The competitive multiplayer game market spans nearly every genre, from shooters like Call of Duty to puzzle games like Tetris 99. Games like Fortnite and Mario Kart pride themselves on being accessible and fun for people of all ages and skill levels. They're easy to get into, and often simple to pick up and gain basic mastery. However, many games in this massive genre suffer from the opposite.
Some competitive multiplayer games are tough for newcomers to get into. This can be because of the complexity of the game, or the toxic gatekeeping of the established community. While many development studios are trying to make their games as widely accessible as possible, there are still some that are an absolute grind for new players to learn.
10 Rainbow Six: Siege
On its launch in 2015, Rainbow Six Siege had 20 unlockable operators for players to choose from, and a small pool of maps. Now, seven years later, the game sports 63 playable operators and 21 maps. Rainbow Six Siege was already difficult for new players thanks to its large maps, destructibility, and layered strategy that requires good team play and communication. Now, with 63 operators and a massive player base, new players are often completely overwhelmed.
Newcomers need to learn dozens of characters and abilities, and master the complex maps all while probably getting yelled at by angry Siege veterans over the mic. While learning and playing Rainbow Six Siege can feel very satisfying, it certainly will take dedication.
9 Insurgency: Sandstorm
Like many difficult-to-learn shooters in the multiplayer market, Insurgency: Sandstorm plays very differently from the typical shooter. While not a true combat sim like Arma, Insurgency throws players into unique game modes with weapons that down foes in one to two shots. Insurgency's incredibly fast time-to-kill (TTK) makes it intimidating for players who are used to arcade shooters like Call of Duty.
Running and gunning rarely works, and concentrated pushes through smoke and artillery are critical to winning. This makes communication a key factor, and many newcomers might not know what to say, how to say it, or even what to do in-game. Patience and team play are king, and even small mistakes can lead to a death.
8 Squad
Squad may be one of the most intimidating military combat sims on the market. Many of the maps are so massive that most players will never even see one another. On top of this, Squad has tons of control binds and little things to learn when just moving the character around. Stack all of this on top of a game where mics and communication are necessary for success, and newcomers have a pretty tough game on their hands.
Still, Squad has dedicated servers for new players, and can be a fun experience for newcomers trying their hands at military combat sims. Like many of the listed games, patience is key, and players will probably have to put up with a few toxic people on their path to learning the game.
7 Player Unknown's Battlegrounds (PUBG)
Widely considered to be one of the parents of the modern battle royale, Player Unknown's Battlegrounds has come a long way since its days of fame in early access. Though the player count isn't as high as it once was, PUBG has only improved on its mechanics since launch. It has stayed true to its identity and provides a challenging alternative to games like Fortnite or Call of Duty: Warzone, where players can usually rack up eliminations.
PUBG suffers from the fact that the players who loved it at launch have stuck with it. Normally, this isn't a negative at all, showing that a game can harbor a solid community — but for newcomers, this can be intimidating. Luckily, PUBG lobbies are filled with bots early on, allowing newcomers to get the feel of the game and the unique gunplay. Unfortunately, these bots are spliced with players that never put the game down, so sometimes, newcomers will be deleted by someone who's simply better.
6 Hunt: Showdown
Hunt: Showdown is one of the most unique first-person shooters on the market. It tasks players to go into a monster-filled 1870s bayou with nothing but break-action shotguns, lever-action rifles, and many other historical weapons. It plays unlike nearly any other competitive shooter, as it lacks fully automatic weapons and prioritizes patience and accuracy when firing.
Weapons sway more when aimed down sights, making even simple shots hard to pull off, and the map is filled with sound traps that reveal positions to other teams in a heartbeat. The overall flow and strategy of Hunt make it one of the hardest yet most satisfying games for newcomers to learn.
5 Counter-Strike: Global Offensive
Originally released in 2012, Counter-Strike: Global Offensive has built a massive Esports scene and has thousands of players online at any given time. For better or worse, it defined the childhoods of many modern gamers. Players cannot aim down sights, and the guns have set spray patterns rather than varying degrees of recoil. This creates a noticeable skill gap between newcomers and veterans, but what's worse is the community.
It's no secret that CS: GO has a massive fan base, and as a result, is pretty toxic for newcomers. New players are often picked on purely for being new, which makes any game unbearable to play. It's an unfortunate circumstance of the game's overwhelming success, but alas, it is something newcomers must be wary of.
4 Tekken 7
Tekken has been one of the most consistently popular fighting games in the genre. The 3D fighter features beautiful graphics and a huge roster of unique characters to choose from. Save for a few exceptions like Super Smash Bros, fighting games are often very hard for newcomers to come into. There is a ton of information to learn, and it can even be hard just choosing a character.
Tekken takes these pains and doubles them with tons of jargon that newcomers have probably never heard. Not only that, but each character has dozens of moves, with some even having over 100 moves on their lists! If learning this for one character isn't intimidating enough, newcomers will quickly find that it's important to understand match-ups and learn other characters' moves in order to play off their opponents. Like many of these games though, it's incredibly rewarding to learn Tekken and climb its ranks.
3 DotA 2
Like CS: GO, DotA 2 has built a massive player base and Esports scene over many consistent years of popularity. DotA 2 is one of the big MOBA-style games that dominate the market, alongside League of Legends. DotA 2 sports a staggering 123 playable characters, all with unique play styles and strategies. Like any MOBA, learning characters, items, and match times are important for success.
As a result, DotA 2 is overwhelming for newcomers. Playing the game is like learning a new language. Nothing really makes sense, and the terms and strategies don't really carry over from any other game (except other MOBAs). Like Counter-Strike, this game has a large pre-established player base that will probably be toxic to newcomers from the get-go.
2 The King of Fighters XV
The newest installment in SNK's long-running 2D fighter, The King of Fighters XV was met with a warm reception from fans of the series. Like many of the games before it though, KoF XV is very hard for newcomers. It doesn't have as big of a player base as Tekken or Super Smash Bros, and thus newcomers will probably be facing players much better than them more frequently.
This, doubled with the game's wildly difficult execution, makes the game one of the hardest for newcomers to approach in the fighting game scene. KoF XV has tons of pretzel inputs that are physically hard to pull off, and can lead to injured wrists if done too often or incorrectly. All in all, KoF XV is a fun yet brutal game for newcomers to learn.
1 Escape From Tarkov
Escape From Tarkov is punishing on all fronts. In most games, players need to lose to learn. Tarkov punishes players for losing though, as all equipment brought into the field is lost upon death. On the flipside, players can get massive rewards for beating another player by taking their loot home.
Managing the looting, complex gunplay, and punishing feelings of losing everything make Tarkov a true grind for newcomers. Its incredibly high TTK and lack of kill cams can make deaths feel impossible to learn from. Newcomers hoping to stick with the game will have to find a way to learn though, because Escape From Tarkov never holds the player's hand.