News and tests about board games, games and entertainmentNews and tests about board games, games and entertainmentNews and tests about board games, games and entertainment
  • Home
  • board Games
    • News
    • Board game reviews
    • Crowdfunding
    • top list
    • Inside
    • Buy games
      • Top 50: board games
      • Offers
      • Popular board games
      • Games Dealer
      • Games: tests and reviews
  • video Games
    • News
    • games scene
    • Gaming tests
    • Game tips
    • Gaming accessories
    • Hardware tests
  • top issuesTrends
    • Grand Theft AutoTop
    • Star Wars
    • Disney Lorcan
    • Lord of the Rings
    • World of Warcraft
    • Marvel
    • Cyberpunk 2077
    • WWE
    • Nintendo SwitchTop
    • Blizzard
    • Playstation
  • films and series
    • News
    • Movie review
  • Books
    • News
    • Book review
  • Amusement
  • EventsTrade Shows
    • News
    • GAME in Essen
    • Play!
    • Toy fair in Nuremberg
    • Gamescom in Cologne
    • CCXP Cologne
  • warcraft rumble
  • Disney Lorcan
  • Star Wars
  • Star Wars Unlimited
  • Asmodee
  • Ravensburger
  • Kosmos
  • Pegasus Spiele
  • Contact
  • The game editors
  • Media-Kit.
  • Imprint
  • Privacy Policy
  • Contest Rules
  • We're looking for you
Sign In
Notification Show More
Font resizerAa
Font resizerAa
News and tests about board games, games and entertainmentNews and tests about board games, games and entertainment
  • Home
  • board Games
  • video Games
  • top issuesTrends
  • films and series
  • Books
  • Amusement
  • EventsTrade Shows
  • Home
  • board Games
    • News
    • Board game reviews
    • Crowdfunding
    • top list
    • Inside
    • Buy games
  • video Games
    • News
    • games scene
    • Gaming tests
    • Game tips
    • Gaming accessories
    • Hardware tests
  • top issuesTrends
    • Grand Theft AutoTop
    • Star Wars
    • Disney Lorcan
    • Lord of the Rings
    • World of Warcraft
    • Marvel
    • Cyberpunk 2077
    • WWE
    • Nintendo SwitchTop
    • Blizzard
    • Playstation
  • films and series
    • News
    • Movie review
  • Books
    • News
    • Book review
  • Amusement
  • EventsTrade Shows
    • News
    • GAME in Essen
    • Play!
    • Toy fair in Nuremberg
    • Gamescom in Cologne
    • CCXP Cologne
Have an existing account? Sign In
follow US
© 2023 - Spielpunkt - Games and Entertainment
News and tests about board games, games and entertainment > News > Toxic games scene: Study gives food for thought
NewsScene

Toxic games scene: Study gives food for thought

A quarter of all gaming fans have experienced verbal violence in a gaming context

Andre Volkman
Last updated: September 19, 2023 19:23 p.m
Andre Volkman
7 MinRead
Share
7 MinRead
Respectful cooperation in gaming is increasingly becoming a pipe dream: toxic behavior is now ruining the fun of gaming for many people.
Respectful cooperation in gaming is increasingly becoming a pipe dream: toxic behavior is now ruining the fun of gaming for many people.
SHARE

The games scene has a problem: toxic behavior. Insults, threats, racism and sexism are apparently not rare occurrences when playing online games, but rather common. Anyone who looks around on social media can quickly get a picture of this: fans are at each other's throats, often for no reason, but always for the wrong reasons. And sometimes they are also cheered on by entire influencer communities, who then act against individual players with hatred and incitement in an almost coordinated act. A study by the mobile phone provider Congstar now shows how widespread toxic behavior is in the games scene. 

The Cologne mobile phone provider congstar has been involved in the gaming sector since 2019 and attaches great importance to respectful cooperation within the community. In order to find out more about the background of toxic behavior in online gaming and to raise awareness in this area, congstar commissioned a representative study that revealed new and current findings on the topic of verbal violence in online gaming .

From the end of April to mid-May 2023, the opinion research institute Civey surveyed a total of 2.000 gamers online who were at least 18 years old at the time of the study. The study participants were asked about the general development of toxic behavior in online gaming, possible countermeasures and their personal experiences surrounding the topic.

Increase in toxic behavior in online gaming

32 percent of gamers believe that toxic behavior in online gaming has increased, while six percent of those surveyed say they have recently experienced fewer toxic outages in their gaming environment. This means that more than five times more gamers are convinced that toxic behavior is increasing within the gaming community than the other way around.

- Advertisement -

At the same time, the data shows that there is a slight gap in perception between the genders: While 36 percent of female gamers notice more toxic behavior in online gaming than in recent years, the figure for male gamers is around 28 percent.

Most gaming fans (42 percent) would like a permanent ban for multiple offenses, closely followed by a reliable reporting function for affected users (35 percent). At least 27 percent are in favor of a temporary ban, which also takes effect when a person is noticed for the first time with toxic behavior.

The option of introducing moderators to monitor insults is very popular among 30 to 39 year olds (49 percent), which is not reciprocated to the same extent by the 18 to 29 year old generation (38 percent). Basically, it is noticeable that female gamers attach more importance to criminal consequences than male gamers. Almost twice as many women (29 percent) as men (15 percent) are in favor of immediately forwarding the matter to the responsible police authorities. A possible real name requirement is an option for 25 percent of female and around 17 percent of male study participants.

Toxic attack: 16 percent have already quit the game

One in six gaming fans (16 percent) have abandoned a game after falling victim to toxic behavior. In this context, the difference between women (16 percent) and men (15 percent) is only marginal. What is striking, however, is that younger gamers (40 percent) in particular are increasingly inclined to abandon a game due to toxic behavior patterns of their fellow players. While 37 percent of the women surveyed said they would abandon games, the figure for men was just under 28 percent.

The question was also asked about the types of hate speech that people have already experienced or observed in online gaming. Here too, it is primarily younger gamers who are affected by toxic behavior. Around two thirds of the 18 to 29-year-old respondents said they had already been confronted with toxic behavior while gaming online. 41 percent have experienced serious threats of violence and 39 percent have experienced racist comments. 37 percent of 18 to 29 year olds have already been the victim of serious, general insults.

- Advertisement -
Congstar commissioned a study of toxic behavior in online gaming. Image: Congstar
Congstar commissioned a study of toxic behavior in online gaming. Image: Congstar

Respondents most often witness toxic behavior in online shooters (13 percent), followed by strategy games (10 percent) and online role-playing games (9 percent). How drastic the situation is for the 18 to 29 year old generation can also be seen here: these are the numbers for online shooters (42 percent), action games (29 percent) and sandbox and survival games (26 percent). consistently at a significantly higher level in this age range.

It turns out that toxic behavior in online gaming is a relevant problem that is increasingly affecting younger gamers in particular. There is still disagreement within the community about how to deal with verbal violence in online gaming - but it is clear that the development will have to be countered with determination. “Gaming has a high social value as a cultural asset. As in general social interactions, respect, appreciation and tolerance should always be the top priority among gamers,” says Timo Wakulat, Senior Manager PR & Press Spokesman at congstar. “With the study, we want to proactively draw attention to the fact that this is actually not always the case and help gamers reflect on their own behavior and the behavior of their fellow players.”

Mobile phone provider congstar supports the Gaming without Borders initiative as a cooperation partner, actively organizes its own gaming events and streams and maintains a long-term partnership with FC St. Pauli and the FC St. Pauli eFootball Team. Congstar is currently campaigning against toxic behavior in gaming with the social media and influencer campaign “Don’t be an NPC”. Information is available here: congstar-gaming.de.

 

Preview Product Rating Price
Xbox Series S 1TB Black + Starfield Standard Edition Windows... Xbox Series S 1TB Black + Starfield Standard Edition Windows...* Currently no reviews

* = Affiliate link/advertisementAs an Amazon Associate, we earn money from qualifying purchases. If you make a purchase through one of the links, we receive a portion of the purchase price as commission. This doesn't cost you anything extra, but it helps support our website. Last updated on September 17.05.2025, XNUMX / Affiliate links / Images from the Amazon Product Advertising API. Images from Amazon PA API.

A Webbing Journey: Spider adventures at the start
GTA 6: Trailer 2 is here, but there is a flaw
Release of GTA 6: Very bad news…
Solo review of An Age Contrived: Magnetic attraction or repulsive work? The bot put to the test
Board game review of Andromeda's Edge: A galactic strategy gem
How do you like the article?
Love3
Happy 0
Sad0
Angry0
Cry0
Surprise0
Andre_new
ByAndre Volkman
Follow:
André Volkmann is a journalist who specializes in local news, games and entertainment.
Previous Article Venice is colorful, detailed and bustling. Image: Memo Gogo Bustling in Venice: MicroMacro experience as a video game
Next Article Starfield is largely well received by fans - the number of players proves this. Image: Bethesda Starfield: Player numbers reach new milestone
Ein Kommentar Ein Kommentar
  • Pingback: Hate in Pop Culture - Toxic Fandoms - Bluebuddy

Leave a Comment Cancel reply

Your e-mail address will not be published. Required fields are marked with * marked

Stay Connected

FacebookLike
XFollow
InstagramFollow
YoutubeSubscribe

Latest News

Marvel Crisis Protocol and Star Wars Shatterpoint will lose relevance—at least in the German market. Photo: Volkmann
German localizations of Star Wars Shatterpoint and Marvel Crisis Protocol are canceled
Board and card games News Top
Funtails HUCH Hutter Trade Obscurians Social Deduction Deduction Game
Board game review of Obscurians: The latest hit from the deduction experts at Funtails
featured image hosygon
Crowdfunding preview: Hexes of Sygon by Alec Cacheris
Board and card games Crowdfunding Editor's Choice News
Gamescom 2024 attracted well over 300.000 fans to Cologne. Photo: Volkmann
Gamescom 2025: Tickets are available!
Gamescom in Cologne News video Games
The battery life of the Nintendo Switch 2 is shorter than that of the redesigned original model. Image: Nintendo
Nintendo Switch 2: Back to the beginning
News Top video Games

Board Games: Top 5

On Halloween, the horror can find its way onto the board game table. Cover: Noris
Halloween: Five board game insider tips
Board and card games News top list
The best board games about dreams.
In your head: 5 good board games about dreams
Board and card games News top list
best board games time travel
Flux capacitor on: 5 good time travel board games
Board and card games News top list
best horror board games
Halloween Horror: 13 good board games to scare you
Board and card games News top list

Already read?

Games for Nintendo Switch could be quite expensive. Image: Nintendo
NewsTopvideo Games

Nintendo Switch 2: High prices are met with criticism

Andre Volkman
Andre Volkman
3 April 2025
The Nintendo Switch 2 is available for pre-order. Photo: Nintendo
NewsTopvideo Games

Nintendo Switch 2 pre-order now available: It's available in stores!

Andre Volkman
Andre Volkman
3 April 2025
Star Wars Outlaws-style games will run on the Nintendo Switch 2. Image: Ubisoft
NewsTopvideo Games

Nintendo Switch 2 with plenty of power: Top games run

Andre Volkman
Andre Volkman
2 April 2025
The Nintendo Switch 2 is already available in the Amazon store. Image: Nintendo
NewsTopvideo Games

Pre-order Nintendo Switch 2: Console already available at Amazon

Andre Volkman
Andre Volkman
2 April 2025
Europa-Park offers year-round fun for seniors. Image: Europa-Park
amusement parkNews

Excursion destination for seniors: Fun at Europa-Park?

Marie Volkman
Marie Volkman
1 April 2025
Show More
follow US
Spielpunkt 2025. Content protected by copyright.
  • Contact
  • The game editors
  • Media-Kit.
  • Imprint
  • Privacy Policy
  • Contest Rules
  • We're looking for you
Welcome back!

Login

Username or Email Address
Password

Lost your password?