While many games have caused gamers to rage over the years, a new study has officially crowned PUBG: Battlegrounds as the most frustrating game for players on Steam and most likely to make someone rage quit.
The study, conducted by the website Casino Days, found that 48.1% of its negative reviews on Steam were due to frustration. This was followed by Counter-Strike 2 at 38.4% and Apex Legends at 31.3%.
The study analysed the 10,000 ‘most helpful’ reviews for the 30 most-played games on Steam. They then searched for how many of those included keywords such as ‘glitch’, ‘bot’, ‘lag’, ‘crash’, ‘cheater’ and other words associated with player frustration.
Using this method, they found that the top 10 most helpful negative reviews related to player frustration were as follows:
- PUBG: Battlegrounds – 48.1%
- Counter-Strike 2 – 38.4%
- Apex Legends – 31.3%
- Call of Duty – 30.1%
- Cyberpunk 2077 – 27.5%
- Lost Ark – 22.8%
- Marvel Rivals – 19.9%
- New World: Aeternum – 19.8%
- Palworld – 18.3%
- Monster Hunter Wilds – 17.1%
PUBG has over 3.2 million reviews in total, with 5,160 negative reviews analysed for this study.
It’s notable—and fairly understandable—that the top four games in the study are all multiplayer shooters, as the genre involves players facing off against each other and, in all likelihood, losing multiple matches. This is par for the course in any competitive activity, but of course, it can lead to understandable frustration.
“The high frustration percentages we see in battle royale and competitive shooter games suggest that these high-stakes, competitive environments naturally create more frustrating experiences,” says Ross Parkhill, Chief Executive Officer at Rhino Entertainment and spokesperson for Casino Days.
“Players invest significant time and money into these games, so understanding which titles might lead to frustration can help inform purchasing decisions. Players looking for a less stressful gaming experience might want to consider sandbox or creative games rather than competitive shooters.”
On the opposite end of the spectrum, the study found that Terraria was the least frustrating of Steam’s top 30 games. The 2D sandbox adventure game showed only 1.8% of its negative reviews mentioning frustration. As you might expect, the slower-paced, more casual-oriented nature of the game likely causes less stress among its players, leading to a more relaxing playthrough.
Frustration and anger when playing games is something that almost anyone who’s ever played a video game will experience at some point, whether it’s a boss that’s difficult to beat or simply not being able to progress in multiplayer.
While rage quitting is usually looked down upon in gaming circles, a study published in HAL Open Science suggests that the best way to deal with rage during video games is to simply turn off the game and switch to a different, more relaxing activity that allows the player to unwind. It also found that, if possible, playing games with friends in the same room can help regulate frustration.
Regardless of what you play, it’s always worth remembering that video games are meant to be a fun and relaxing activity, not something that causes excessive stress. If you find yourself constantly raging during games, it’s best to put the controller down and try something else, at least for a little while.
Words by Alex Daud Briggs
We’re trying to raise £200 a month to help cover our operational costs. This includes our ‘Writer of the Month’ awards, where we recognise the amazing work produced by our contributor team. If you’ve enjoyed reading our site, we’d really appreciate it if you could donate to The Indiependent. Whether you can give £1 or £10, you’d be making a huge difference to our small team.