A kick is the removal of a player from an ongoing match, lobby, or team roster. Depending on the game and situation, the decision is made by other participants, an administrator, or an automated system. Common expressions include “kick a player,” “they got kicked,” and “get kicked.”
The term has two common gaming meanings: removal from a particular game session and removal from a team. Context distinguishes them. “Kicked from the lobby” describes access to a shared game, while “kicked from the roster” refers to a decision about a player’s continued place on a team.
How players are removed from matches
If a game supports voting to remove players, one participant proposes removing another, and the others vote. This is called a vote kick. Who can start the vote and how many votes are required depend on the rules of the particular game or server.
An automatic kick happens without such a vote. For example, the system may remove a player for prolonged inactivity. A server administrator can also remove participants within the scope of their permissions. However, having the ability to remove someone does not mean every decision to do so is fair.
A typical situation is a participant who stops playing and does not return. If the relevant feature is available, the others start a vote to remove them. In chat, this might be described as “kick for inactivity.” In another situation, a lobby host makes room for an invited participant. Here, a kick is not necessarily related to breaking rules.
How kicks differ from bans and disbands
A kick means removal itself, while a ban restricts access to a game, server, or particular features. These measures sometimes occur together, but “kick” alone does not imply a lengthy suspension or determine whether the player can return.
In esports, removing a player from a team roster is also called a kick. This is a roster decision rather than an action performed by the game system. Removing one participant is not the same as disbanding: a disband is the breakup of the entire roster. After a kick, the team may continue competing with a replacement.