, 2024), 11-32.
16 Tahir Abbas. “Radicalisation studies: An emerging interdisciplinary field,” The British Journal of Sociology 75:2 (2024),

232-238; Rik Peels, “Towards a fruitful concept of radicalisation: a synthesis,” Journal of Contemporary European Studies
32:3 (2024), 610-624.
17 Allen Copenhaver. “Violent Video Games as Scapegoat After School Shootings in the United States.” Handbook of

Research on Mass Shootings and Multiple Victim Violence, ed. Gordon A. Crews (Hershey: IGI Global, 2020), 243-267;
Nicholas D. Bowman. “The rise (and refinement) of moral panic.” The video game debate : unravelling the physical, social,
and psychological effects of digital games, ed. Rachel Kowert and Thorsten Quandt (New York, London: Routledge, 2016),
22-38; Carly A. Kocurek. “The Agony and the Exidy: A History of Video Game Violence and the Legacy of Death Race.” Game
Studies 12:1 (2012), https://tinyurl.com/mv7yc9c6.
18 Adam Fitch. “U.S. Air Force sponsors Cloud9’s CS:GO roster.” Esports Insider (19 July 2018), last accessed 03 August 2024,

https://tinyurl.com/f96n8dh5. Archived version at: https://tinyurl.com/2awud8pp.

19 Devan Cole. “Trump, McCarthy cite video games as a driver behind mass shootings.” Cable News Network (05 August

2019), last accessed 03 August 2024, https://tinyurl.com/bdez2bbk. Archived version at: https://tinyurl.com/58m4k3c4.

Page 5 of 34
persistence is somewhat remarkable, especially considering the outcomes of major studies
that have debunked various myths about gaming, gamers, and gaming communities -
particularly the alleged link between in-game and real-world violence. 20 This topic, also
formed the basis for the initial cycle of research into the relationship between gaming and
extremism. Within this report we broadly categorise these cycles of research as the “first,”
and “second” wave of research, demarcated by the 2019 Christchurch massacre.

2.3.1. The First Wave

The initial wave of research into the societal impacts of video games was predominantly US-
based and oriented, emerging amid the most recent moral panics about the medium. This
research sought to broaden the discussion beyond the contentious and increasingly
scrutinized claims linking video game violence directly to real-world aggression. It aimed to
shift the focus towards more substantiated concerns that promised richer empirical insights.
In this context, David J. Leonard’s 2006 article not only critiqued the then-dominant focus on
violence in video game discourse but also illuminated how this limited perspective diverted
attention from critical issues such as the perpetuation of racist ideologies through gaming.
Leonard argued that video games were contributing to the spread of white supremacist
ideology. Leonard further argued for a more critical and intersectional approach in game
studies, which would better understand and address the impact of these media on broader
social and political issues. He emphasized that video games are not just entertainment, “kid
stuff,” but a significant cultural force shaping public perceptions and policies around race and
gender.21
On the topic of race, Tenner Higgin analysed the “disappearance of blackness” in fantasy
games, using cultural race theory. Higgin argued that fantasy games often designed characters
and narratives which promoted a Eurocentric and racially exclusive fantasy world, where Black
characters were either absent or depicted through stereotypical and reductive tropes. 22
In 2010, Andrew Selepak, analysed 28 racist video games, with a focus on the “enemies”
within the games. Selepak found that people of non-white ethnicities, mostly Black, and Jews
(sic.) were most often portrayed as the “enemy,” with the “hero” often being white, though
mostly ambiguous. Selepak concluded that the games were developed as “a form of
entertainment to reinforce and educate players of racial hierarchy,” with the core message
being that violence is “the only way to deal with blacks, Jews, Hispanics, Muslim, and
homosexuals [sic].” 23

20 David Dupee, Varun Thvar, and Nina Vasan. “Stanford researchers scoured every reputable study for the link between
video games and gun violence that politicians point to. Here’s what the review found.” Fortune (02 May 2023), last accessed
01 August 2024, https://tinyurl.com/bdf8b4jr. Archived version at: https://tinyurl.com/4ak3mhav; Rachel Kowert, and
Thorsten Quandt. “Revisiting old debates.” The Video Game Debate 2: Revisiting the Physical, Social, and Psychological
Effects of Video Games, ed. Rachel Kowert and Thorsten Quandt (New York, London: Routledge, 2021), 2-3.
21 David J. Leonard. “Not a Hater, Just Keepin’ It Real: The Importance of Race- and Gender-Based Game Studies.” Games

and Culture 1:1 (2006), 83-88. Leonard wrote extensively on similar issues before this article, however, not in relation to
white supremacy, i.e., far-right extremism.
22 Tanner Higgin. “Blackless Fantasy: The Disappearance of Race in Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Games.”

Games and Culture 4:1 (2008), 3-26.

23 Andrew Selepak. “Skinhead super Mario brothers: An examination of racist and violent games onWhite supremacist

websites.” Journal of Criminal Justice and Popular Culture 17:1 (2010), 34.

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A major milestone in first-wave gaming research is the 2014 volume by C. Richard King, and
David J. Leonard, in which the authors discuss the nuances of relationships between white
nationalism and video games, within the broader context of the role and presence of white
nationalism in pop culture.24 This volume stands out as a seminal work which provided
invaluable insight on the establishment of the virtual communities, and discursive networks
activated through the online engagements of far-right extremists with various popular cultural
texts, including movies, music, television, video games, etc. The authors outline the ways in
which far-right activists interpret popular cultural forms and probe the contemporary spaces
of far-right popular culture. The chapter on gaming examines the complex and seemingly
contradictory relationship white nationalists have with video games, revealing how they
perceive mainstream gaming culture as both a threat and a tool for advancing their ideology.
Overall, the authors argue that games could be used by far-right extremists (FRE) as, 1)
recruitment tools, drawing in population already immersed in gaming culture; 2) training
simulators; 3) propaganda platforms, via the creation of bespoke games. As will be shown, this
contribution has largely and independently anticipated the debates and discussion within the
post-Christchurch academic discussions by more than a decade.
The discipline achieved a more global academic engagement in response to the several
developments, i.e., the varied propaganda techniques employed by jihadi terror groups,
including their exploitation of the gaming ecosystem. 25 However, global interest in the
connection between the far-right and the gaming ecosystem, arguably grew as a consequence
of a broader interdisciplinary shift toward studying the far-right. This shift was largely a
response to several key events: the 2011 Norway Massacre, events leading up to the 2016
United States presidential election, and the subsequent Trump presidency. 26 These factors
also form the broader backdrop for the 2019 Christchurch attack. The 2019 Christchurch
massacre is considered by some, as the flashpoint of a short-lived series of right-wing terrorist
attacks where the assailant would attach a recording or streaming device to themselves and
broadcast the attack live online. 27 This event also demarcates the field of research into the
relationship between extremism and gaming. Before we proceed however, we shall provide
some information concerning Gamergate, an event separate from, yet closely related to, the
development we just discussed.

24 C. Richard King, David J. Leonard. “Chapter 6: Hating the Playa: White Nationalism and Sport in the Contemporary USA.”
Beyond Hate: White Power and Popular Culture (London: Routledge, 2014), 111-134.
25 Marcus Schulzke. “Simulating terrorism and insurgency: video games in the war of ideas.” Cambridge Review of

International Affairs 27:4 (2014), 627-643; Ahmed Al-Rawi.” Video games, terrorism, and ISIS’s Jihad 3.0.” Terrorism and
Political Violence 30:4 (2016), 740-760; Miron Lakomy. “Let's Play a Video Game: Jihadi Propaganda in the World of
Electronic Entertainment.” Studies in Conflict & Terrorism 42:4 (2019), 383-406.
26 Bart Schuurman. “Research on Terrorism, 2007–2016: A Review of Data, Methods, and Authorship.” Terrorism and

Political Violence 32:5 (2020), 1011-1026; Cf. Yasmine Ahmed, Orla Lynch. “Terrorism Studies and the Far Right – The State
of Play” Studies in Conflict & Terrorism 47:2 (2024), 199-219. While ‘Gamergate’ significantly impacted the gaming
ecosystem, it is considered secondary to these events and arguably a consequence of them.
27 Despite several attacks attempting to emulate the Christchurch attacks, the overall percentage of such incidents has

remained small. More recent attacks have generally avoided adopting similar tactics.

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2.3.2. Gamergate: Gaming and Gamer Misogyny under Scrutiny
Gender issues within gaming quickly emerged as a research topic with high relevance and
output volume. Much of that output is tied into the debates concerning misogyny within
gaming spaces. The events of gamergate which took place between 2014 and 2015, resulted
in the production of what amounts to 81.2% of all material on gender and gaming.
For those unaware of the event, Gamergate was a series of harassment campaigns which took
place period between August 2014 and 2015. The “gate” suffix in "Gamergate" derives from
the infamous Watergate scandal, which ended Nixon's presidency. According to its
"moderate" supporters, Gamergate concerned a legitimate issue troubling the gaming
community: ethics in gaming journalism, specifically the opaque relationships between
gaming studios and the journalists and reviewers tasked with objectively reporting on and
reviewing their products. However, the campaign quickly degenderated into anti-feminism
and an online harassment campaign targeting several female game developers and a feminist
media critic.

This campaign was marked by extreme misogyny and anti-feminist discourse. Threats of rape,
other forms of violence, and death either directly or via the use of trolling, and offensive
memes, were the tactics of the pro-gamergate party. Twitter became a battlefield of sorts,
with millions of users getting involved. Although the initial attacks focused on specific
developers, the harassment did not have just one target or specific gaming community behind
it. Later analyses revealed that more than a quarter of the usernames? engaged in these
harassment campaigns using social media and in particular Twitter, were created during the
period or were inactive before it. 28 Subsequently, it also came to light that although

28Andy Baio, “72 Hours of #Gamergate” Waxy (27 October 2014), last accessed 24 June 2024,
https://waxy.org/2014/10/72-hours-of-gamergate/.

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Gamergate lacked a formal leadership structure, it had a central hub of sorts, on the now-
defunct 8chan image board. 29
FBI documents show that one of the suspects who was identified and who in fact confessed,
was responsible for over 50 phone calls, with the purpose of harassing and annoying the
victim. Another suspect was identified, and pending an investigation the case against him?
was dismissed. The individual issued the threats “as a joke.” Lastly, one of the victims was
warned by the FBI to limit her media interactions concerning the investigation, because it
could negatively impact their work. Eventually, no Gamergate related charges were filed.30
Recent research into online harassment of this type has in fact identified elements of
gamification inherent in such behaviour – online harassment campaigns function as alternate
reality games, where the collective goal is to disrupt, and potentially ruin, peoples’ lives. 31 This
approach, arguably helps in contextualizing the phenomenon of hyper-, or super-posters -
individuals who post extremist content at a disproportionate rate, often “dominating and
shaping discourse within extremist forums.” 32
There appears to be a potential correlation with another notorious online community, the
incels. Around the same time that the Gamergate harassment was escalating, the incel
movement was gaining traction, particularly following the May 2014 Isla Vista killings.
The 2014 Isla Vista killings constituted a sequence of lethal incidents near the University of
California, Santa Barbara, where Elliot Rodger fatally attacked six individuals and injured
fourteen others before committing suicide. These acts of violence, executed via stabbing,
shooting, and vehicular assault, were preceded by the publication of a manifesto in which
Rodger articulated his motives, deeply entrenched in personal and societal grievances.
Notably, he expressed profound distress and resultant aggression stemming from his
perceived sexual rejection and involuntary celibacy.
This incident, marked by the publication of the perpetrator’s manifesto, is arguably the genesis
of the contemporary incel movement. Likewise, research has found that the discourse within
the reddit community discussing the topic of gamergate exhibited a significant overlap with
right-wing extremist (RWE) discourse, and in particular commonplace instances of RWE
bigotry (both hate speech, and RWE specific jargon), anti-left rhetoric, and normalization of
hate speech within the limits of free speech. 33

29 Sarah A. Aghazadeh, Alison Burns, Jun Chu, Hazel Feigenblatt, Elizabeth Laribee, Lucy Maynard, Amy L. M. Meyers,

Jessica L. O’Brien, and Leah Rufus, “GamerGate: A Case Study in Online Harassment,” Online Harassment ed. Jennifer
Golbeck (Cham: Springer International Publishing, 2018), 179-207; Joan Donovan, Emily Dreyfuss, and Brian Friedburg,
Meme Wars: The Untold Story of the Online Battles Upending Democracy in America (London: Bloomsbury Publishing,
2022)
30 FBI files available at: N.A. “Gamergate,” FBI Records: The Vault (n.d.), last accessed 12 September 2024,

https://vault.fbi.gov/gamergate.
31 Kevin Veale, Gaming the Dynamics of Online Harassment (Cham: Palgrave Macmillan, 2020).
32 Lewys Brace, and Stephane Beale. “Extremist Influencers: Hyper- and Super-Posters in Extremist Forums.” GNET (03

October 2022), last accessed, 14 August 2024, https://tinyurl.com/z2x9hfck. Archived version at:
https://tinyurl.com/hnx6sbn.
33 Ashley Peckford, “Right Wing Extremism in a Video Game Community? A Qualitative Content Analysis Exploring the

Discourse of the Reddit GamerGate Community r/KotakuInAction,” A Closer Look in Unusual Times: Criminological
Perspectives from Crim 862 (Vancouver: Simon Fraser University, 2020), 65-79; also see: Marcus Maloney, Steven Roberts,
and Timothy Graham, Gender, masculinity and video gaming: Analysing reddit’s r/gaming community (Cham: Springer,
2019).

Page 9 of 34
The Gamergate controversy was, according to this line of research, a moment with
implications for, but also far beyond, the gaming ecosystem. Condis, for example, argued that
Gamergate became the defining moment of the contemporary understanding of a “gamer”
within a part of the population. Moreover, Condis, suggests that the “gamer,” as post-
Gamergate construct, follows a line from “gaming masculinity” as a reactionary response to
the perceived loss of ownership of the geek culture. While mainly focusing on, what she
perceives as, toxicity of masculinity in gaming spaces in general, she also draws a connection
between gaming behaviours, such as online trolling (widely used during Gamergate) and the
rise of the populist right in the US, and especially the “alt-right,” various anti-feminist
movements, and the electoral success of Donald Trump, presented in the chapter as the
“ultimate troll.” 34
Although Gamergate happened a decade ago, issues of misogyny and sexism besetting gaming
eco-systems continue to be documented. The industry itself faces persistent allegations of
sexism and harassment – as encapsulated in the lawsuit taken in 2021 by female employees
against Activision Bizzard (makers of Call of Duty, Overwatch etc.) which ended in a settlement
of $18 million to compensate employees for enduring a ‘toxic culture’ 35 36
Academic literature analysing gender and gaming notes that the masculine hegemony and
sexism embedded in the industry’s structures are often replicated in the structure of game
play, story lines and character development, with marketing directed to ’young, cisgendered,
straight’ males whose masculinity combines both ideals of competitiveness and technical
prowess with a more marginalised sense of being ’adolescent and lacking’. 37 One example of
the construction of ’toxic masculinity’ through storyline and character development is
Conway’s analysis of God of War and its protagonist Kratos, whom Conway dubs ’a masculine
power fantasy’. Early iterations of the character are purely driven by rage and revenge,
requiring players to perform ’autonomously and aggressively’. Later versions, where Kratos
becomes a father and grieving widower, involve a masculinity trying to control rage but still

34 Megan Condis, Gaming Masculinity: Trolls, Fake Geeks, and the Gendered Battle for Online Culture (Iowa City: University

of Iowa Press, 2018).

35 Mitchell Clark, “Activision Blizzard faces lawsuit and employee backlash over sexual harassment,” The Verge (16

December 2023), last accessed 24 September 2024, https://tinyurl.com/47rdtnk9.

36 The DFEH accused Activision Blizzard of violating California’s Equal Pay Act and the Fair Employment and Housing Act.

Following a two-year investigation, the lawsuit was settled in 2023 with Activision Blizzard agreeing to pay $54 million to
resolve the allegations. In addition, Activision Blizzard settled a related lawsuit with the Equal Employment Opportunity
Commission (EEOC) for $18 million, addressing claims of sexual harassment, pregnancy discrimination, and retaliation
within the company. These settlements required Activision Blizzard to implement substantial changes to improve workplace
conditions and prevent future incidents of harassment and discrimination. The company also set aside $47 million to
handle accusations related to gender discrimination in pay and promotions. Other major gaming companies have faced
similar allegations. In 2018, Riot Games was hit with a class-action lawsuit alleging gender discrimination and a toxic work
environment, which resulted in a $100 million settlement in 2021. Similarly, Sony faced a class-action lawsuit in 2021, filed
by former IT analyst Emma Majo, alleging that the company's toxic work culture towards women led to her termination and
included accounts from several employees reporting gender discrimination and sexual harassment. However, these
financial penalties, while seemingly large, are but a drop in the bucket for these major players in the gaming industry. For
example, Activision Blizzard was fined $90 million, but this represents less than 1% of its annual revenue of $8.71 billion in
2023. Similarly, Riot Games' settlement of $100 million is a minor expense compared to the gaming revenues of its parent
company, Tencent, which amounted to approximately $27.4 billion in 2022. In Sony's case, although the revenue figures for
its PlayStation division were not specified, the financial repercussions of any legal actions would constitute only a small
fraction of Sony Corporation's total earnings, which were $88.34 billion in 2022. For the aftermath of these events see:
Suzanne de Castell et al., “Gaming Equity: Women, Videogame Companies, and Public Discourse,” Proceedings of the 7th
International Conference on Gender Research 7:1 (Reading: Academic Conferences International Limited, 2024), 107-115.
37 Amanda C. Cote, Gender and Identity in the Era of Casual Games (New York: New York University Press, 2020), 5-6, 23.

Page 10 of 34
’privileging the masculine over the feminine’ in a world of gender binaries. 38 The
representation of female characters equally reflects binary gender orders in which women are
subordinated and objectified.
One study of 6.2 million words of dialogue in video game scripts showed not only that male
characters are more present and more verbal (70%) but that female characters have less
dialogue, lesser roles and the type of words they speak are of gratitude, apology, indecision
or flirtatiousness. 39 The representation of the female body in games as hypersexualised and/or
seductive is ubiquitous. 40 However, what the research of Cross et. al. with gamers concludes
is that there is a lack of causative effect between short term exposure to sexualised and
passive female characters in games and the endorsement of negative gender attitudes. 41 This
insight reminds that as with wider debates about gaming and violence, it is far from simple to
draw uncomplicated lines between online/gaming spaces and ’real world’ attitudes or even
violence.
Indeed, many writers on gender and gaming present a more nuanced picture. With about 50%
of the world’s gamers being women, and the growing space of ’casual games’ in the industry
(easy to learn games for broad audiences), the gaming world is caught in a paradox between
simultaneous exclusionary (gamergate etc.) and inclusionary trends.42 43 More fundamentally,
because video games ultimately ’operate as expressions of the dream life of a culture’ 44
multiple ways of imagining, representing and interpreting gender through games are possible,
as Ruberg argues in Video Games Have Always been Queer. 45 In this complex space there are
studies which suggest that ’gaming communities in which misogyny, hate of minorities,
expressions of violence, toxicity and ’politically incorrect’ humour are prevalent offer
extremists a place to blend in and meet audiences, but even the same report acknowledges

38 Stephen Conway, “Poisonous Pantheons: God of War and Toxic Masculinity,” Games and Culture 15:8 (2019), 943–961.
39 Stephanie Rennick et al., “Gender bias in video game dialogue,” R Soc Open Sci 24:10 (2023), doi: 10.1098/rsos.221095.
40 Liam Cross et al., “Gendered violence and sexualized representations in video games: (Lack of) effect on gender-related

attitudes,” New Media & Society 26:3 (2024), 1648–1669.

41 Cross et al., “Gendered Violence,” 1649.
42 Cote, Gender and Identity, 2.
43 The percentage cited above, though not incorrect, reflects an adoption of the widest possible designation of a gamer,

sans many of the cultural and milieu identity markers, and it simply refers to people who play video games in any type of
capacity. However the terminology is more complex. A gamer is a vategory distinct from that of a player, see Appendix 1 for
details. Moreover, concerning the demographics, industry findings emerged from a survey conducted by Activision Blizzard,
titled "Gallery of the Gamer: Modern Gamer Personas." This report, which analysed over 21,000 gamers from the US, UK,
France, and Germany, highlights a clear trend: higher engagement levels overwhelmingly correlate with a higher likelihood
of the gamer being male. For instance, the most dedicated segment, "Next Levelers," who play 2.4 times more than the
average gamer and spend $1,600 annually (on their content only), are predominantly male (75%) and in their mid-30s.
Another key segment, "Player Ones," representing 25% of all gamers, is similarly male-dominated (69%), also in their mid-
30s, with slightly lower game-specific spending compared to next levellers. Interestingly, less than half of all gamers actually
identify as such, and those who do are predominantly men. The only notable gender-based exception is found in the "Super
Swipers" category—mobile game players focused on word games—where women aged 50 and above make up 64% of
users. One of the largest game developers globally, Japan-based Capcom, recently held an online survey called 'Super
Elections' in June 2024, where fans worldwide could vote for their favourite characters, game series, and express
preferences for sequels or new titles. A total of 254,148 people from 220 countries participated. Out of all participants, 82%
(208,650) identified as male, 14% (34,794) as female, and 4% (10,704) as other. 89% of the respondents were aged
between 20 and 40, highlighting a dominant demographic within the gaming community. See: N.A., Gallery of the Gamer.
Behind the Art: Modern Gamers Personas (Activision Blizzard Media, 2020). Available at, Acitivision Blizzard Media.
“Modern Game Personas.” Activision Publishing, Inc (01 October 2020), last accessed 22 July 2024,
https://tinyurl.com/s6bshmj4; Capcom, Capcom Super Elections (2024), last accessed 25 September 2024,
https://tinyurl.com/42ca852b.
44 Murray, S. (2018) On Video Games: The Visual Politics of Race, Gender and Space. London and New York: IB Tauris, p5.
45 Ruberg, B. (2019) Video Games have Always been Queer. New York: NYU Press

Page 11 of 34
 this is only a ’potential’ and as yet, there is an absence of evidence that a gaming-violent
extremism nexus exists. 46

2.3.3. Second Wave: Gaming and Extremism after Christchurch

As mentioned, the Christchurch attack resulted in a new approach to the study of extremism
in radicalisation, insofar as the relationship with gaming is concerned. What arguably
significantly distinguishes the second wave from its predecessor is not solely its theoretical
innovations, i.e., gamification of violence as an indicator of a significant overlap with the
gaming ecosystem, but also the way these advancements were achieved - through cross-
sectoral collaboration. For instance, a central feature of the second wave, a typology of links
between gaming and extremism, was initially developed by researchers, SME and industry
representatives, and a research arm of the European Commission’s Directorate-General for
Migration and Home Affairs, the Radicalisation Awareness Network (RAN). Overall, the post-
Christchurch paradigm, seemingly hinges its argument on the intersection of video gaming
and violent extremism, via the concept of "gamification." In addition, according to this line of
research "game aesthetics," observed in extremist content suggested a substantial link to
gaming culture. 47
The proposed typology suggests that extremists use the gaming ecosystem in four primary
exploitation strategies: 1) the creation of bespoke games, 2) modding existing games, 3)
utilizing in-game chat features, and 4) leveraging gaming-adjacent platforms. 48
CONCLUSION PAPER

State of Play:
AC T I O N R E S E A R C H

09/11/2020
Reviewing the
CONCLUSIONS PAPER
Literature on
RAN C&N meeting – Extremists’ use of video gaming – Strategies and narratives
15 and 17 September 2020
Digital meeting
Examining the Intersection Gaming &
Between Gaming and Extremism
Extremists’ Use of Video Violent Extremism
Gaming – Strategies and An Annotated Bibliography
A Product of the Extremism

Narratives
and Gaming Research Network

Introduction
Although the use and abuse of not only video games but also gaming adjacent
communications platforms and gaming imagery by violent extremists receives high-
profile press attention, the nature and extent of this problem remains poorly
understood by many frontline practitioners. The aim of the RAN Communication and
Narratives Working Group (C&N) meeting held on 15 and 17 September 2020 was to
explore this topic with practitioners, industry and experts. During the meeting,
currently used strategies and narratives from violent Islamist extremist and right-wing
extremist groups were presented and discussed. It became clear that a large variety
of extremist propaganda and recruitment strategies can be identified, depending on
the medium used (i.e. through games themselves, through gaming cultural references
or through gamification). Used narratives include memes, symbols or other linguistic
references to online gaming culture, the spreading of conspiracy narratives and the use
of gaming jargon on platforms like 8chan. Additionally, challenges faced by first-line
practitioners and policymakers were determined, after which some potential solutions
to these challenges were identified. Rather than applying singular approaches (such as
merely working on media literacy), it was suggested to apply multipronged approaches
to tackle the issue from various angles at once. Attention was also given to ways in
which the gaming community could be empowered to deal with the challenges, such
as better access to reporting and notifying extremist content. This paper summarises
the general challenges and the strategies and narratives used and recommends some
practical next steps.
Global Programme on Preventing and Countering Violent Extremism
and Special Projects and Innovation Branch
Product of the Radicalisation Awareness Network
Based on a paper prepared by Merle Verdegaal and Lieke Wouterse, RAN Staff, after consultation with RAN C&N co-leaders
Examining the Intersection Between Gaming & Violent Extremism 1
Ross Frennet and Fabian Wichmann 1

46 Schlegel and Amarasingam (think this is ibid) p8-9.

47 Suraj Lakhani, and Susann Wiedlitzka, ““Press F to Pay Respects”: An Empirical Exploration of the Mechanics of
Gamification in Relation to the Christchurch Attack,” Terrorism and Political Violence 35:7 (2023), 1586-1603; Robert Evans.
“The El Paso Shooting and the Gamification of Terror.” Bellingcat (4 August 2019), last accessed 04 August 2024,
https://tinyurl.com/253232ew. Archived version at: https://tinyurl.com/32tx2kjd; Linda Schlegel. “Jumanji Extremism? How
games and gamification could facilitate radicalisation processes.” Journal for Deradicalizaton 23 (2020), 1-43.
48 Linda Schlegel, and Rachel Kowert. “Introduction: Extremism in Digital Gaming Spaces.” Gaming and Extremism: The

radicalisation of digital playgrounds, ed. Linda Schlegel, and Rachel Kowert, (New York, London: Routledge, 2024), 3-6; RAN
report cited in the chapter: Directorate-General for Migration and Home Affairs. “RAN C&N Extremists’ Use of Video
Gaming – Strategies and Narratives,” 3; Galen Lamphere-Englund, and Jessica White. “The Online Gaming Ecosystem:
Assessing Socialisation, Digital Harms, and Extremism Mitigation Efforts.” Global Network on Extremism and Technology
(GNET), (May 2023), 15-21. This GNET report includes an additional method, absent in the preceding reports, namely
“Financing and Money Laundering.”

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In addition to these direct abuses of the gaming ecosystem, there are two indirect methods:
5) employing gaming cultural references, and 6) gamifying the radicalisation process.49 This
typology was included in a pilot study, commissioned by United Nations Office of Counter-
Terrorism (UNOCT), which aimed to: (i) explore the scope and nature of how violent extremists
exploit gaming spaces; (ii) identify potential strategies to prevent or mitigate this exploitation;
and (iii) gain insights into the potential of using gaming PCVE settings.50
Furthermore, the RAN typology was quickly adopted by a number of academics, some of
whom were involved to various degrees with its development. For example, the contributors
in the 2024 volume edited by Linda Schlegel and Rachel Kowert offer a broad cross-section of
the major arguments to date, concerning the presence of extremism in the gaming ecosystem,
thoroughly covering the typology proposed by the Radicalisation Awareness Network (RAN).
The volume itself encapsulates many key themes of the second wave of research on gaming
and extremism, providing a comprehensive "snapshot" of the field in the aftermath of the
Christchurch events. 51 Overall, the authors tend to stress the importance of viewing gaming
and its related platforms as a complex ecosystem where different actors and factors interact.
The volume often highlights the need for more empirical research on this evolving issue to
inform effective policy responses, including counter-messaging and platform moderation.
Real-world examples of radicalisation exclusively through gaming spaces are few and far
between, with a consequent dearth of empirical academic research into the issue. The
exception concerns an article which analysed the use of a combination of online gaming
platforms in the recruitment and radicalisation of children into far-right extremism. The study
in question employed a qualitative content analysis of police investigation files from 2016 to
2021, examining how two boys under 14 were radicalized through interactions on gaming
platforms like Roblox, communication platforms such as Discord, and video platforms like
Bitchute. It was established that the gaming platform served as an initial contact point, and
was primarily used for leisure and socializing. However, actual ideological indoctrination and
encouragement of offline extremist behaviour occured primarily outside the gaming space,
i.e., through Discord and Bitchute. 52

49 When discussing the production of bespoke games, this involves extremist groups creating new games where the
narrative or various elements are designed to further their ideologies. Similarly, the modding of existing games entails
producing modifications with the same goal: promoting extremist ideologies. In-game chat features and the use of gaming-
adjacent platforms are identified as potential vectors for radicalisation, providing direct communication channels between
extremists and potential recruits. The use of gaming cultural references is seen as a method to enhance extremist
recruitment efforts through more engaging propaganda. The concept of gamification, broadly understood as applying
gaming mechanics to non-gaming contexts, is also exploited to make the radicalisation process more appealing and
interactive. See: Directorate-General for Migration and Home Affairs. “RAN C&N Extremists’ Use of Video Gaming –
Strategies and Narratives,” 3.
50 Linda Schlegel and Amaranth Amarasingam. Examining the Intersection Between Gaming and Violent Extremism. (United

Nations Office of Counter Terrorism, UN Counter-Terrorism Centre UNCCT, 2021). For a more detailed overview on all major
activities of RAN in relation to the topic of extremism and gaming see: Petra Regeni et al. Spotlight: Games, Gaming and
Gamification (RAN, June 2023); available at: N.A. “Spotlight on Games, Gaming and Gamification.” Migration and Home
Affairs (June 2023), last accessed at 04 August 2024, https://tinyurl.com/awkw4h45. Some of the insights from this survey
were explored in greater detail in, Amarnath Amarasingam, and Daniel Kelley. “Hate and Extremism on Gaming platforms:
Insights from Surveys with the Gaming Community.” Gaming and Extremism: The radicalisation of digital playgrounds, ed.
Linda Schlegel, and Rachel Kowert, (New York, London: Routledge, 2024), 110-129.
51 Linda Schlegel, Rachel Kowert ed., Gaming and Extremism: The Radicalisation of Digital Playgrounds (London: Routledge,

2024).
52 Daniel Koehler, Verena Fiebig, and Irina Jugl, “From Gaming to Hating: Extreme-Right Ideological Indoctrination and

Mobilization for Violence of Children on Online Gaming Platforms,” Political Psychology 44:2 (2023), 419-434.

Page 13 of 34
The issue of “extremist mods” has also been discussed in relation to using games for historical
education. The article by Andrew J. Salvati discusses the phenomenon of players creating or
using game modifications (mods) for historical strategy games that incorporate extremist
ideologies, including racist and neo-fascist themes. These mods often reconfigure game
mechanics to allow players to engage in scenarios like religious wars or ethnic cleansings
under the guise of exploring historical 'what-ifs'. Salvati’s balanced interptretation
acknowledges the dual nature of these mods: while they can enhance gameplay and provide
new historical insights (e.g., playing as native Americans in a game focused on colonization),
they can also become platforms for ideological extremism, normalising discussions and
content that promote ethnic violence and other harmful practices.53
The topic of moderation inevitably raises questions about the limits of free speech and
censorship. Recent studies have dealt with this issue, specifically within the context of the
digital age. For example, David Bromell delves into the complex dynamics in play within large
tech companies, critiquing business models that foster an "attention economy" and the role
of algorithms in amplifying damaging content. He argues against the heavy reliance on
artificial intelligence for content moderation, advocating instead enhanced transparency and
accountability from these platforms. 54 Others have also pointed out that extremists and
conspiracy theorists manipulate online content, algorithms, and platform features to "game"
content moderation systems and circumvent regulations. Understanding these manipulation
tactics is then crucial for developing more effective policies and moderation practices in the
age of artificial intelligence (AI). Content moderation emerges as a sociotechnical problem,
consequently, with significant limitations of purely technological solutions (AI moderation)
which disregard the importance of human factors 55

53 Andrew J. Salvati. “Fantasies of Control: Modding for Ethnic Violence and Nazi Fetishism in Historical Strategy Games.”
Historia Ludens: The Playing Historian ed. Alexander von Lunen, Katherine J. Lewis, Benjamin Litherland and Pat Cullum
(London: Routledge, 2020), 155-169.
54 David Bromell, Regulating Free Speech in a Digital Age: Hate, Harm and the Limits of Censorship (Cham: Springer, 2022).
55 Ashley A. Mattheis, and Ashton Kingdon. “Moderating manipulation: Demystifying extremist tactics for gaming the

(regulatory) system,” Policy & Internet 15:4 (2023), 478-497.

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3. Recent Developments in the Field: An Emergent Critical
Discourse
3.1. “Gamification of Extremism” and “Gaming Aesthetics”

Scholarly scepticism is growing about the emphasis on aesthetic similarities between first-
person shooter (FPS) games and extremist content.
A recent article, which, among other sources, uses interviews with Brenton Tarrant, the
perpetrator of the Christchurch massacre, provides little evidence that attackers deliberately
design their video streams to mimic FPS games or "Let's Play" videos. Instead, the specific
"aesthetic" observed in these videos is more likely a result of practical considerations, such as
the placement of the camera mount on the terrorist’s equipment, rather than any intentional
stylistic choice to replicate gaming visuals. 56
Concerning gamification, the notion that the gamification of violence, along with the
propensity for dark humour and usage of "gaming references," is somehow affiliated with the
gaming ecosystem and gamers as a community is likewise challenged. This is due to a lack of
supporting evidence and the introduction of alternative, seemingly more nuanced theories. It
is suggested that the inspiration is drawn from imageboards and the associated "Chan/Kun"
culture, or that the gamification as argued in the first wave is even present in the post-9/11
terror attacks. As is well known, these platforms foster a form of cultural scripting where
behaviours and references that mimic gaming tropes can be used for various purposes,
including satire, social commentary, or as part of the board’s internal language and humour.57
The use of gaming references and the gamification observed in extremist propaganda could

56 Sam Andrews. “The ‘First Person Shooter’ Perspective: A Different View on First Person Shooters, Gamification, and First
Person Terrorist Propaganda.” Games and Culture 19:1 (2023), 67-69.
57 Andrews. “The First Person Shooter’ Perspective.” 69-71.

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thus be interpreted as a product of these imageboard cultures, rather than a reflection of
mainstream gaming communities.
Another recent article offers a contrasting perspective to the proposed understanding of the
role of gamification in the radicalisation process. 58 Hickman argues that terrorism operates as
a form of communication, where terrorists frame themselves as heroes or anti-heroes
engaged in a battle between good and evil. The author highlights that terrorists internalize
these narratives, seeing themselves as central figures responsible for fulfilling a "righteous"
mission. Hickman proposes that if gamification is to be applied to extremism, it should be
understood from an actor-centric perspective, where violent extremists internalize their roles
within a narrative structure. In this view, their real-life violent actions become part of a
personal "game" or mission, with the extremists cast as the main characters. Hickman
concludes by addressing the implications for counter-terrorism, recommending strategies
such as promoting counter-narratives, challenging terrorists' self-perception as heroes, and
using ludic interventions to disrupt extremist narratives. 59
Recent findings in fact lend credence to Hickman’s ludic interventions approach. The Decount
project 60 sought to design and disseminate an online campaign including deradicalisation and
prevention online resources; videos produced by vulnerable youth; and a video game
structured by binary decisions leading to radicalisation or maintaining resilience. According to
a pair of articles resulting from the project, the game effectively challenged and countered
extremist viewpoints. Participants who played the game within a workshop setting also
exhibited a significant decrease in authoritarian attitudes relative to the measurements taken
before playing the game, indicating a broader positive influence on political attitudes and
critical thinking. Moreover, participants in both conditions generally rated their learning
experience positively, with those in the workshop condition reporting even stronger effects.
Lastly, participants felt the game provided them with valuable knowledge for understanding
and potentially intervening in radicalisation processes among their peers and family
members. 61
Likewise, Nick Robinson and Joe Whittaker, have argued for a refocusing of the field on
interactivity in video games, since interactivity is the key differentiator of games v. other media
like film, text, or music. They also questioned the longstanding perception of extremist games
as propaganda tools aimed at exclusively proselytizing outside the extremist groups. Instead,
they suggest that bespoke games are perhaps used to strengthen the views of those already
in the group, or at least sympathetic to the group’s ideology. For example, within the extremist
games the “extremist worldview” is the “correct” view, with no justification provided to the
player; such games contain “information and symbols that require a degree of specialist

58 Morgan Hickman. “Protagonists of terror: the role of ludology and narrative in conceptualising extremist violence.”
Behavioral Sciences of Terrorism and Political Aggression 16:3 (2024), 428-444.
59 The use of the term "ludic" here refers to what is commonly known as gamification. However, in line with recent shifts in

the field and to avoid the negative connotations often associated with video gaming, we prefer to use "ludic."
60 N.A., “DECOUNT” University of Innsbruck (n.d.), last accessed 25 September 2024, https://tinyurl.com/2p4rvka3.
61 Felix Lippe, Rebecca Walter, and Veronika Hofinger, “Evaluating an online-game intervention to prevent violent

Extremism,” Journal for Deradicalisation 32 (2022), 1-34; Daniela Pisoiu, and Felix Lippe, “The name of the game:
Promoting resilience against extremism through an online gaming campaign,” First Monday 27:5 (2022),
https://doi.org/10.5210/fm.v27i5.12600.

Page 16 of 34
knowledge to identify; for the player to already be part of the in-group;” and most of these
games are distributed via extremist outlets. 62
While a considerable amount of theoretical work has been developed, the field still requires
substantial experimental data to support these theories. Analyses within the gaming
ecosystem often adopt an ideologically neutral approach, yet research predominantly
concentrates on specific types of extremism, primarily jihadi and far-right variants, leaving
other forms underexplored. 63 Furthermore, the RAN typology of extremist abuse tends to
emphasize 'supply side extremism,' that is, how extremist groups use games to attract new
members. But even work within RAN is very wary of making strong claims about the
connection between violent extremism and video games, given the current lack of evidence.
This is clear, for example, from the multiple conditional words used in the following from a
RAN 2023 report; ’within gaming communities toxic narratives can inadvertently serve as a
gateway, potentially laying the foundations for susceptibility to violent extremism and
extremists can target toxic gaming communities for possible recruitment’ 64
Lastly, to enhance the existing body of research, there is a pressing need for more actor-
oriented investigations that delve into how extremists specifically utilize gaming
environments—exploring the motivations, methods, and profiles of individuals who seek out
and join micro-hubs (small platforms or community spaces within larger gaming ecosystems)
within these spaces. Essentially, this would entail a shift towards examining the 'demand side'
of extremism, focusing on the reasons and mechanisms through which players are drawn into
such networks. For example, the cases discussed in the Koehler at al. article indicate the need
for this shift, since in both cases the teenagers went into the online gaming spaces with a prior
interest in right wing extremism. 65

3.2. The need for a unified terminology

The field also suffers from a lack of clarity in its terminology, with some ambiguity stemming
from supporting disciplines such as radicalisation studies, terrorism studies, and far-right
studies, while other inconsistencies appear self-inflicted. This inconsistency complicates
discourse and hinders the development of a cohesive understanding across studies. 66 Notable
discrepancies exist between reports on “extremism” within gaming spaces from both
academic and industry circles.

62 Nick Robinson, and Joe Whittaker. “Playing for Hate? Extremism, Terrorism, and Videogames.” Studies in Conflict &
Terrorism (2021), 10-11.
63 Amaranth Amarasingam, Daniel Kelley, “Hate and Extremism on Gaming Platforms: Insights from Surveys with the

Gaming Community,” Gaming and Extremism: The Radicalization of Digital Playgrounds, ed. Linda Schlegel and Rachel
Kowert (New York: Routledge, 2024), 110-129); Garison Wells et al., “Right-Wing Extremism in Mainstream Games: A
Review of the Literature,” Games and Culture 19:4 (2023), 469-492.
64 Wallner, C., White, J. and Regeni, P. (2023) Building Resilience to Extremism in Gaming: Identifying and Addressing

Toxicity in Gaming Culture. RAN Policy Support Luxembourg: Publications Office of the European Union.
65 Daniel Koehler, Verena Fiebig, and Irina Jugl, “From Gaming to Hating: Extreme-Right Ideological Indoctrination and

Mobilization for Violence of Children on Online Gaming Platforms,” Political Psychology 44:2 (2023), 419-434.
66 These and other reports all use distinctive terminologies to denote the same types of behaviours. ADL. Hate is no Game:

Hate and Harassment in Online Games 2022. (ADL Center for Technology & Society, 2023); Linda Schlegel. Extremists’ use of
gaming (adjacent) platforms Insights regarding primary and secondary prevention measures (RAN, 2021); eSafety
Commissioner. Leveling up to Stay Safe Young people’s experiences navigating the joys and risks of online gaming (The
Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development, Communications and the Arts acknowledges the
Traditional Custodians of Country throughout Australia, 2024).

Page 17 of 34
Again, a recent academic publication reported high levels of “extremist sentiment” in gaming
spaces. 67 However, it failed to differentiate clearly between general toxicity and specific
extremist behaviour, which is distinctly categorized in the industry-led study, the “2023
Toxicity in Multiplayer Games Report.” 68 This industry report quantified various toxic
behaviours such as cheating, harassment, and intended disruption, based on user
experiences. Extremist content was considered as well, but as an aspect of toxic behaviour,
whereas the academic study seems to equate toxic behaviour with extremism.
It is crucial for researchers and industry experts to collaborate on establishing clear definitions
and scalable methodologies that can be universally applied to study toxicity and extremism in
gaming. Such efforts would not only enhance the comparability of studies but also improve
the overall quality of research and its applicability to real-world settings, ultimately fostering
a safer and more inclusive gaming environment. This could involve interdisciplinary
collaboration, utilizing feedback from the gaming community, and developing shared
frameworks and glossaries that both display scientific rigor and resonate with the gaming
community's real-world experiences. This is not to argue that toxicity, or harassment are not
serious issues that do not need to be considered; nevertheless, toxicity is not extremism, and
griefing is not criminal (yet). 69
When discussing the relationship between gaming and extremism, researchers often employ
the terminology of “gaming, and gaming-adjacent spaces” to describe the different platforms
where extremists might be active. And yet, the distinction(s) between these, if there are any,
are rarely explained. For example, in the aforementioned RAN report on extremism in gaming,
it is claimed that “There is no clear definition of what constitutes a gaming platform, a gaming-
adjacent platform, and platforms where gaming-related content appears.” 70 The UN report
discussed earlier does not offer any clarification or definitions of either the gaming, or gaming-
adjacent platforms. The ISD reports, while focusing on platforms similar to those considered
by he RAN and UN reports, do not distinguish them as gaming, or gaming-adjacent; instead,
they uses the phrase “platforms associated with gaming communities.” 71 72
This lack of terminological clarity spills over into general debate and public discourse,
complicating our understanding of where and how extremist activities in gaming contexts
occur. If we cannot define satisfactorily what a “gaming space” is (and consequently what it is
not), the term risks becoming useless. We are not taking issue with the choice of platforms
per se; but in how they are implicitly presented as gamer-centric, which, apart from
designated gaming platforms, is often not the case. For example, Discord is often described in
these and other reports as a gaming-adjacent platform. While it was initially developed in

67 Rachel Kowert, Elizabeth Kilmer, and Alex Newhouse, “Taking it to the extreme: prevalence and nature of extremist
sentiment in games,” Frontiers in Psychology 15 (2024), 10.3389/fpsyg.2024.1410620.
68 N.A. 2023 Toxicity in Multiplayer Games Report (Unity Technologies, 2023).
69 Similar need for clarity, or at least an awareness of the intrinsic complexities, apply to other key terms in the field such as

recruitment, grooming, radicalisation, gamer v player distinction, and so forth.

Griefing is a term used to describe deliberate in-game disruptive activities like trolling, cheating, in-game theft, etc.
70 Schlegel. Extremists’ use of gaming (adjacent) platforms Insights regarding primary and secondary prevention measures.

4.
71 Jacob Davey. “Gamers Who Hate: An Introduction to ISD’s Gaming and Extremism Series” Institute for Strategic Dialogue

(12 August 2021), last accessed 05 August 2024, https://tinyurl.com/bddt7nu2, 5. Archived version at:
https://tinyurl.com/bddt7nu2.
72 Even the term "gaming" carries historical connotations linked to moral panics, especially in security-related discussions.

However, this issue merits its own detailed and peer reviewed exploration in a separate discussion.

Page 18 of 34
2015 as a platform for gamers, it has significantly evolved and is now better described as a
"social platform," or, in its own words, “where the world talks, hangs out, and builds
relationships.” At time of writing, Discord is mainly an AI enthusiast space. The most popular
server (space where members of a community socialize and share with one another through
text posts, voice chats, and video streams) on Discord is the Midjourney server. It boasts 20
million members and focuses on AI-driven tools that convert text to images. It outnumbers
the next 4 high traffic servers combined, 73 Therefore, simplifying Discord’s identity to
"gaming-adjacent" does not accurately reflect the platform’s broad use cases and can lead to
misleading assumptions about the nature of interactions it hosts.

3.3. Sample Sizes and Conflicting Results

Initial empirical analyses specifically aimed at identifying extremism in gaming spaces,
understood in the narrow sense, suggest that its presence is relatively low, especially
compared to the prevalence of extremism on other online platforms. Extremists are at most
a small minority relative to the overall number of gamers, and their communities are both
marginal and largely disregarded by the broader gaming community. For context, social media
has had a significantly bigger issue with extremist content, with recent reports suggesting that
users of Facebook and Twitter are exposed to extremist content 48.44% of the time they spend
on the platform. 74
For example, in the Institute for Strategic Dialogue’s (ISD) report on Steam, the authors
identified 45 user groups sharing a pool of 8,720 users, with group sizes ranging from as few
as 7 members to as many as 4,403. As of 2020-2021, when the reports were written, Steam
had between 25 and 26 million users, meaning extremist-affiliated users accounted for about
0.032% of the total user base. 75 Furthermore, the identified extremist groups made up only
about 0.128% of the 35,151 groups examined. Some of these groups have been shut down
since 2021, while others show minimal user interaction, with the latest posts in some cases
dating back several years. Given that these figures represent only a portion of the total
number of groups on Steam - which are not publicly disclosed - the percentage of extremist
groups could be even lower. In other reports in the series which focused on streaming
platforms often used by gamers, but also other types of content creators, the researchers
found similarly low but persistent extremist presence. In the case of Discord, the ISD reports
on 24 English language discord servers associated with extreme right-wing activity. For
context, Discord at the time of writing hosts anywhere between 13.5 to 19 million servers

73 Gaming-related servers such as Blox Fruits (used by fans of Roblox), Genshin Impact Official (used by players of Genshin
Impact), and Nova (used by players of Fortnite) also remain popular, with each having around 1.7 to 1.3 million members
respectively. See: Influencer Marketing Hub. “The Latest Discord Statistics: Servers, Revenue, Data, and More.” Influencer
Marketing Hub (24 June 2024), last accessed 05 August 2024, https://tinyurl.com/mpzahabu. Archived version at:
https://tinyurl.com/42c4b3yc.
74 Thomas James Vaughan Williams, Calli Tzani and Maria Ioannou. “Discrepancies Between Social Media Policy and User

Experience: A Preliminary Study of Extremist Content.” GNET (18 August 2023), last accessed 05 August 2024,
https://tinyurl.com/y9wb5m4z. Archived at: https://tinyurl.com/3w8a7epu.
75 As of the most recent count, Steam has over 120 million active users.

Page 19 of 34
weekly and was reported to have had 19 million active servers at the time of the ISD report.76
77 78

The “2023 Toxicity in Multiplayer Games,” discussed earlier, also provided comparative data
across the US, the UK, and South Korea on a sample size of 2522. The report states that
“extremism,” is experienced by players 14% of the time over the past 12 months. This is
significantly lower than the rates of extremism reported in a recent academic study, which
reports that the participants in their study (n=361) experienced extremism at a much higher
rate. 79 We should provide a reminder here of the issues related with terminology, namely, the
industry report considers extremism as a type of toxic behaviour in gaming spaces, and as
such it differentiates extremism from several other “toxic behaviours,” i.e.,
Cheating/tampering, Intended disruption, Hate, Inappropriate content, Aggravation & Abuse
of play, Unintended disruption, Harassment, Extremism, Predatory Behaviour, and Other.
Moreover, a recent report on one of the world's most popular games, Fortnite, reportedly
found “a flurry of neo-Nazi, antisemitic, and violent political content … including a map based
on the Jasenovac Concentration Camp, where almost 100,000 Jews, Serbs, Roma, and
religious minorities were murdered by Nazis during World War II.” 80 The “flurry of content”
was 24 maps out of over a 100 000 maps available at any given point; and the Jasenovac map
had a peak player count of 7 players.81
In a report produced by Moonshot within the context of Project GEMS concerning extremism
in gaming-adjacent spaces, an analysis of 64 million posts from Discord, 4chan, Gamer
Uprising, and Incels.is revealed that the prevalence of extremist content is relatively low.
Specifically, only a small percentage of posts contained extremist indicators, with less than
0.1% on Discord, 2.9% on 4chan, 6.5% on Gamer Uprising, and 9.5% on incels.ls. Overall, of
the 64 million posts analysed, 4.75% was tagged with extremist indicators, and that
percentage drops to 3.17% if we were to exclude data from the incels.ls platform. 82
Gaming communities have demonstrated the ability, and willingness to resolve issues
internally, without external intervention or support from the gaming industry. This is
somewhat remarkable when we consider that gamers, and by extension gaming communities

76 Aoife Gallagher, Ciaran O’Connor, Pierre Vaux, Elise Thomas, and Jacob Davey, Gaming and Extremism: The Extreme Right
on Discord (ISD, 2021).
77 Influencer Marketing Hub, “The Latest Discord Statistics: Servers, Revenue, Data, and More,” Influencer Marketing Hub

(24 June 2024), last accessed 13 September 2024, https://tinyurl.com/mpzahabu.

78 Serif Pilipovic, “Discord statistics 2024 — how many people use Discord? Discord is immensely popular among gamers

and other online communities.” Levvel (09 August 2023), last accessed 13 September 2024, https://tinyurl.com/42annbhw.
79 Rachel Kowert, Elizabeth Kilmer, and Alex Newhouse, “Taking it to the extreme: prevalence and nature of extremist

sentiment in games,” Frontiers in Psychology 15 (2024), 10.3389/fpsyg.2024.1410620.

80 GPAHE. “Despite Previous Reporting, Fortnite Continues to Platform Violent Political and Antisemitic Content.” Global

Project Against Hate and Extremism (GPAHE) (18 July 2024), ), last accessed, 14 August 2024, https://tinyurl.com/mrxxb73s.
Archived version at: https://tinyurl.com/bdfs6dsz.
81 At the time of writing the available number of maps was 115 696. Fortnite is one of the most popular games worldwide,

with peak player counts ranging well over 6 million players. For the Jasenovac map see: cleanbuild. “4064-2236-3655”
fortnite.gg (21 February 2024), last accessed at 14 August 2024, https://tinyurl.com/yfudms43. Archived at:
https://tinyurl.com/khmhuyxp.
82 Moonshot. Extremism across the online gaming ecosystem (2024), 8-12. Report available at, Moonshot Team.

“Extremism across the online gaming ecosystem.” Moonshot Team (03 June 2024), last accessed 04 August 2024,
https://tinyurl.com/3fymjp4z. The incels.ls as an outlier in this case, in fact compares well with other non-game extremist
online spaces discussed earlier, wherein about 10% of the content was in fact extremist. See: Thomas J. Holt, Joshua D.
Freilich, and Steven M. Chermak. “Examining the Online Expression of Ideology among Far-Right Extremist Forum Users.”
Terrorism and Political Violence 34:2 (2022), 364-384.

Page 20 of 34
were portrayed as suspect communities during several iterations of moral panics. There is an
inherent resilience and capacity for self-moderation within the gaming community that has
been largely unexplored. It is these aspects of the gaming communities – the resilience and
grassroots methods developed to seemingly successfully counter and minimize the extremist
presence in gaming spaces – which should be the focus of future research.

Page 21 of 34
4. Conclusion
This literature review has elucidated the intricate and dynamic interplay between gaming and
extremism. Initially centered on the impact of violent video games—a theory now largely
discredited—a more refined understanding has surfaced. It acknowledges the dual potential
within the gaming ecosystem to either propagate harm or foster positive influences, even
human well-being. 83 Our exploration highlights various tactics extremists deploy, from
utilizing online games for recruitment and propaganda to gamifying violence and normalizing
extremist ideologies within virtual communities, but the reviewed literature also stresses that
’there is little evidence of overt large-scale recruitment in gaming communities’. 84
For academic researchers, precision in methodologies and terminology is vital to dissect the
potentially complex nexus between gaming and extremism accurately. The prevailing
inconsistency described above impair comparative analysis and could lead to erroneous
conclusions. Additionally, the use of vague or sweeping terms may perpetuate negative
stereotypes about gaming and its community, thereby overshadowing its diverse and
predominantly positive culture.
Fostering closer ties with the gaming industry is crucial. Engaging game developers, platform
operators, and the gaming community itself will grant researchers critical insights into the
unique dynamics of these groups, their subcultural norms, and the challenges they encounter
in online interactions. Such collaboration will not only heighten the precision and relevance
of research outcomes but also cultivate a more detailed and informed perspective on the
multifaceted relationship between gaming and extremism. This approach will help deter
extremist exploitation of gamer grievances, as evidenced by incidents like Gamergate.
While this report does not delve into, it indirectly underscores a significant policy and security
challenge: how to mitigate extremism in gaming without curbing innovation or infringing on
free speech.
A purely restrictive strategy, focusing solely on content moderation and censorship, could
inadvertently stifle the vibrant game development sector in the EU. 85 Excessively stringent
regulations might disproportionately affect smaller studios, possibly driving them from the
market and compromising the EU’s competitive edge in this rapidly expanding global industry.
Thus, a balanced and cooperative strategy is imperative. Policymakers and security agencies
must collaborate with the gaming industry and gamers to devise effective measures that curb
extremism while promoting a flourishing, profitable, and innovative gaming landscape. This
strategy should include:
• Promoting Digital Literacy and Critical Thinking: This strategy should be twofold—
educating gamers about online safety and responsible behaviours, while also learning
from their experiences to better understand the subtleties of extremist manipulation
and narrative techniques. Engaging with gamers directly provides a rich source of

83 Rachel Kowert ed., Video Games and Well-Being: Press Start (Cham: Palgrave Macmillan, 2020).
84 Schlegel and Kowert, Gaming and Extremism, 19.
85 For an overview of this burgeoning network see: Bledar Feta, and Ioannis Armalokas, “Gaming Stakeholders Mapping

Report,” GEMS Project Publication No.02/2024 (2024).

Page 22 of 34
 insights, making educational initiatives more relevant and grounded in the actual
experiences and challenges faced by the community.
• Empowering Gaming Communities: Backing community-led initiatives that champion
gamer’s needs, positive social interaction, and anti-extremist messages within gaming
environments.
• Providing accessible moderation tools and resources: Building on existing models,
such as the EU's terrorist content online regulation, smaller studios and developers
should be provided with access to effective moderation tools and resources to better
manage harmful content within their games, without placing undue financial burdens
on their operations.
• Investing in Research: Allocating funds for empirical studies to deepen understanding
of gaming and extremism dynamics, including the influence of specific game genres,
the role of streaming platforms, and the resilience of gaming communities.
By championing collaboration, transparency, and a nuanced comprehension of the gaming
ecosystem, policymakers and industry leaders can balance risk mitigation with the promotion
of the EU’s continued prosperity in this critical cultural and economic sector.

Page 23 of 34
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Appendix 01 – GEMS Glossary of Key Terms and Concepts 85

85This document was initially created for internal use by the consortium and was uploaded to the project's management
platform (cf. D8.1) on March 11, 2024. It was later made publicly available through the project's website.
 GEMS BASIC GLOSSARY OF KEY TERMS AND CONCEPTS

C/PVE, or short for countering/preventing extremist views. Relative to regular

violent extremism, is a term used to describe samples, extremist discourse is marked,
methods and approaches focused on among other aspects, by the higher use of
countering or preventing the growth and spread first and third person plural pronouns, a
of violent extremist ideologies and activities. Put more negative tone, and overall increase
differently, this term aims to encompass “the usage of words related to negative topics.
‘soft’ side of counterterrorism strategies that In addition, there is a tendency to use
tackle the drivers which lead people to engage discursive resources such as hate speech,
in politically or ideologically-motivated otherness, and war narrative to convey
violence.” Recent meta analyses of available actions and ideas toward others.
scholarship on the topic, reveal that the notion
of resilience emerged as central throughout the Extremist Narratives, an operationalization
discussions, with the term preventions of the extremist discourse, which can be
appearing as ambiguous and thus in need of divided in five categories: political,
further refinement. Lastly, empirical data historical, socio-psychological,
demonstrated that the effectiveness of C/PVE instrumental and theological/moral.
measures, and moreover, their implementation
is positively related to the size of government § Political: the discourse includes
and its social and healthcare expenditures. references to grievances from one or
more groups towards other groups.
Primary Sources: Frazer, Owen and Christian Nünlist. “The § Historical: legitimization of the
Concept of Countering Violent Extremism.” CSS Analyses in
Security Policy 183 (2015), 1-4; Shanaah, Sadi and Charlotte political grievance narratives through
Heath-Kelly. “What Drives Counter-Extremism? The Extent of the use of historical examples and
P/CVE Policies in the West and Their Structural Correlates.”
Terrorism and Political Violence 35:8 (2023), 1724-1752, DOI:
similes.
https://doi.org/10.1080/09546553.2022.2080063 § Socio-psychological: glorification of
; Stephens, William, Stijn Sieckelinck, and Hans Boutellier. acts against the system, either violent
“Preventing Violent Extremism: A Review of the Literature.”
Studies in conflict & terrorism 44:4(2021), 346–361,
or not.
https://doi.org/10.1080/1057610x.2018.1543144; § Instrumental: justification of the
violence and “self-defence” as a way
Additional Literature: Beaujouan, Juline et al. eds.. Vulnerability
and Resilience to Violent Extremism: An Actor-Centric Approach. towards reaching objectives.
London: Routledge (2024); Martini, Alice. The UN and Counter- § Theological/moral: legitimization of
Terrorism: Global Hegemonies, Power and Identities. London: actions or reactions against political
Routledge, 2021; Halilovic-Pastuovic, Maja et al. Preventing and
Addressing Violent Extremism: A Conceptual Framework. PAVE grievance or social oppression through
Project Publications (2022), http://tinyurl.com/2jjkjhek. religion, morality and/or ethics

Violent Extremism, a type of extremism

Extremism, an umbrella term for numerous
which advocates for or condones the use
ideological movements fundamentally in
of force and violence towards fulfilling the
opposition to a society's mainstream political
movement’s goals.
and/or ethical values. At its most basic it is
characterized by the creation of a distinct in- Primary Sources: McNeil-Willson, Richard. “Assessing our
group in opposition to an out-group, adherence Understanding of (Violent) Extremism.” In Routledge Handbook of
to anti-pluralist ideologies, and often, though Violent Extremism and Resilience, edited by Richard McNeil-
Willson and Anna Triandafyllidou, 17-32. London: Routledge,
not always, the promotion of violence, typically 2023; Torregrosa, Javier, et al. “A Survey on Extremism Analysis
by non-state, irregular actors (see Violent Using Natural Language Processing: Definitions, Literature
Review, Trends and Challenges.” Journal of Ambient Intelligence
Extremism). and Humanized Computing 14 (2023): 9869-9905.
doi:10.1007/s12652-021-03658-z.
Extremist Discourse, the use of language
Additional Literature: Cassam, Quassim. Extremism: A
held by people when expressing their Philosophical Analysis. London: Routledge, 2022; Kruglanski, Arie

1
W., Catalina Kopetz, and Ewa Szumowska, eds. The Psychology of project we are interested in digital games, or
Extremism: A Motivational Perspective. London: Routledge, 2022;
McNeil-Willson, Richard, and Anna Triandafyllidou, eds. Routledge video games, as they more commonly known.
Handbook of Violent Extremism and Resilience. London:
Routledge, 2023; Onursal, Recep and Daniel Kirkpatrick. “Is Video Games, the term originated in the early
Extremism the ‘New’ Terrorism? the Convergence of ‘Extremism’
and ‘Terrorism’ in British Parliamentary Discourse.” Terrorism and 1970s in the United States and quickly gained
Political Violence 33:5 (2021), 1094- popularity worldwide. The inclusion of "video" in
1116, DOI: 10.1080/09546553.2019.1598391; Scrivens, Ryan.
“Examining Online Indicators of Extremism among Violent and
the name was intended to differentiate these
Non-Violent Right-Wing Extremists.” Terrorism and Political new forms of entertainment from existing
Violence, 35:6 (2023), 1389- electronic games that did not require a display
1409, DOI: 10.1080/09546553.2022.2042270
or video device for gameplay. As digital
technology has advanced, "video games" has
Gamification, a technique that integrates game become an umbrella term that encompasses a
design elements such as points, leaderboards, wide variety of game types, all of which require
badges, gaming language, and avatars into non- some form of video display to engage players.
game contexts to drive behavioural change. The
goal is to engage users and encourage them Categorization: Platform Oriented
towards desired behaviours, leveraging the Currently, the most common way to categorize
motivational power of gaming. Additionally, video games is by the platform on which they
gamification inherently offers a means of are played. This includes but is not limited to:
measuring success through its gaming design Computer Games: Played on a personal
metrics. In essence, gamification can be computer, regardless of the operating system;
described as a method to 'gamify' or make Console Games: Played on gaming consoles,
activities game-like. This approach has been such as PlayStation, Xbox, and Nintendo Switch;
applied in various sectors, including education, Mobile Games: Played on mobile devices,
employee experiences, fitness apps, healthcare, including smartphones and tablets; VR/AR
the military, and public services. Games: Played on virtual and augmented reality
devices, collectively known as XR devices.
Gamification of Violence, the
application of gamification in order to It's crucial to recognize that this “traditional”
stimulate, encourage or reward violent categorization of games by platform has
behaviour. recently become more ambiguous. Many games
are now designed to be played across a variety
Primary Sources: Marczewski, Andrzej. The Gamification Design of platforms, and cross-platform play is
Handbook. London: Gamified UK, 2023; Schlegel, Linda. The
Gamification of Violent Extremism & Lessons for P/CVE. RAN,
becoming the norm. This shift enables players
2021. http://tinyurl.com/yc6m84xu. using different devices to interact within the
same online matches, a notable change from
Additional Literature: González-González, Carina Soledad.
“Unplugged Gamification: Towards a Definition.” In Proceedings earlier times when, for instance, only computer
TEEM 2022: Tenth International Conference on Technological gamers could compete with one another.
Ecosystems for Enhancing Multiculturality, edited by Francisco Additionally, the advent of cloud gaming has
José García-Peñalvo and Alicia García-Holgado, 642-649. New
York: Springer, 2022; Lakhani, Suraj. “The Gamification Of Violent further blurred these distinctions by allowing
Extremism: An Empirical Exploration Of The Christchurch Attack.” games to be streamed to devices not originally
Extremism and Gaming Research Network. (10 June 2022).
http://tinyurl.com/czevmsxr.
intended for them, such as playing a game
designed for a computer on a smartphone. This
development has also impacted the classical
Games, understood in the broadest sense of the categorization of games into online and offline
term as “ a system in which players engage in an gaming. Previously, online and offline gaming
artificial conflict defined by rules that results in a distinguished between games based on the
quantifiable outcome.” Games are as diverse as necessity of an internet connection for
the players who play them, and they cover a gameplay. However, even games designed for
broad spectrum of media and platforms; offline play may require a stable internet
monetized or not; physical, or cerebral; adult or connection when accessed via cloud gaming.
children oriented, etc. Within the scope of this

2
Categorization: Player Oriented Gamer, a term used to refer to shared identity
Alternatively, and more in line with the player's with other members of the gaming community
perspective, games are often categorized and culture. It denotes an alignment with the
according to genres, which underscores the groups idiosyncrises, traditions, and social
diversity in gameplay and thematic content that practices. It is a part of one's self-conception and
defines the gaming experience. This expression of affiliation with a group of society.
classification system encompasses everything
from action-packed adventures to strategic Player v Gamer disambiguation, a player is a
puzzles, offering insights into the core term referring to someone who interacts with,
mechanics and narrative styles that engage or plays, games. It refers to the functional
players. Games are also frequently categorized status or activity of playing a game, digital or
by the number of players they support, otherwise.
distinguishing between single-player,
multiplayer and massive multiplayer Much like the diverse ways in which video
experiences. However, a number of games are games themselves are categorized (see, Video
offering both single-player and multiplayer Games), the interpretation and the meaning of
modes to accommodate different playing "gamer" varies widely, often depending on the
preferences. context in which it is used, with no single way to
classify, what or who are gamers are (e.g., PC
Categorization: Development Oriented gamers, console gamers, mobile gamers, casual
Lastly, reflecting the production or, more gamers, hardcore gamers, etc.). It can
specifically, the development side of video sometimes carry a derogatory connotation, but
games, games are frequently classified based on also to denote a professional vocation, as seen
their production type. This includes AAA titles, with professional gamers. Additionally, apart
which are known for their high development from humans who game, products, styles, and
budgets, large studio budgets, and production even language can be described as being
values; independent (indie) games that "gamer," e.g. “gamer products,” having a "gamer
highlight creativity and innovation without the aesthetic," using a “gamer language,” or
support of major studios; and crowdfunded belonging to the “gamer culture,” etc. The
projects that rely on community support for nuances and broad applications of the term will
funding. However, much like the platform-based be explored in greater detail in the project's
categorization, this framework is not absolute, deliverables.
with many projects defying clear classification in
terms of both genre and production type. This Gaming Disorder, as of 2019 included in the
situation highlights the video game industry's International Classification of Diseases (11th ed.).
fluid and evolving nature. With the integration This disorder is characterised by a pattern of
of artificial intelligence (AI) and machine persistent or recurrent gaming behaviour
learning (ML) into games, this trend is expected (‘digital gaming’ or ‘video-gaming’), which may
to intensify. These technological advancements be online (i.e., over the internet) or offline,
will continue to reshape the industry, manifested by: 1. impaired control over gaming
challenging traditional categorizations and (e.g., onset, frequency, intensity, duration,
development models with even greater impact. termination, context); 2. increasing priority
given to gaming to the extent that gaming takes
Gaming, understood most broadly is a term precedence over other life interests and daily
used to denote the human activity of playing activities; and 3. continuation or escalation of
video games. However, within the context of the gaming despite the occurrence of negative
project and the field at large, gaming can be consequences. The pattern of gaming behaviour
considered as qualitatively different from may be continuous or episodic and recurrent.
“playing video games”, nevertheless The pattern of gaming behaviour results in
encompassing it. The nuances and broad marked distress or significant impairment in
applications of the term will be explored in personal, family, social, educational,
greater detail in the project's deliverables. occupational, or other important areas of

3
functioning. The gaming behaviour and other Violent Radicalization, a type of
features are normally evident over a period of at radicalization defined by the EU as “the
least 12 months in order for a diagnosis to be phenomenon of people embracing
assigned, although the required duration may opinions, views and ideas which could
be shortened if all diagnostic requirements are lead to acts of terrorism.”
met and symptoms are severe.
Primary Sources: Commission of the European Communities.
Primary Sources: Kowert, Rachel and Jan Grooten. “Going Beyond Communication from the commission to the European
the Game: Development of Gamer Identities Within Societal parliament and the council concerning Terrorist recruitment:
Discourse and Virtual Spaces.” The Journal of the Canadian Game addressing the factors contributing to violent radicalisation.
Studies Association 9:14 (2015), 70-87; Steinkuehler, Constance, Brussels, 21 September 2005. http://tinyurl.com/37m8mpdz;
and Kurt Squire. “Introduction to Videogames and the extremist Neumann, Peter. “The Trouble with Radicalization.” International
ecosystem.” In Gaming and extremism : the radicalization of Affairs 89, no. 4 (2013): 873–93; Sedgwick, Mark. “The Concept of
digital playgrounds edited by Rachel Kowert and Linda Schlegel, Radicalization as a Source of Confusion.” Terrorism and Political
9-31. New York: Routledge, 2024; Stevens, Matther Wr et al., Violence 22 (2010): 479-494. doi: 10.1080/09546553.2010.491009.
“Global Prevalence of gaming disorder: A Systematic review and
meta analysis.” Australian & New Zealand jjournal of Psychiatry Additional Literature: McCauley, Clark and Sophia Moskalenko.
55:6 (2020): 553-568. doi: 10.1177/000486742096285; Wolf, J.P. “Mechanisms of Political Radicalization: Pathways Toward
Mark. The Video Game Explosion: A History from PONG to Terrorism.” Terrorism and Political Violence 20:3 (2008): 415-433.
PlayStation and Beyond. Westport: Greenwood, 2007; Salen, Katie. doi: 10.1080/09546550802073367; McLaughlin, Gilbert.
Eric Zimmerman. Rules of Play: Game design fundamentals. Radicalisation: A Conceptual Inquiry. London: Routledge, 2024 ;
Cambridge, London: MIT Press, 2004; Juul, Jesper. A casual Muthuswamy , Moorthy S. “Radicalization ecosystem as a
revolution: Reinventing video games and their players. confounder of violent extremism’s drivers.” Dynamics of
Cambridge: The MIT Press, 2010. Asymmetric Conflict
(2024). doi: 10.1080/17467586.2024.2305443; Sardoč, Mitja.
Additional Literature: Kowert, Rachel and Thorsten Quandt eds. Making Sense of Radicalization and Violent Extremism: Interviews
The Video Game debate: Unravelling the Physical, Social, and and Conversations. London: Routledge, 2022.
Psychological Effects of Digital Games. New York: Routledge,
2015; Kowert, Rachel and Thorsten Quandt eds. The video game
debate 2: Revisiting the Physical, Social, and Psychological Effects
of Video Games. New York: Routledge, 2021; Koyama, Yuhsuke. Recruitment, generally refers to the process of
History of the Japanese Video Game Industry. Singapore: incorporating individuals into a group.
Springer, 2023; McCall, Jeremiah. Gaming the Past: Using Video
Games to Teach Secondary History. New York: Routledge, 2023; Specifically, in the realms of terrorism and
Schmidt, Steven. Assessing the Quality of Experience of Cloud extremist studies, it is defined as the process by
Gaming Services. Cham: Springer, 2023; Siuda, Piotr, Jakub
Majewski, and Krzysztof Chmielewski eds.. Gaming and Gamers in
which individuals are integrated into extremist
Times of Pandemic. New York: Bloomsbury Academic, 2024; groups or terrorist organizations. This process is
Ulbricht, Samel. Ethics of Computer Gaming: A Groundwork. highly specialized, often involving the
Berlin: Springer, 2022; Wolf, J.P. Mark, and Bernard Perron eds. The
Routledge Companion to Video Game Studies. New York: identification and targeting of individuals who
Routledge, 2023. are susceptible to influence. It includes a tailored
approach of influencing, persuading, or
manipulating them to adopt extremist
Radicalization, a complex process ideologies and, in some instances, to participate
metaphorically described as 'what goes on in terrorist activities. Crucially, the success of
before the bomb goes off.' Radicalization recruitment within violent extremist
encompasses a series of psychological, social, organizations depends on the effective
and ideological developments by which attraction and selection of organizational
individuals or groups adopt extremist views, members.
which may not always involve violence. This Online/Offline Recruitment, this
process involves multi-dimensional changes, dichotomy distinguishes between
including shifts in belief systems, attitudes, and digital and “traditional” in-person
behaviours, that deviate significantly from recruitment methods. However, recent
dominant societal norms. Moreover, each studies in radicalization suggest this
process appear as distinct, reflecting the unique distinction may hinder a full
circumstances and influences of those involved. understanding. Experts recommend a
Within academic circles, it is also a contested more holistic approach. This proposed
term, with the central issue being whether method would consider both online and
radicalization denotes a process towards offline means but emphasize individual
extreme ideas, or extreme behaviour. risk factors and the recruit's
environment.

4
 commitment to upholding the rule of
Legal/Actionable Aspects, the law, human rights, and fundamental
European Union (EU) has specific legal freedoms while combating terrorism.
frameworks and definitions regarding
the recruitment FOR TERRORISM. Primary Sources: European Union. “The EU’s Response to
Terrorism.” European Council, Council of the European Union (15
According to the EU Directive 2017/541, November 2023), accessed 03 February 2024,
recruitment for terrorism is considered http://tinyurl.com/23s7wt9d; European Union, "Directive (EU)
2017/541 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 15
as one of the criminal offenses related to March 2017 on Combating Terrorism and Replacing Council
terrorism. This directive, along with Framework Decision 2002/475/JHA and Amending Council
other EU policies and strategies, aims to Decision 2005/671/JHA," Official Journal of the European Union, L
88/6 (31 March 2017), accessed 31 January 2024,
establish a comprehensive approach to http://tinyurl.com/5n7r62yp; European Parliament, "Council
prevent and combat terrorism, Framework Decision of 13 June 2002 on Combating Terrorism,"
including aspects of radicalization and Briefing, European Parliamentary Research Service, (2016): 1-8,
accessed 30 January 2024, http://tinyurl.com/m8ewtp3v; Herath,
recruitment. The Council of Europe Chamin and Joe Whittaker. “Online Radicalisation: Moving Beyond
Convention on the Prevention of a Simple Dichotomy.” Terrorism and Political Violence 35:5 (2023),
1027-1048, DOI: 10.1080/09546553.2021.1998008.
Terrorism further strengthens the EU's
stance by defining recruitment for Additional Literature: Miettinen, Samuli. Criminal Law and Policy
terrorism as a criminal offense, amongst in the European Union. London: Routledge, 2013; O'Neill, Maria.
The Evolving EU Counter-terrorism Legal Framework. London:
others, and sets out measures to be Routledge, 2012; Singh, Charanjit. “Prosecuting terrorism: secret
taken at the national level and through courts, evidence and special advocates. The panoply of
international cooperation. This challenges facing criminal justice, the United Kingdom
perspective.” Current Issues in Criminal Justice, 33:3 (2020), 382-
convention reflects the EU's 408. https://doi.org/10.1080/10345329.2020.1850166;

5
A SHORTLIST OF KEY GAMING ADJACENT PLATFORMS
Chan/kun sites: "Chan" sites refer to a type of internet forum that typically allows users to post
anonymously (4chan, 8chan, 7chan, tinychan, 8kun, etc.). These sites often have a unique culture
and set of norms, which can vary widely depending on the specific site. They are known for their
simple, image-based bulletin board where anyone can post comments and share images. Here are
a couple of general descriptions of "Chan" sites:
• General Structure: "Chan" sites are usually divided into a variety of boards, each dedicated
to a specific topic, interest, or theme. These boards can cover a wide range of subjects, from
hobbies and interests to more controversial topics.
• Anonymity and Culture: One of the key features of "Chan" sites is the option for users to post
anonymously. This anonymity can sometimes lead to a culture that is very different from
other social media and online communities, often characterized by a lack of accountability
and a free-for-all attitude in discussions.
• Image and Text Posts: Users can start a thread by posting an image along with a comment.
Other users then reply to these threads with their own comments and possibly images. This
format leads to a very visually driven type of discussion.
• Fast-Paced and Ephemeral: Threads on "Chan" sites can be fast-paced and are often
ephemeral. Popular or active threads stay on the first pages, while less active ones quickly
fall behind and may eventually be deleted.
• Influence on Internet Culture: These sites have had a significant impact on internet culture,
often being the birthplace of memes, viral images, and internet movements. However,
they've also been associated with controversial and sometimes extreme content.
Discord: A communication platform popular among gamers for voice, video, and text
communication, often used to coordinate multiplayer games.
Game Jolt: A platform hosting indie games, offering a space for developers to share and monetize
their games.
GameFAQs: A website that hosts FAQs and walkthroughs for video games. It's a go-to resource for
help with game strategy and completion.
GOG.com: A digital distribution platform with a focus on DRM-free games and classic games revived
for modern systems.
itch.io: An online marketplace for indie video games, it's a platform for developers to host and sell
their games.
Patreon: Often used by game developers and content creators to fund their projects with the
support of their audience.
Reddit: Numerous gaming communities exist on Reddit, discussing games, sharing news, and
providing a platform for Q&A.
Steam: A digital distribution platform for video games. It offers game hosting, a game store, and a
community hub for gamers.
Twitch: A live streaming platform where gamers stream their gameplay or esports events. It's a hub
for gaming communities.
YouTube Gaming: A section of YouTube dedicated to gaming videos, live streams, and gaming
communities.

6
(ONLINE) GAMING BASIC TERMINOLOGY
AFK: "Away From Keyboard." Used when a Hitbox: The area of a character that can be hit
player is not actively participating. by an attack.
AoE: "Area of Effect." Refers to abilities or Hotkey: A keyboard shortcut for a specific
attacks that affect multiple targets within a action in a game.
specified area. HP: "Health Points." The measure of a
Buff: An effect that enhances a player's character's life.
abilities or stats. Instancing: Creating a separate instance or
Camper: A player who stays in one spot, version of a game area for individual or group
typically hidden, waiting to ambush other play.
players. KDA: "Kills, Deaths, Assists." A metric used to
CC: "Crowd Control." Abilities that limit or gauge a player's performance in certain
prevent the actions of other players or game games.
characters. Kiting: The tactic of staying out of an enemy's
Clan/Guild: A group of players who regularly range while attacking.
play together and often have a structured Lag: Slowing down of game response due to
hierarchy. internet connectivity issues.
(Dirty) Console Peasant: Gamers who are Loot Box: A virtual item that can be redeemed
using gaming consoles to game. Cf.: PCMR to receive a random selection of further
Cooldown: A period of wait time after using a virtual items.
skill or item before it can be used again. Loot: Items or rewards gained from defeating
Crafting: The process of creating items or gear enemies or completing tasks.
within the game. Meta: Refers to the most effective tactics and
Crit: Short for "Critical Hit," which is a strike strategies currently used in the game.
that does more damage than a normal attack. MMO: "Massively Multiplayer Online." A genre
DLC: "Downloadable Content." Additional of games capable of supporting large
content for a game, available for download. numbers of players simultaneously.
DPS: "Damage Per Second." Refers to how MMORPG: "Massively Multiplayer Online
much damage a player or character can inflict. Role-Playing Game." A genre of games where
Easter Egg: Hidden features or messages in many players interact in a virtual world.
games, often for humor or rewards. Nerf: A change to a game that reduces the
ELO: A rating system originally used in chess, effectiveness of a particular item, ability, or
adopted by various online games to rank character.
player skill. Noob/Newbie: A new or inexperienced
F2P: "Free to Play." Games that are free to play player.
but might include optional purchases. NPC: "Non-Player Character." Characters in the
Farming: Repeatedly gathering resources or game not controlled by human players.
defeating enemies for loot. OP: "Overpowered." Refers to something in
FTW: "For The Win." Used to express the game that is too strong or unbalanced.
enthusiasm about a potential victory. OTK: "One Turn Kill." Defeating an opponent in
GG EZ: "Good Game, Easy." A boastful remark a single turn in a turn-based game.
indicating a game was easily won. P2W: "Pay to Win." A system where players can
GG: "Good Game." A term of sportsmanship buy advantages in a game with real money.
expressed at the end of a match. Patch: An update to a game that can include
GGWP: "Good Game, Well Played." A fixes, new content, or balance changes.
respectful acknowledgment of a game well PCMR: “PC master race.” Gamers who are using
played. personal computers to game. Cf.: Console
Griefer: A player who deliberately irritates and peasants.
harasses other players. Ping: The network latency between a player's
Grinding: Repeatedly performing tasks to computer and the game server.
advance in level or obtain items.

7
PvE: "Player versus Environment." Combat or
challenges against the game's AI.
PvM: "Player versus Monster." Similar to PvE
but specifically refers to fighting non-player
characters.
PvP: "Player versus Player." Competing against
other human players.
Quest: A task or set of tasks that a player is
given to complete in a game.
Rage Quit: Abruptly leaving a game out of
frustration.
Raid: A challenging team-based activity
against powerful in-game enemies.
Rekt: A slang term meaning thoroughly
defeated or destroyed.
Respawn: Reappearing in the game after
being defeated.
RNG: "Random Number Generator." Refers to
elements of chance in games.
RPG: "Role-Playing Game." A game in which
players assume the roles of characters in a
fictional setting.
Sim: A simulation game that imitates real-
world activities.
Skins: Cosmetic changes to a character's
appearance or equipment.
Smurf: An experienced player creating a new
account to play against less skilled players.
Spawn: The place where characters or items
first appear in the game.
Squads: Teams or groups of players working
together.
Tank: A character type designed to absorb
damage and protect other players.
Ult: Short for "Ultimate." A powerful ability or
move in a game.
VR: "Virtual Reality." A simulated experience
that can be similar to or completely different
from the real world.
XP Boost: An item or bonus that increases the
rate at which a player gains experience points.
XP: "Experience Points." Points earned for
completing tasks or defeating enemies,
contributing to a character's growth.