About

Gun and Ball Gamer is a slang term describing someone who only plays video games that prominently feature guns, such as FPS games like Call of Duty, or balls, referring to sports games such as NBA2K. The term is often used disparagingly to call someone's taste in video games basic. It has been used online since as early as June 2023, when X / Twitter user @LANDoCUH posted, "N****s when a video game ain't got guns or a ball in it" over a GIF of Patrick Star snoring and sleeping.

The term became increasingly popularized over the following years and was notably referenced by the official Okami X page in December 2025 to call someone out for criticizing the reveal of Okami 2 at The Game Awards 2024. The term "ball and gun gamer" has also been called out by some online as supposedly being racist and targeted at Black gamers, though others refute that it's racial.

Origin

On June 17th, 2023, X^[1] user @LANDoCUH posted a GIF of Patrick Star from SpongeBob sleeping on the couch after Squidward starts playing clarinet under the caption, "N****s when a video game aint got guns or a ball in it," garnering over 154,000 likes and 23,000 reposts in two years. This is the earliest known post to disparagingly refer to gamers who are uninterested in or get bored by games without guns or balls in them.

Spread

On November 20th, 2025, YouTuber^[2] Mightykeef posted a comedy skit in which he criticizes and describes gun and ball gamers in regard to The Game Awards nominees, garnering over 211,000 views in a month. This video notably helped spread the term.

In December 2025, X users began using the term more frequently to disparage gun and ball gamers, as YouTuber Mightykeef also began using it more frequently.

For example, on December 3rd, Mightykeef quote-posted a video on X^[3] of Twitch streamer TimtheTatMan claiming that the only good game in the first half of 2025 was Marvel Rivals, writing, "I love Timthetatman, but he is definitely and Gun&Ball ass n***a," garnering over 13,000 likes in a week.

On December 6th, 2025, X^[4] user @catgirlprostate quoted a post by a user complaining about the file size of video games, showing a queue on their PlayStation 5 consisting of two sports games, a Call of Duty game and a wrestling game, writing, "Ball and gun gamers are repeatedly proven to be victims of their own narrow taste in the medium of gaming," garnering over 14,000 likes in six days.

On December 10th, X user @TheIshikawaRin made a post sharing a clip of video game journalist and TV presenter Geoff Keighley announcing Okami 2 at The Game Awards 2024, writing, "I still loathe Geoff Keighley for this stuff last year," implying he hyped the game up too much.

On December 11th, 2025, the @OkamiOfficial X^[5] account responded with an image of Okami next to a gun and basketball, writing, "is this more to your liking," garnering over 120,000 likes and 15,000 reposts in a day.

Later that day, X^[6] user @Jay2Goat_ quoted the post, writing, "Yeah wrap the gun and ball shit up, this shit is entirely racist," claiming that the idea of ball and gun gamers, or the edit specifically, is racist, garnering over 2,500 likes in a day.

Shortly after on December 11th, X^[7] user @g00lname replied with a Homelander #NotVeryWokeOfYou meme calling them out for assuming it was related to Black people, receiving over 2,800 likes in a similar timeframe.

Various Examples

Search Interest

External References