Everyone in the game industry readily acknowledges there is toxic behavior in voice chat and it has been hard to do anything about it. However, there is little to know data breaking down the scale, scope, and nature of the problem. Speechly worked with Voicebot Research to survey over 1k online gamers to learn more about their experience and sentiment about voice chat in general and toxic behavior in particular.

Download the free 60-page report with more than 40 charts and to see the most comprehensive analysis of the voice chat toxicity problem in games published to date.

1-in-2 Face Toxic Behavior

Nearly 50% of all online gamers have experienced a toxic incident when using Voice Chat.

Voice Chat is Most Toxic

Online gamers rated voice chat as the most problematic engagement channel, coming in ahead of in-game play and text chat.

Gamers Like Voice Chat

Despite the toxicity, nearly half of gamers believe voice chat improves the game experience. While voice chat is often a key feature for in-game coordination, the most popular use is for connecting with and making friends.

Charts and Diagrams included in the report

• Gamer Voice Chat Use 2023
• Toxic Behavior by Game Engagement Channel
• Gamer Experience with Toxic Behavior in Voice Chat
• Impact of Toxic Behavior Incident
• What Gamers Want for Voice Chat Moderation
• Voice Chat Moderation Maturity Model
• Gamer Sentiment About Voice Chat
• Percent of Games Players Say they Use That Include Voice Chat
• Gamer Text Chat Use
• Gamer Voice Chat Use
• Discord Users of Voice Chat Outside of Game Platforms While Playing
• Gamer Use of Voice Chat on Another Platform While Playing
• Discord Users Frequency of Voice Chat Use While Gaming
• Who Gamers Connect with Via Voice Chat
• How Gamers Use Voice Chat
• Encountered Toxicity by Platform
• Frequency of Toxicity Encounters by Platform
• U.S. Adult Gamers that Experience a Voice and Text Chat Toxic Incidents
• Voice and Text Chat Users That Face Toxic Incidents While Gaming
• Frequency of Voice Chat Toxicity
• Estimated Number of Toxic Behavior Incidents Per Victim in Voice and Text Chat
• Significant Toxic Behavior Problems by Game Engagement Channel
• Voice Chat Toxic Behavior Incidents by Offense Category
• Player Behavior Immediately After a Toxic Incident
• Player Usage After a Toxic Incident
• Top 5 Incident Categories Most Likely to Lead to Reduced Play or User Churn
• How Toxic Incidents Effect Player Perceptions of Games
• Incident Categories That Generate The Most Negative Perception of Games
• Actions Taken by Victims of Toxic Behavior
• Post Incident Action Taken by Game Moderators
• Incident Categories Most Likely to Result in a Permanent Ban
• Incident Categories Most Likely to Result in a Temporary Ban
• Incident Categories Most Likely to Result in a Warning
• Victim Perception of Moderation Outcome
• Incident Categories Where Victims Are Most Likely to Rate Moderation Negatively
• Incident Categories Where Victims Are Most Likely to Rate Moderation Positively
• How User Moderation Expectations Compare to Outcomes
• Interest in Real-Time Voice Chat Monitoring by Gamer Frequency of Play
• Frequency of Reported False Accusations of Toxic Behavior in Voice Chat
• Voice Chat Users Reporting False Accusations of Toxic Behavior
• Gamer Text Chat Experience
• Gamer Experience With Toxic Behavior in Text Chat
• Online Gamer Experience With Text Chat Toxicity
• Voice and Text Chat Toxic Behavior Online Gamers Experience