These days, it seems like everyone’s always in such a hurry, which has led to a dramatic increase in the number of acronyms and abbreviations being thrown around. Sadly, the gaming industry hasn’t escaped this phenomenon, leading to the names of manypopular games and franchisesbeing cut down to just two or three letters when talked about online.
Most of these abbreviations are easy enough to understand, but some of them can apply to multiple games and franchises. These matching video game acronyms have led to plenty of confusion over the years, with gamers left wondering how their friends intend toperform Fatalitieswhile playingMario Kartor why anybody would give a dam about turnips inAssassin’s Creed.
1AC
Assassin’s Creed or Animal Crossing?
AC is perhaps the first thing that people think of when the topic of confusing video game acronyms gets brought up. In addition to belonging to two of the medium’s most well-known franchises (Assassin’s CreedandAnimal Crossing), there are a ton of other big games and series that the two letters could be referring to.Armored Core,Assetto Corsa, andAce Combatare three that instantly spring to mind, withAstral ChainandAdvent Children(the animated sequel toFinal Fantasy VII) also worthy of a mention.
2MK
Mortal Kombat or Mario Kart?
Twoequally large video game franchisescan be abbreviated to the letters MK, although this one tends to be a lot less ambiguous than AC. This is because, for whatever reason, people seem a lot less likely to abbreviateMario Kartthan they areMortal Kombat. As a result, most gamers will likely think ofMortal Kombatwhen they hear or see the letters MK, especially if there happens to be a number tacked onto the end of them.
3MW
Modern Warfare or MechWarrior?
Although there can be no disputing the fact thatCall of Dutyis the more popular of the two series, that’s not to say thatMechWarriordoesn’t still have its fair share of fans. As a result, there are plenty of people who think ofMechWarriorwhen they hear the letters MW said out loud. Add the number two to the end, though, and evenMechWarriorfans will probably switch their focus toModern Warfare 2.
4GoW
God of War or Gears of War?
Nintendo’s decision to switch its focus to unique features has led to Microsoft becoming Sony’s main rival overthe past few console generations. With that in mind, it seems somewhat fitting that both the PlayStation and Xbox platforms have their own flagship franchises that can be abbreviated toGoW. On the blue side, there’s Santa Monica Studio’s fantasticGod of Warseries, while team green is well-represented byGears of War.
5TF
Team Fortress or Titanfall?
Given its longevity and enduring popularity, most gamers tend to think ofTeam Fortresswhen they hear the letters TF. However, for a brief three or four-year period around the mid-2010s, TF was also used to refer to Respawn Entertainment’sTitanfallseries, despite not actually being a true acronym. Although it failed to dethroneCall of Dutyas themost popular FPS franchise,Titanfallremains well-regarded today, with many still hoping that a third game will someday be announced.
6CS
Counter-Strike or Cities: Skylines?
Another Valve-related acronym, CS is best associated withCounter Strike, although that’s not the onlyvideo game franchisethat has this abbreviation.Cities: Skylineswas first released for PC in March of 2015 and has since been ported to a bunch of other platforms. As a result, there may be some console owners who associate CS with the Paradox Interactive series, although for most PC gamers, the acronym will almost always be read asCounter Strike.
7DS
Much like AC, the DC acronym has links to multiple video game franchises, the most notable of which beingDark SoulsandDead Space. However, it can also be used to refer to other popular games and series likeDarksiders,Don’t Starve, and Hideo Kojima’sDeath Stranding. And just for good measure, it’s also the name of a 2004handheld console from Nintendo. Sadly, however, there’s no way to play DS on a DS, as none of the aforementioned franchises were ever made available on the system.
