If you have ever watched a gaming video, visited a game store, or looked at a game’s description, you’ve probably encountered terms like FPS, RPG, MMO, MOBA, Soulslike, Battle Royale, and Open World.

For experienced players, these words are easy to understand.

For newcomers, however, gaming terminology can feel like an entirely different language.

So what do all these terms actually mean?

Here’s a complete guide to some of the most common gaming genres, abbreviations, and expressions you’ll encounter.

What Does FPS Mean?

FPS usually means First-Person Shooter.

These are games where the player sees the world from the perspective of the character, usually through a first-person camera.

The main gameplay often revolves around shooting, weapons, movement, and combat.

Popular examples include Call of Duty, DOOM, Counter-Strike, and Halo.

However, FPS can also mean Frames Per Second.

In that context, FPS refers to how many individual frames a game displays every second.

For example, a game running at 60 FPS displays 60 frames per second.

So the meaning depends on the context.

What Does RPG Mean?

RPG stands for Role-Playing Game.

The basic idea is that players control a character or group of characters and develop them throughout the game.

RPGs commonly include:

• Character progression
• Experience points
• Levels
• Equipment
• Skills
• Quests
• Dialogue choices
• Storylines

Examples include The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, Final Fantasy, Baldur’s Gate 3, and The Witcher 3.

Not every RPG works the same way, but character progression is one of the genre’s most recognizable features.

What Does MMO Mean?

MMO stands for Massively Multiplayer Online.

An MMO is designed to support large numbers of players interacting within the same persistent online world.

Players may explore the world, complete missions, fight enemies, trade items, join groups, or compete against other players.

World of Warcraft is one of the most famous examples.

MMO is more about the structure of the online experience than a specific type of gameplay.

That’s why you can have MMOs with RPG mechanics, strategy mechanics, shooting, or other systems.

What Does MMORPG Mean?

MMORPG stands for Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Game.

As the name suggests, it combines MMO features with RPG systems.

Players typically create a character, gain experience, obtain equipment, complete quests, and interact with a large online community.

Examples include World of Warcraft, Final Fantasy XIV, and The Elder Scrolls Online.

What Does MOBA Mean?

MOBA stands for Multiplayer Online Battle Arena.

MOBA games usually place two teams against each other on a structured battlefield.

Players control individual characters with unique abilities.

The objective generally involves destroying the opposing team’s main structure while defending your own.

League of Legends and Dota 2 are two of the most famous examples.

MOBA matches often require teamwork, strategy, map awareness, and communication.

What Is a Battle Royale?

A Battle Royale is a multiplayer game mode or genre in which players compete until only one player or team remains.

Players usually begin with limited equipment and must collect weapons, resources, or other items while the playable area gradually becomes smaller.

This creates increasingly intense encounters.

Fortnite, PUBG: Battlegrounds, and Apex Legends helped popularize the format.

Battle Royale games can be played solo, in pairs, or in teams depending on the game.

What Is a Soulslike?

A Soulslike is a type of action RPG inspired heavily by games such as Demon’s Souls and the Dark Souls series.

These games are often known for:

• Challenging combat
• Difficult enemies
• Boss battles
• Exploration
• Limited resources
• Checkpoint systems
• Learning enemy patterns
• Losing and recovering resources after death

Games such as Elden Ring, Lies of P, and Nioh are commonly associated with the Soulslike style.

The term doesn’t necessarily mean that a game must copy Dark Souls.

It generally refers to games that share important design philosophies with the genre’s origins.

What Is an Open-World Game?

An Open World game gives players a relatively large environment that they can explore with fewer restrictions on where they go.

Instead of moving through a strictly linear sequence of levels, players can often choose their own route.

Open-world games may contain:

• Side missions
• Hidden locations
• Collectibles
• Random encounters
• Activities
• Fast travel
• Optional objectives

Grand Theft Auto V, Red Dead Redemption 2, The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, and Elden Ring are examples of games with large explorable worlds.

What Is a Sandbox Game?

A Sandbox game gives players a high degree of freedom to experiment with the game’s systems.

Rather than focusing entirely on a predetermined path, sandbox games often allow players to create their own experiences.

Minecraft is one of the clearest examples.

Players can build structures, explore environments, gather resources, create machines, or simply experiment with the world.

Some open-world games are also sandbox games, but the terms don’t mean exactly the same thing.

What Is a Survival Game?

Survival games focus on keeping the player’s character alive while managing limited resources.

Players may need to collect materials, find food, build shelter, craft equipment, and defend themselves against environmental threats or enemies.

Examples include Minecraft, Rust, Subnautica, and The Forest.

Survival games can also include horror, exploration, crafting, and multiplayer mechanics.

What Is a Horror Game?

A horror game is designed primarily to create fear, tension, anxiety, or discomfort.

Horror games can use different approaches.

Some rely on monsters and combat.

Others focus on psychological horror, atmosphere, mystery, or survival.

Games such as Resident Evil, Silent Hill, and Amnesia demonstrate how different horror games can feel despite belonging to the same broad genre.

What Is a Strategy Game?

Strategy games require players to make decisions that influence the outcome of the game.

Instead of relying primarily on reflexes, strategy games emphasize planning, resource management, positioning, and decision-making.

Strategy games can be divided into different categories.

RTS, or Real-Time Strategy, allows players to make decisions continuously during gameplay.

Turn-Based Strategy gives players time to make decisions before the opponent takes their turn.

Examples include StarCraft, Civilization, and Age of Empires.

What Does RTS Mean?

RTS stands for Real-Time Strategy.

In an RTS, gameplay happens continuously rather than being divided into individual turns.

Players may collect resources, build structures, produce units, expand their territory, and attack opponents.

The challenge comes from managing multiple tasks at the same time.

What Is a Roguelike?

A Roguelike is a game style associated with procedural generation, repeated runs, and permanent consequences.

The exact definition can vary, but traditional roguelikes often feature randomly generated environments and permanent character death.

Modern games inspired by the genre are often called Roguelites.

These games may allow players to keep certain upgrades or progression after dying.

Hades, Dead Cells, and The Binding of Isaac are commonly associated with the broader roguelike or roguelite category.

What Is a Metroidvania?

A Metroidvania is a genre focused on exploration, interconnected environments, and gaining new abilities that allow players to access previously unreachable areas.

The name comes from two influential franchises:

Metroid and Castlevania.

A typical Metroidvania may initially block the player from reaching certain areas.

Later, after obtaining a new ability, weapon, or movement option, the player can return and explore those locations.

Hollow Knight and Ori and the Blind Forest are popular examples.

What Does PvP Mean?

PvP means Player versus Player.

It refers to situations where human players compete directly against other human players.

Examples include competitive shooters, fighting games, sports games, and multiplayer strategy games.

If you’re fighting another person rather than a computer-controlled opponent, you’re generally playing PvP.

What Does PvE Mean?

PvE means Player versus Environment.

Instead of fighting other players, the player primarily fights computer-controlled enemies or interacts with challenges created by the game.

Story missions, enemy encounters, raids, and cooperative activities can all fall under PvE.

Some games combine PvE and PvP elements.

What Does NPC Mean?

NPC stands for Non-Player Character.

An NPC is a character controlled by the game rather than by a human player.

NPCs can provide quests, sell items, give information, participate in stories, or simply make the game world feel alive.

The term is now so common that it has also become part of internet culture.

What Does DLC Mean?

DLC stands for Downloadable Content.

DLC refers to additional content released for a game after or around its original launch.

It can include:

• New missions
• Characters
• Maps
• Weapons
• Story expansions
• Cosmetic items
• Entire expansions

Some DLC packages are small additions, while others can be almost as large as a completely new game.

Why Are Gaming Terms Important?

Gaming terminology makes it easier for players to describe what they like.

If someone says they enjoy Soulslikes, you immediately have an idea of the type of experience they’re looking for.

If someone says they prefer RPGs, you know they may enjoy character progression, equipment, quests, and storytelling.

These terms also help players discover new games.

Instead of searching for a specific title, someone can search for a genre and find dozens of games with similar characteristics.

Final Verdict

Gaming has developed its own vocabulary over decades.

Terms such as FPS, RPG, MMO, MOBA, Soulslike, Battle Royale, Open World, PvP, and PvE may seem confusing at first, but each one exists to describe a particular type of experience or gameplay system.

And the list continues to grow as developers create new genres and combine existing ideas.

That’s one of the most interesting things about gaming.

A game doesn’t always have to fit into just one category.

It can be an open-world RPG with survival mechanics, PvE combat, PvP multiplayer, and Soulslike elements all at the same time.

Once you understand the vocabulary, discovering new games becomes much easier.