Win.gg
Dota 2
Study says Dota 2 has most foul-mouthed community in online gaming Study says Dota 2 has most foul-mouthed community in online gaming
Most gaming communities are toxic in one way or another, but which is the most toxic? To the surprise of some outside of it, but none within it, Dota 2 is statistically the worst community in gaming according to one study. Or at least, it’s the most foul-mouthed.
Online Gambling researched the matter by scanning the largest Reddit communities for a number of prominent video games and finding the rate at which users throw out curse words. The list of games studied includes a variety of online titles including competitive titles such as Starcraft and Call of Duty, as well as cooperative games such as Minecraft.
The study specifically looked at interactions on Reddit, not the actual in-game chat. It combed posts for most standard curse words. Because of the platform’s moderation policies, it doesn’t include any racial or homophobic epithets.
Dota 2 saw the most frequent cursing, with “shit” being the most commonly used curse word. Counter-Strike: Global Offensive wasn’t too far behind, and those two games stood apart from the rest. Other competitive multiplayer games such as CoD and Overwatch also had high incidences of foul language.
Surprisingly, the most verbally kind of the games studied is Diablo. Across 102 posts, there were just 25 curse words among fans of Blizzard’s dungeon crawler. This is very low compared to other games, with FIFA clocking in at 133 and Call of Duty hitting 82.
Anyone that has played Dota 2 for more than one game has likely encountered some manner of toxicity at some point. It’s a pervasive problem in the game that Valve has made no real headway in addressing.
There are multiple reasons for this, on top of the typical issues that every online game faces.
Dota 2 has minimal restrictions in terms of geographical matchmaking. Outside of China, players are free to queue for games anywhere. This makes for players frequently being matched with people that don’t speak their language, which leads to difficulties communicating in-game.
Exacerbating this is a complete lack of moderation on the part of Valve. Dota 2 has an automated punishment system, where players can report one another and too many reports in a short time will lead to a communications ban or relegation to a low priority queue with other punished players. Though frequent issues might lead to a permanent ban for an account, players can still regularly expect hostility in their games for one reason or another.
Steven Rondina
About Steven Rondina
Steven Rondina is a true lifelong gamer. His earliest memories are of playing video games, and he has continued playing them throughout his life with no plans to stop any time soon. Steven’s favorite franchises in gaming include Pokemon, Dark Souls, and Counter-Strike. He has previously published with Bleacher Report and other gaming outlets.
View full profile
Read Also
Dota 2
Team Yandex to win it all? PGL Wallachia Season 9 Finals preview and predictions
Michael Hassall
The first big event after TI15, PGL Wallachia Season 9, wraps up this Sunday, Sep. 27, and it’s set to be a hell of a show. After a solid week of action, with some surprise eliminations along the way, we’re down to just three teams from the original 16. Team Yandex, LGD Gaming, and Natus Vincere (NAVI) remain, having battled through some big upsets to get there. Yandex are hot ...
Dota 2
MidOne to Play for Team Liquid at BLAST Slam 8, Replacing Nisha: Permanent or Stand-in?
Owen Harsono
Like most other Dota 2 teams, Team Liquid have also undergone roster changes after The International 2026, replacing Ace for Wisper. However, a swap in offlaners wasn’t the end, as veteran mid-laner MidOne has been registered under the team ahead of BLAST Slam 8, taking Nisha’s spot. Is MidOne only acting as a stand-in, or is this going to be a permanent move? Here’s what we know. On September 25, ...
Dota 2
PGL Wallachia Season 9 Playoffs preview and predictions
Michael Hassall
PGL Wallachia Season 9 is the first major tournament since the 2025/2026 Dota 2 season came to its conclusion at TI15, and with the roster shuffle still, well, shuffling, and top teams skipping the event while they get things finalized, it’s been an unusual tournament so far. With some surprising names in the playoffs (especially if you’ve been following the scene for the rest of the year) and the absence ...
Dota 2
ESIC hand down ruling in EWC Dota match-fixing case: Lifetime ban for coach as DarkMago gets a nickel
Michael Hassall
South American Dota 2 player Gonzalo "DarkMago" Herrera will be banned for five years from competitive Dota 2, with his coach Juan "Vintage" Angulo banned permanently, following the results of an The Esports Integrity Commission (ESIC) investigation. ESIC handed down the findings and rulings from its investigation into match-fixing allegations leveled at members of South American Dota 2 team PlayTime during the Esports World Cup on Sep. 10, in a ...
News
Polystrike Turns a Dota 2 Mod Into a Standalone Tactical Shooter
Hannan Mundia
After the community-made mod found success within the community, developer and publisher Robin Entertainment has decided to turn Polystrike into a proper standalone game. Community-made mods of games finding success within the respective game’s community is nothing new. However, only a handful of those mods are able to go on and become a standalone game. One of the more recent examples is The Forgotten City, which started as a mod ...
Dota 2
Team Spirit wins TI15 to lift a record third Aegis of Champions
Michael Hassall
Team Spirit has defeated TEAM VISION in the grand finals of TI15, The International 2025. In a full five-game series on Aug. 23, Spirit pulled out all the stops and narrowly defeated an incredible VISION team in a back-and-forth series in Shanghai, China. With Spirit’s victory, Illya "Yatoro" Mulyarchuk and Magomed "Collapse" Khalilov become the first ever three-time TI champions, and Team Spirit becomes the first ever organization to lift ...
Dota 2
The International 2026 (TI15) Finals Preview and Predictions
Michael Hassall
The International 2026, TI15, has reached its final day, and just three teams remain in the fight for the Aegis of Champions. With the lower bracket final and Grand Final still to come, everything comes down to one final day of Dota 2 action. The lower bracket finalists will first battle for the right to reach the main event’s final series, while the winner will advance to face the upper-bracket ...
