The most famous meme from World of Warcraft turns 15 years old today, as Leeroy Jenkins celebrated his anniversary as a pop culture icon. WoW’s popularity has been a rollercoaster ride in the time since the game’s first renowned meme circulated the internet, but the game has had a consistently high number of subscribers since its inception in 2004. WoW Classic’s launch in August 2019 even doubled the game’s subscriber count. From double XP events to in-game festivals, World of Warcraft has been a perpetual source of hilarious memes amongst the MMO gaming community.
Despite its ongoing popularity, however, World of Warcraft has become increasingly casual over the years. This shift has taken away reasons for many longtime gamers to play, according to ex-Blizzard president, Mike Morhaime. Regardless, the game continues bringing in new and veteran players alike, and Blizzard remains committed to pumping out new content and expansions for it.
According to Wowhead, the game’s most famous meme turns 15 years old today: the Leeroy Jenkins meme. Famous for impatiently charging into a room in the Upper Blackrock Spire dungeon, Leeroy Jenkins ruined the run for his guild by causing a massive wipe while his allies talked strategy and preparation. The video went live on WarcraftMovies on May 11, 2005.
The meme, having since become one of the only video game memes known to the general internet population, has gone on to receive references in other media. Neil Patrick Harris’ character, Barney Stinson, in How I Met Your Mother shouts his name Leeroy Jenkins style in Season 4, Episode 19, and is mentioned in an answer on Jeopardy. Moreover, Leeroy Jenkins has been given his own achievements in World of Warcraft and can be recruited in the game’s Battle for Azeroth expansion to earn the Upright Citizens achievement.
The Leeroy Jenkins meme has garnered the kind of fame and attention that could outlive the game in which it was birthed, sired by someone who was looking for a laugh as well as an opportunity to speed up a dungeon run. Its humor is often brought up in other games, with players often shouting Leeroy Jenkins or their own usernames in voice chats and other social mediums. It’s now a staple among the gaming community, branching out to other forms of media and showing that gamers have influenced the world in more ways than mere animations. World of Warcraft’s servers may shut down one day, but Leeroy Jenkins is forever.
World of Warcraft launched in 2004 and is available on Mac and PC.
Source: Wowhead