Game Jargon Definition: “Nerf”

Nerf (verb). - / nərf /

Yes, “Nerf” is a brand name for a line of children’s toys made of amalgamations of foam, rubber, plastic, and other soft substances. Within gamer culture, however, to “nerf” means to reconfigure a previously existing character, weapon, effect, or other element of a game in order to make it less powerful. Nerfing is typically done to rebalance a game to make it more equitable for all play styles and strategies.

Nerfing within the gaming community is controversial. A powerful character, piece of equipment, or particular rule may be the reason some players entered the game space in the first place. If a game developer, especially in the digital realm, alters content to make it less powerful for the purposes of game balancing, consumers who have already purchased that content may ask the questions: “What did I really buy? What do I really own, if anything, in this space?”

Nerfing is generally done with the best of intentions by publishers and developers. However, it is difficult, if not impossible, to make all players happy. Not everyone is going to be satisfied with how, when, and why nerfing decisions are made.