Online gamers are urging game companies to do more to support people being targetted by online hate and harassment, as new data shows 77% of adults have experienced severe harassment whilst in multiplayer games.
According to data presented by Casinos En Ligne, incidents of online hate and harassment within digital gaming platforms is escalating at an alarming rate, with adults reporting severe harrasment increasing from 65% (2019) to 77% (2023).
86% of Adult gamers experienced some form of harassment last year – An increase of over 10% since 2019
Almost nine in ten gamers is likely to experience harassment or hate whilst playing online games. Common forms of harassment experienced include offensive name calling, trolling, discrimination, stalking and even sexual harassment – all of which have increased since 2021.
| Characteristic | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 |
| Harassed at all | 74% | 81% | 83% | 86% |
| Severely harassed | 65% | 68% | 71% | 77% |
| Called offensive names | 67% | 70% | 71% | 76% |
| Targeted by trolling / griefing | 57% | 60% | 64% | 66% |
| Discriminated against | 50% | 53% | 58% | 63% |
| Personally embarrassed | 50% | 55% | 55% | 63% |
| Sustained harassment | 47% | 48% | 50% | 57% |
| Physically threatened | 44% | 51% | 52% | 55% |
| Stalked | 34% | 44% | 43% | 48% |
| Sexually harassed | 35% | 41% | 43% | 46% |
| Doxed | 29% | 13% | 22% | 17% |
| Swatted | – | 12% | 20% | 12% |
Source Hate is No Game 2022, ADL
Females and African American gamers reported the most incidents of hate and harassment
Female gamers reported a 44% incidate rate of harassment in 2022, followed closely by gamers identifying as African American (47%).
Jewish online multiplayer gamers saw the highest spike in level of harassment experienced in 2022 – increasing from 22% in 2019 to 34% in 2022.
Source Hate is No Game 2022, ADL
Online Game where players experience the most hate and harassment- Counter strike: Global Offensive & Valorant
In 2021, a survey found that the game where players most often experienced harassment was Valorant with 79% of players reporting an experience of harassment in that game.
In 2022, Counter Strive: Global Offensive took the number one spot, with 86% of players reporting harassment, followed closely by Volarant with an icreased incident rate of 84%.
Source Hate is No Game 2022, ADL
Who is responsible for addressing Hate & Harassment in online games?
A recent survey of adult gamers revealed that 90% believe it is the responsibility of the online game companies to support people being targeted by online hate and harassment.
A Spokesperson from Casinos En Ligne commented; “It’s clear there is a serious issue with hate and harassment in the online gaming sphere. The alarming rate at which levels are rising sould be a warning to both game companies and communities.
Understandably, gamers are calling for game companies and platform owners to be held accountable for the hate and harassment that takes place in their space and a clear case has been made for game developers to review how they design their platforms inorder to restrict the sharing of hateful and harmful messaging.
Gamers themselves can still play a role in reducing hate and harassment in online multiplayer games, whether it’s through reporting incidents of hate, avoiding certain players or calling on companies to remove players proliferating hatred online.
Sources
- Statista, Harassment faced while playing video games in the U.S. 2019-2022,
- Hate is No Game 2022, ADL
