Voice chat in online gaming is a communication feature that allows players to interact with each other verbally in real-time. It emerged with the advent of Sega Dreamcast in 1999 and has since evolved to be an integral part of the gaming experience. Voice chat is found in various consoles, including PlayStation 2, Xbox Live, and Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection, and is often facilitated via a headset. The technologie[2] also extends to third-party software like Discord[3], Ventrilo, and TeamSpeak, which gained popularity in the 2010s. Despite its benefits, voice chat in online gaming has raised concerns regarding issues such as griefing, cyberbullying[1], and scams, leading to ongoing discussions about appropriate measures to address these problems. In the future, this feature is expected to continue evolving with new technological advancements and broader platform integrations to enhance the overall gaming experience.
Voice chat is telecommunication via voice over IP (VoIP) technologies—especially when those technologies are used as intercoms among players à multiplayer online games. The VoIP functionality can be built into some games, be a system-wide communication system, or a third-party chat software.