What Does OP Mean In Gaming? (Find Out!)

OP stands for “overpowered” in gaming. It refers to something in the game which is too strong, whether it be an enemy or something the player themselves can use. Certain builds might be OP and make the game too easy—certain enemies may be OP and make the game too hard. It works both ways.

OP is perhaps one of the oldest extant video game terms, having been certainly in use since at least the early 2000s and perhaps long before that.

It’s an ever-present problem in video games: balance.

There’s never any guarantee you’ll get it right.

Let’s find out more.

In This Article

What does OP stand for in gaming?

OP stands for “overpowered” in gaming.

There are a couple of different ways this might be used.

In general, though, the sense is that the game is somehow unbalanced.

Something in it is making it too hard, or perhaps even too easy.

When it comes to video games, there’s not much point in playing if it’s too easy—there’s no satisfaction in that.

That’s where the term OP comes in.

Of course, players can always say something is OP when that is just their opinion.

Whether or not something is OP is down to a person’s view, though often the developers themselves will listen to player feedback and change such things.

Balancing a game can be one of the most challenging aspects of development, and often it takes the game being played by a large number of people to discover this.

“This sword is so OP, it makes all the bosses really easy!” for example.

Some people might find it a good thing if an item they can use is OP, since they want to give themselves an advantage.

Again, though, as I said, most players want to maintain some balance in the challenge!

On the other hand, something could be OP which is making the game overly hard. “Those snake enemies are so OP, they’re really annoying,” for example.

A challenge is what makes the game fun—but something overly challenging quickly becomes frustrating.

Now, naturally, sometimes players might say something is OP just because they can’t beat it.

And players will also say something is OP just to mean it’s very good, rather than to claim it’s actually unbalanced.

So, the sense of the term can be quite broad—and its usage even broader!

Where does this come from, then?

Where does OP come from in gaming?

It’s not completely clear when the term OP began being used.

As I said, it is a very old term as far as we can see, though how old exactly is very hard to tell.

Our earliest recorded examples of the term come from forum posts on the internet in the early 2000s, in which people were discussing video games of all kinds.

But the inception of the term may long predate that.

Video game discussion and community groups were alive and well before the arrival of the internet, since the earliest era of video games in the 1980s and late 70s.

It is a universally useful term because, as I said, balance is always a difficult thing to get right in virtually any kind of game.

Even in a sports game, one particular player might be given an unreasonable advantage over the others.

So, a term to describe this phenomenon arose naturally, we just don’t know when for certain.

Nowadays, you’ll see OP all over the place—on social media and in different games.

Does it have different meanings there?

What does OP mean on TikTok?

OP generally has the same sense on TikTok, meaning overpowered.

However, it naturally isn’t always used in the same way.

That said, for the most part, OP is just used in gaming circles on TikTok to describe the same issue.

Something which is too good, overpowered, which unbalances the game.

This is all it usually means on TikTok.

However, it has been taken in a slightly broader, more sarcastic way, jokingly describing things in real life that are “OP”.

“My homework is so OP tonight,” for example.

It would just be a joking way of saying your homework is very hard.

What does OP mean in Call of Duty?

In Call of Duty, one of the largest online gaming communities, OP still has this sense of overpowered.

Given that it is a multiplayer game, though, in which you are fighting other real people, you can’t say the enemies are OP.

Usually, then, it is used to describe certain weapons, upgrades or perks which might make the game too easy.

Even if the developers don’t actually do anything about it or feel it needs addressing, players might say something is OP to take pride in the fact that they don’t use it.

“I can’t believe you’re using that gun, it’s so OP, cheater!” for example.

They are jokingly suggesting that the person is cheating by using the gun that the community, and not the developers, feel is OP.

So, there are many ways you can use this term, but it always means the same basic thing.

The game is somehow unbalanced, whether in favor of the player or of the game.

Something is OP because it makes the game either too easy or too hard.

Nowadays, these kinds of issues are frequently updated in games when fans point such things out.

More in Gaming Meanings

Founder - @PollyWebster

Polly Webster is the founder of Foreign Lingo and a seasoned traveler with a decade of exploration under her belt.

Over the past 10 years, she has journeyed to numerous countries around the globe, immersing herself in diverse cultures, traditions, and languages.

Drawing from her rich experiences, Polly now writes insightful articles about travel, languages, traditions, and cultures, sharing her unique perspectives and invaluable tips with her readers.

Was this article helpful?

Thanks for your feedback!