What does "FF" mean in gaming? Explained

What does FF stand for?

FF is an abbreviation of ‘forfeit’, and is used in competitive multiplayer games to ask other members of the team to agree to surrender.

When would someone use FF?

Normally someone would only want their team to collectively forfeit the game if their chance of winning is extremely low.

If a team was down 0-12 in VALORANT, for example, they might choose to forfeit the match early. Although the game is played until a team wins a total of 13 rounds, the odds of making a comeback are slim to none. Therefore, forfeiting can sometimes be the preferred option.

FF can also be used by the enemy team as a form of trash talk. If you and/or your team are playing poorly, an opponent might send “ff” in text chat to taunt you. That’s when you pull off the dream comeback to spite them.

What happens if I choose not to forfeit when a vote is called?

If the rest of your team has decided to forfeit and you’re the last vote left, it’s normally seen as disrespectful to keep the game going. At this point your teammates have already accepted a loss and will often throw the game if the forfeit vote doesn’t pass, so you’re better off just agreeing to it.

Sometimes a teammate might call a forfeit at the earliest possible point, even if your team still has a solid chance to win. It’s usually only short-tempered or immature players that do this. Don’t be afraid to ignore these calls if it seems like the decision has been made rashly.

When can a team FF?

This varies from game to game, but you can typically only forfeit after a certain amount of time or in-game rounds have passed. For example, you have to wait at least 15 minutes before surrendering a League of Legends game, whilst you’re able to surrender a VALORANT match after five rounds have passed (with a cap of one forfeit vote per half, meaning it can’t be spammed).