With Facebook coining the term, meta has become a popular concept, especially on the internet as of late, but what does meta mean in gaming?
As taken from Wikipedia, meta comes from Greek and means “after” or “beyond”, or to be more specific, “transcending” or “more comprehensive”, but does that definition have anything to do with the meta in the gaming context?
Well, yes and no. Meta is a hard word or concept to describe, it’s somewhat similar to the word zeitgeist, as in, it is a hard word to describe, and it also kinda means the same thing.
A big disclaimer before this article gets too meta, this is my personal experience and definition of what meta means in gaming.
What is meta gaming?
Meta in gaming referees to the current state of a game, typically multiplayer or online games. It represents the best present-time tactics and techniques, the most popular do’s and don’ts. A meta can change in a video game every now and then when developers decide that their game gets too boring, or that it simply needs an update for players to stay hooked.
A new meta in gaming refers to a change in a video game as stated above. A new set of rules that are needed to be met in order to succeed at the game. Without describing this term in abstract definitions, let’s take a practical example from one of the best battle royale games out there and a game in which I spent over 3000 hours in, PUBG.
Meta in gaming examples
In the latest PUBG update 22.2, one of the most important the game has ever received, Krafton (the developers behind the PUBG), changed the weapon stats for the most popular assault rifles in the game. The M416 was nerfed, while the AUG was removed from the care package drop and put in as a normal loot weapon. This changed the meta of the game a lot. Now players prefer to play with the AUG in exchange for the M416 as it’s more powerful since the new update, thus introducing a new meta.
Another example would be when Dice, the developer of Battlefield 1, nerfed the attack plane, which was overpowered, to say the least, therefore changing the battle tactics on the map 180 degrees. Players were focusing on flying the planes before the update; an attack plane was responsible for wiping out infantry on the ground, while one or two scout planes were protecting the attack plane from enemy fire. I remember making 50 frags with 0 deaths in the attack plane in some matches… After the new meta, the attack plane was rendered useless, forcing players to stick to the ground for conquering their objectives. Or as Battlefield players were saying after shooting down a plane in the chat “Boots on the ground soldier”.
I hope this wasn’t one of those intricate articles that is hard to understand but I did my best to explain what the meaning of meta in gaming is (at least for me).
Make sure to check out other relevant glossary articles: What is ADS in gaming?
