Gaming Abbreviations and Acronyms for Beginners

You can play video games on handheld devices, home consoles, smartphones, computers, and pretty much anything that has a screen. The most popular gaming systems and platforms have common abbreviations that are used more than their full names.

• 360 - Xbox 360
• 3DS - Nintendo 3DS
• DS - Nintendo DS
• PC - Windows PC (Personal Computer)
• PSX or PSone - PlayStation (first generation)
• PS2 - PlayStation 2
• PS3 - PlayStation 3
• PS4 - PlayStation 4
• PSN - PlayStation Network; Gaming Community for PlayStation
• PSV - PlayStation Vita
• XB1 - Xbox One
• XBOX - Xbox One X
• XBL - Xbox Live; Gaming Community for Microsoft’s Xbox

Game genre abbreviations and acronyms help you understand what type of game you’re looking at playing.

• ARPG - Action Role Playing Game; You become a character in an action game.
• F2P - Free To Play; You can access basics of the game for free.
• FGC - Fighting Game Community; This is the online community of fighting game players.
• FPS - First Person Shooter; You are the character shooting and see from your view.
• HOG - Hidden Objects Game; You find items hidden in a picture in this puzzle game subgenre.
• MMO - Massively Multiplayer Online; Large number of players play together online in the same online world.
• MMOG - Massively Multiplayer Online Game
• MMORPG – Massively Multiplayer Online Role Playing Game
• MOBA – Multiplayer Online Battle Arena; You control a character on one of two teams in this RTS subgenre.
• RPG - Role Playing Game; You become a character to interact or collaborate with others.
• RTS - Real Time Strategy; You accomplish goals in real time.
• SIM - Simulation Games; You train in a simulated version of real life.
• TBS - Turn-Based Strategy; Players take turns choosing actions.
• TCG - Trading Card Game; You play a digital version of a card game.
• TD - Tower Defense; You build towers to stop an enemy from reaching a certain place and/or defend your towers from enemy attack.
• TMG - Time Management Game; You complete an increasing number of tasks in a set time limit.
• TPS - Third Person Shooter; You control the shooter character you see on the screen.

As gamers interact, they use game acronyms and abbreviations to share information about the games they love and hate.

Some of the most popular video game series are recognized more by their abbreviations than their official names.

• AC - Assassin's Creed
• AoE - Age of Empires
• CoD - Call of Duty
• D&D/DnD - Dungeons and Dragons
• DA - Dragon Age
• Dota2 - Warcraft III: Defense of the Ancients 2
• ESO - The Elder Scrolls Online
• FF - Final Fantasy
• GoW - Gears of War or God of War
• GTA - Grand Theft Auto
• LoL - League of Legends
• LOZ - Legend of Zelda
• MK - Mortal Kombat
• NFS - Need for Speed
• RE - Resident Evil
• SF - Street Fighter
• TES - The Elder Scrolls
• WoW - World of Warcraft

The Entertainment Software Rating Board (ESRB) rating on game packaging tells you the intended audience based on the game’s content.

• AO - Adults Only; Ages 18 and over
• E - Everyone; All ages
• E10+ - Everyone ages 10 and up
• EC - Early Childhood; Young children
• M - Mature; Ages 17 and older
• T - Teen; Ages 13 and older
• RP - Rating Pending; Rating not assigned yet

Every game has its own unique features, but many use similar formatting to present them.

• AOE - Area of Effect; The area where a weapon or spell is working
• DLC - Downloadable Content; Add-on content that you download in addition to the main game
• FOV - Field of View; What you can see
• HUD - Heads-Up Display; On-screen information that helps you play the game
• LAN - Local Area Network; Used to play multiplayer games online locally
• LOS - Line of Sight; Direct view of your target
• Mod - Modification; Update released after game came out that gives you more content
• QTE - Quick Time Event; Cutscene you can’t interact with

To be successful in any game, you’ll need to understand a few basic acronyms and abbreviations for things like your statistics in the game or specific actions you can take.

• 1-UP - Extra Life; You gain an extra life in the game.
• Aggro - Attracting an aggressive response from an NPC
• DOT - Damage Over Time; Your life force is drained over time.
• DPS - Damage Per Second; Average rate of inflicted damage over time
• HP - Hit Points; Indicator of your health
• LvL - Level; Stage
• MOB - Mobile Object/Monster or Object; Enemy trying to end your game\
• MP - Mana Points; The amount of magic you have available to use
• NPC - Non-Player Character; In-game character controlled by the computer or server
• PC - Player Character; In-game character controlled by a real person
• PvE - Player Versus Environment; You are pitted against the environment
• PvM - Player Versus Monster; You are pitted against a monster
• PvP - Player Versus Player; You are pitted against another player in the game
• XP - Experience Points; Total experience your character has gained

A great feature of most online games is that players can talk to each other in chat sections. Players use gamer lingo in the gamer chat to quickly type messages about cooperation, goods, and statistics.

• AFK - Away From Keyboard
• DC - Disconnect
• BG - Bad Game
• FF - Friendly Fire or Forfeit
• FTW - For the Win
• GG - Good Game
• IGN - In Game Name
• LFG - Looking For Group
• LFP - Looking For Party
• OMW - On My Way
• TL;DR - Too Long, Didn’t Read
• QQ - Crying
• WTB - Want To Buy
• WTS - Want To Sell

True gamers know gaming has a language all its own. You can feel like you belong in any gaming community by learning some of the shorthand used by other gamers. Ready to get into a different kind of game? Read up on fantasy football abbreviations before joining your office pool!