In Orcs Must Die! Deathtrap, press Esc on the keyboard—or the controller button that opens the pause menu—then choose Settings → Audio → Enable Voice Chat. When the option is enabled, a small speaker icon appears beside your War Mage’s health bar in the upper-left corner of the screen.
This guide covers the Deathtrap setting specifically, rather than voice features in other Orcs Must Die! games or Steam itself. The game’s official support center places this question under Deathtrap multiplayer questions.
Quick answer
Esc/Menu → Settings → Audio → Enable Voice Chat
The speaker icon beside the War Mage health bar confirms that the game’s voice-chat option is enabled. It does not necessarily confirm that your microphone is selected, unmuted, or transmitting.
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How to enable voice chat
- Open the pause menu by pressing Esc on a keyboard, or the controller button used to open the game’s menu.
- Select Settings.
- Open the Audio tab.
- Check Enable Voice Chat.
These menu steps are documented by Robot Entertainment’s voice-chat support article. The exact controller button label can vary depending on the platform and controller layout, so use the button that brings up the pause or menu screen.
How to confirm voice chat is enabled
Look beside your War Mage’s health bar in the upper-left corner of the screen. A small speaker icon should appear when Enable Voice Chat is checked.
That icon is best treated as an in-game setting indicator. According to the official instructions, it shows that voice chat is enabled; it is not documented as a microphone test. You may still be unable to transmit if:
- Your headset or controller microphone is muted.
- Deathtrap or your platform is using the wrong input device.
- Windows, PlayStation, or Xbox has blocked microphone access.
- Enable Push to Talk is active and you are not holding its assigned control.
- A platform party-chat session is taking priority over game chat.
How to use push-to-talk
Voice chat and push-to-talk are separate settings. To avoid transmitting continuously, leave voice chat enabled and also turn on push-to-talk:
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- Choose Settings → Audio.
- Make sure Enable Voice Chat is checked.
- Check Enable Push to Talk.
- Hold the assigned key or button while speaking.
The documented default push-to-talk control is V on a keyboard. On an Xbox controller, the documented default is the View button. These are defaults, not guaranteed controls: if the binding was changed, or if you are using another controller layout, check the current assignment in the game. See Robot Entertainment’s push-to-talk instructions.
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Change the push-to-talk key or button
- Open Settings from the game menu.
- Open the Keyboard or Gamepad tab.
- Find the control you want to change.
- Select its current binding, then press the replacement key or button.
- Use that control’s individual Reset option if you need to restore the default.
A yellow exclamation mark indicates that the same key or button is assigned to more than one control in that section. If pressing V does nothing, first confirm that push-to-talk is enabled and then verify that the binding has not been remapped. The game’s keybind instructions describe these controls.
Voice chat is enabled, but my microphone does not work
Work through these checks in order:
- Check the physical mute. Turn off the mute switch on the headset, microphone, or controller. Also check any inline mute control.
- Check the input device. Make sure the microphone you intend to use is the active system input device, especially if a webcam, wireless headset, controller, and USB microphone are connected at the same time.
- Check the transmission mode. With push-to-talk enabled, hold the assigned control while speaking. If you want an open microphone, turn off Enable Push to Talk.
- Test the microphone outside Deathtrap. Use Windows, Steam, or your console’s microphone controls to determine whether the hardware produces an input signal.
- Restart the game after device or permission changes. Fully close and relaunch Deathtrap after switching headsets or changing microphone permissions. This is practical troubleshooting advice, not a stated game requirement.
- Ask a teammate to test both directions. Hearing others but not transmitting usually points to input, mute, permission, or push-to-talk settings. Transmitting but hearing nobody points more toward output, player mute, or party/game-chat settings.
PC troubleshooting
Check Windows microphone permissions
On Windows 10 or Windows 11, open:
Start → Settings → Privacy & security → Microphone
Then check the following:
- Microphone access is on.
- Let apps access your microphone is on.
- If you use the Xbox app or a Microsoft Store version, microphone access is allowed for the relevant app.
- For a desktop version, Let desktop apps access your microphone is on.
Microsoft notes that traditional desktop applications may not appear as individually selectable apps. In that case, the global desktop-app permission is the important setting. See Microsoft’s microphone privacy guidance for the current Windows controls.
Test the microphone in Steam
Steam’s microphone test can establish whether Steam detects your microphone and whether the selected input device works:
- Open Friends & Chat in the Steam client.
- Select the gear icon.
- Choose Voice.
- Select Start Microphone Test.
- Check the selected input device and voice-transmission setting.
This is a Steam diagnostic, not Deathtrap’s voice-chat menu. Even if the Steam test works, you must still enable Settings → Audio → Enable Voice Chat inside Deathtrap. Steam documents the test in its voice settings help page.
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PS5 troubleshooting
After enabling voice chat in Deathtrap, check the console’s microphone settings:
- Open Settings → Sound → Microphone.
- Choose the intended Input Device.
- Adjust Microphone Level and confirm that the input responds.
- Check whether the DualSense controller’s mute button is active.
- If you are in a system party, open the Control Center and check whether you are using Party Chat or Game Chat.
If you can hear party members but not Deathtrap teammates, switching to the appropriate game-chat mode is an important check. Sony’s voice-chat troubleshooting guidance covers these console-level controls. The exact behavior and labels may vary with the current PlayStation system interface.
Xbox troubleshooting
On Xbox, check the headset or controller microphone mute first. If the microphone works elsewhere but not in Deathtrap, also check:
- Your Xbox party status. A party-chat session can affect whether you hear or use game chat.
- The account’s privacy and communication permissions.
- Family-safety settings, particularly for a child account.
- Microphone access for the relevant Xbox or Windows app when playing through the Xbox App on PC.
Xbox family and privacy controls can allow or block multiplayer communication and chat. If the account is parent-managed, the family organizer may need to change those permissions. Use the account’s current privacy, communication, and family-safety settings rather than relying on an older menu path; Xbox’s family settings guidance explains the available restrictions.
The documented default Xbox push-to-talk control is the View button, but confirm it under the game’s Settings → Keyboard/Gamepad controls if it does not work.
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Quick troubleshooting table
| Problem | What to check |
|---|---|
| No speaker icon appears | Reopen Settings → Audio and make sure Enable Voice Chat is checked. The icon is the official enabled-state indicator. |
| The icon appears, but nobody hears you | Check the headset mute switch, Windows or console microphone permissions, the selected input device, and push-to-talk. If push-to-talk is enabled, hold the assigned control. |
| You hear others but cannot transmit | Check the microphone input, physical mute, platform permissions, and whether push-to-talk is enabled. Do not assume output-volume settings control microphone input. |
| You transmit constantly | Enable Enable Push to Talk, then use the assigned key or button. This changes open-mic behavior to a hold-to-transmit setup. |
| V does nothing | Confirm that push-to-talk is enabled, then check the Keyboard or Gamepad binding. V is only the documented default and may have been changed. |
| An Xbox child account cannot use voice chat | Review the account’s family, privacy, and communication permissions. Parent-controlled restrictions can block chat. |
| PS5 party members are audible, but game teammates are not | Check the PS5 Control Center’s Party Chat/Game Chat selection and switch to game chat as needed. |
| The Windows version cannot access the microphone | Enable Windows microphone access, app access, and desktop-app access where applicable. Desktop games may not appear as individual apps. |
| A cross-platform lobby works, but voice chat does not | Check Deathtrap’s voice setting and each player’s platform microphone and party-chat settings separately. Crossplay itself is not documented as a voice-chat fix. |
| You want to hear nobody | Mute individual players from the player list, or uncheck Enable Voice Chat to disable the feature globally. |
How to mute another player or turn voice chat off
Mute one player
- Press Tab on a keyboard, or click the right stick on a controller, to open the player list.
- Select the player.
- Choose Mute.
This lets you silence one teammate without disabling voice chat for everyone. The procedure is documented in the game’s player-muting support article.
Disable all voice chat
- Open the menu with Esc or the controller menu button.
- Choose Settings → Audio.
- Uncheck Enable Voice Chat.
Does voice chat work with crossplay?
Crossplay and voice chat are separate controls. To enable crossplay, open the Main Menu → Settings → Gameplay, scroll to Enable Crossplay, and leave it checked. Robot Entertainment lists crossplay support for Steam, Epic Games, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and the Xbox App on PC in its crossplay support article.
A cross-platform lobby does not guarantee that every player’s microphone or party-chat configuration will work automatically. If players can join one another but cannot communicate, troubleshoot Enable Voice Chat, microphone permissions, input devices, push-to-talk, and platform party/game-chat settings independently on each system.
Is voice chat required for multiplayer?
No. Voice chat is optional. Deathtrap supports solo play and online co-op for up to four players, so you can launch a solo run or play cooperatively without using the voice feature. The game’s current platform and co-op details are listed on the Steam product page and the Xbox product page.
The Bottom Line
For Orcs Must Die! Deathtrap, use Esc/Menu → Settings → Audio → Enable Voice Chat. If the speaker icon appears but communication still fails, check the microphone mute switch, selected input device, platform permissions, party/game-chat mode, and whether push-to-talk is enabled. The default push-to-talk control is V on keyboard or View on Xbox, unless you have changed the binding.
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