Twenty years ago, video games were considered a niche pastime, confined to obscure online forums and gaming meet-ups. The notion that governments would one day use footage from Call of Duty or terms like “killstreaks” in war propaganda seemed far-fetched. But the 2010s changed everything: nerd culture went mainstream, online spaces merged with reality, and gaming became a global phenomenon.
Today, gaming references permeate common language. At the end of 2024, terms like “cheat code” and “cutscene” were added to the Oxford English Dictionary. They also appear in politics. Earlier this year, the official White House X account posted footage of military strikes on Iran interspersed with clips from Grand Theft Auto. Six days later, another video featured clips from Nintendo’s Wii Sports. Gaming terms are not limited to the political right: in February 2026, Democrat Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez quipped, “Why does this guy always talk like a World of Warcraft npc [non-player character]?” in response to a post by Stephen Miller.
To navigate this evolving lexicon of gaming-inspired “slopaganda”, here is an A-Z guide to terms already widespread or on the verge of breaking through.
A – Any%
Any% is a method of beating a game by any means possible, including glitches or code exploits to skip boss battles, cutscenes, or entire levels. Players who “break” the game gain a speed advantage. For a real-world parallel, see Elon Musk’s approach to the Department of Government Efficiency (Doge).
B – Boosting
Boosting involves paying someone else to level up your character, especially in online games. It is generally considered cheating. Elon Musk has admitted to boosting for his characters in Path of Exile 2 and Diablo 4.
Buff: An enhancement that increases a character’s power or effectiveness. Comparable to having two pints at a bar to boost confidence before approaching someone you fancy.
Bullet sponge: An enemy that absorbs excessive damage before being defeated. Also derogatory military slang for a person who attracts enemy fire.
Button mashing: Repeatedly pressing random buttons on a controller, often out of panic by inexperienced players trying to win difficult fights.
C – Camping
Camping is a tactic in shooting games where players stay in one spot for strategic advantage, often to snipe others from afar. It can lead to accusations of trolling or griefing.
Cheesing: Using tactics that are not technically cheating but avoid the intended challenge. Examples include exploiting glitches or spamming moves. In Crash Bandicoot: Warped (1998), players could avoid damage in a boss fight by standing in a safe spot; the 2017 remake punished this by pelting players with cheese blocks.
Class: A character’s role, such as warrior or bandit, chosen early in the game. Classes fall into offence, defence, or support categories, each with unique strengths and weaknesses.
D – DLC
Downloadable content (DLC) is extra game content purchased separately, including new levels, outfits, or weapons.
DPS: Damage per second, a metric for how much damage an attack inflicts in one second.
E – Easter eggs
One of the oldest gaming terms, an Easter egg is a hidden message or feature. The term originated from Steve Wright at Atari in 1980, who compared a hidden room in Adventure to an Easter egg hunt. The room contained the signature of coder Warren Robinett, who was “pissed” he hadn’t received credit.
Emotes: Short gestures players use to show emotions, like waving or crying. Popular in Fortnite and World of Warcraft, often used to mock other players.
F – Farming
Farming is repeatedly performing an action to gather resources, similar to going to work daily for money, but for fun.
G – Gank
Ganking is ambushing weaker players, usually in a group, akin to “jumping” someone in real life.
GG: Short for “good game”, used to show sportsmanship. Variations include GG WP (“good game, well played”) and GG ez (“good game, easy”).
Glitch: A bug causing unintended consequences. The infamous “Corrupted Blood incident” in World of Warcraft saw a blood curse spread rapidly, forcing a reset. Scientists later used it to study disease spread.
God mode: Being invincible in a game, sometimes via hacks. During Doge’s US government overhaul, a USAID leader told The Atlantic: “Doge has achieved God mode.”
Griefing: Deliberately annoying other players by killing them without reason, stealing items, or refusing team activities.
Grinding: Repeated tasks to gather resources or level up, similar to farming.
H – HP
Hit points (HP) measure a character’s health or damage. Used in meme culture for real-life embarrassment, e.g., “minus 10 HP” after someone falls over.
I – In Minecraft
A phrase adopted by far-right sites like 4chan, added to threats to avoid legal repercussions. In 2023, a man was arrested for death threats against a Florida sheriff despite ending them with “in Minecraft”.
K – KDR
Kill/death ratio (KDR) compares kills to deaths, indicating player skill in multiplayer games.
Killstreak: A series of kills without dying. The White House used a killstreak animation from Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 in a video about the war in Iran.
Kiting: Hitting an enemy from range while keeping distance, leading them like a kite on a string.
L – Loot
Items collected as rewards. Loot boxes, popular in Genshin Impact and League of Legends, let players exchange real money for randomised virtual items, also called gacha games.
M – M-maxxing
Prioritising one skill over others, from “min-maxing” (maximising desirable traits, minimising undesirable ones). Now used in terms like looksmaxxing and Chinamaxxing.
MMORPG: Massively multiplayer online role-playing game. EVE Online hosted a 2014 battle with 7,548 participants.
Modding: Fan-created modifications that change a game’s appearance or features. A favourite Skyrim mod turns dragons into Thomas the Tank Engine characters.
N – Nerf
To weaken a weapon, character, or ability. Originates from Nerf toy guns that fire harmless foam weapons.
Noob: Short for “newbie”, derogatory for a clueless beginner.
NPC: Non-player character. Increasingly used as slang for predictable people, tied to the simulation hypothesis.
O – OP
Overpowered refers to a character or ability that makes winning easy, the opposite of nerfed.
P – Pwned
A misspelling of “owned”, meaning humiliating defeat. Emerged in early 2000s leetspeak. The website “Have I Been Pwned” checks for security breaches.
R – Ragequit
Suddenly quitting a game out of anger. In 2017, Vanity Fair accused Steve Bannon of threatening to ragequit the White House.
RPG: Role-playing game with heavy storytelling, where players assume character roles and make decisions.
S – Side quest
Optional missions outside the main story. Used in slang for whimsical daily activities like taking a sewing class.
Skins: Custom designs for characters, such as Fortnite’s banana costume “Peely”.
Smurfing: Skilled players creating new accounts to play against lower-ranked opponents. Originated from Warcraft 2 players using usernames PapaSmurf and Smurfette.
Speedrunning: Completing a game as fast as possible, often using glitches. The term appears in “Scientology speedruns”, a 2026 trend where participants film themselves running into Scientology buildings. One video had 90 million views.
T – Tanks
A class designed to withstand heavy damage, also called meat shields or bullet sponges.
Trolls: Players who annoy others for fun, including by posting slurs in chat.
Turtling: Building heavy defences to force opponents into risky moves.
X – XP
Experience points measure a player’s skills and progress. Used in real life, e.g., streamer Sykkuno said, “My XP bar is low” regarding dating inexperience.
