Trash-talking has been part of gaming for a very long time, and no other series has quite the reputation as Call of Duty. Fans of the franchise have been trash-talking and insulting each other ever since voice chat was added to the game. But for what is now mainly considered a part of the Call of Duty culture, there has been an evolution to the amount of toxic chatter happening throughout the franchise.
Call of Duty trash talk has a unique blend of toxic dialogue that is not found in other titles as often. While games like League of Legend and Overwatch will usually result in the slandering of one's skill, Call of Duty fans tend to take a more personalized approach that far exceeds the limits of gameplay. Still, as toxic voice chat continues to evolve, many players wonder if the culture has gone too far as voice chat returns in Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War for a whole new console generation.
It should be noted that several clips are included in this article. It is not recommended listening material for those who are faint of heart or may become offended by foul language or other offensive content. These clips are simply meant to demonstrate the evolution of toxic gameplay and how it has a slightly different tone in each Call of Duty title.
Call of Duty: Black Ops Toxicity
With Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War newly released, it seems the best place to start would be the original Call of Duty: Black Ops title. This is the era of online gameplay where the party system was still relatively new, and many players simply kept their mics open in the public lobby. As players progressed from round to round, they could continue conversations, build up relationships, or simply insult each other's skill and upbringing.
It is here that the core of toxic voice chat culture really began as players would get into heated arguments. Often though, the insults would be considered in good play as they would mock, insult, and haze each other without hesitation. For many players, this was simply part of the Call of Duty: Black Ops culture, and either dealt with the toxic behavior or mute them and continue the match without any more problems.
There were report systems, but many players considered them unreliable and muting was simply a cleaner option. What is interesting is that the behavior seen in the early days of toxic lobby chat resembles "locker room" talk or the kind of hazing seen in tight circles, yet there was a sense of community among the Call of Duty fans that despite the toxic dialogue they still work together on the battlefield.
Call of Duty Toxicity Today
Move forward to Call of Duty: Modern Warfare, and players can see a clear difference in how the toxic dialogue is received, delivered, and dealt with. Insults are more focused, and this tends to be a result of the gamer culture itself getting more acclimated to online play. Players tend to stick in their own parties making voice chats in public lobbies a rather rare occurrence, but it is still common enough that players occasionally will find toxic bubbles among the competitive experience.
What is interesting is the implementation of death mics which allows players a chance to hear their victim's last words. This is where most of the direct insults come, but they tend to be funneled in short bursts and instead received after a successful kill. The process of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare's matchmaking does allow for persisting parties, but public lobby mics are still fairly rare.
As far as the communities toxic chat habits go, many times the insults take the form of personal messages post-game. Small voice clips or text bursts insulting the player's ability to perform in-game and others arising due to internet "meme" culture. Still, in general, the insults seem to be lighter with many taking the form shown in the sample video.
Handling Call of Duty Toxic Lobbies
What has sparked more discussion about community toxic behavior is actually the recent encounter streamer xQc had with players in a Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War lobby. As per a standard response, he decided to try and break up a discussion happening in chat. What immediately followed was the targeting of him verbally, which even he was shocked as it outpaces anything he has seen before.
In the following rounds, they continue to harass him but in a very targeted manner. The goal is to hurt him or generally disrupt his gameplay, so they target his content and skill. While the overall toxic nature of this conversation is still relatively cleaner than found in Call of Duty: Black Ops, it is still offensive and could be seen as a larger problem.
Toxic gaming culture is often talked about as a point of concern. With cyberbullying, harassment, and other major problems, the question is often raised as to whether or not the toxic behavior is out of control. The one factor that many fans do not consider is that this is how it has been for years. For many members of the Call of Duty community, trash-talking and verbal hazing is part of the game as much as guns and game modes are.
Still, as Xbox and PlayStation push for a wider audience, there are many who think that toxic chat should be toned down. There is a level of the culture here that needs to be dialed back, at least to some extent, if the community wants to invite new faces. While Call of Duty may not be the most toxic game community out there, it is still not the kind of place that makes players feel safe within its lobby chat rooms.
Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War is available now for PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X.