50 Funny And Relatable Video Game Memes, As Shared On This Instagram Page
InterviewWe love all forms of storytelling, whether that’s reading books, watching immersive movies, or playing video games. They’re different ways of experiencing adventures and ideas. And with the video game market set to grow to $282.3 billion in revenue in 2024, it’s proof that the latter way of telling stories is continuing to grow in popularity. Gaming culture is huge now!
The ‘Gaming Memes’ Instagram page does exactly what it says on the tin and shares funny and relatable memes about gaming. We’ve collected some of the top ones to share with you, Pandas. Scroll down to check them out, upvote your faves, and drop your best game recommendations in the comments.
Bored Panda reached out to the team at ‘Weird Media,’ who created the massively popular ‘Gaming Memes’ and ‘Wasted’ accounts on Instagram, and Co-founder Cory Scandalis was kind enough to answer our questions. You'll find our full interview with him below.
More info: Instagram (Gaming Memes) | Instagram (Wasted) | WeirdMedia.com
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Depends on the NPC. Got no problem telling Roman in GTA4 to get bent.
Look, we’re not gonna beat around the bush—we love video games. Love ‘em! They’ve been an important part of our lives since childhood. And though some of us might prefer books to everything else (hi!), we still spend a sizable chunk of our free time either playing games or following news about the gaming industry.
Some of the top genres we enjoy include RPG (especially dark fantasy), FPS, and old-school RTS games, although we’re also partial to anything spooky, weird, and artistic. We’ve found that one of the most fun things anyone can do is try out unexpected genres, developers, and games that you wouldn’t typically go for. It’s great to try new things (even when we're feeling nostalgic and want to replay some oldies).
Aww! I have two friends I game with/talk to on Discord… they met online, started dating, and even though (currently) one lives here in the US and the other lives in Canada, they are engaged and will be getting married as soon as the Canadian one can get her visa application in order! I told them I insist on being invited to the wedding XD
"A few years after starting the @wasted Instagram back in 2016—which is primarily memes, videos, and news—we noticed from our followers there was a large demand for direct gaming content. Being a big fan of gaming myself all my life, starting @gamemes was a natural move to share my love for gaming and connect with others who feel the same way," Cory Scandalis, who co-founded 'Weird Media' along with Alen Radolovic and Russell Hart, told Bored Panda in an email.
According to Scandalis, the 'Gaming Memes' account "really took off" when Instagram users realized there was more depth to it than just sharing funny memes. "It became a space to celebrate our shared gaming experiences. The community's response was amazing, especially when big game releases and events became hot topics for our memes," he said.
Games used to just be… words. No graphics or images, just words. Zork was the best. (And the 5 billion MUDs I played once the internets was a thing.)
We were curious to get the co-founder's thoughts on why the gaming industry has become such a phenomenon. He told us that it’s fuelled by several factors—a huge part of which is the sense of community.
"Gaming creates a space where people come together, regardless of physical distance, offering an escape that feels just as real as everyday life. It's a mix of art, storytelling, and interaction that reflects and shapes culture. People often show parts of themselves in these virtual worlds that they might not in real life. It shows how gaming can form genuine bonds and memories," he explained to Bored Panda.
Oh, you have full enchanted netherite armour from Peaceful and used Creative a bit? That’s fine, it’s okay to be a little scared. And this’ll help prepare you to do it one day in full Survival!
YES WHY IS THIS SO TRUE?! That or “oH yOu ShOuLdN’t Be PlAyInG bEcAuSe YoU’rE a KiD!!” That happened to me two days ago on a game called skribbl.io
Bored Panda also asked Scandalis about the near future of the gaming market. "Gaming's journey reflects the fast pace of tech innovation, hinting at a future where reality and virtual worlds blend more than ever. Each year brings new possibilities, like deeper immersion with VR and AR or vast AI-powered game worlds," he said.
"We're on the edge of breakthroughs that could change gaming as we know it, maybe blurring the lines between player and creator," Scandalis told us, adding that the "next big shift in gaming might be just around the corner." And it might be "as game-changing as the leap from 2D to 3D."
If you enjoyed these memes, be sure to follow the 'Gaming Memes' Instagram page, and consider taking a peek at the 'Wasted' account, too. Meanwhile, to learn more about 'Weird Media,' as well as their brands, check out their website.
I'll have to consult to the Task Manager first
Your browser health is low, you need to feed it more cookies.
Yeah my Steam library is currently standing at just under 600 games. I've played most of them I think... Maybe...
The ‘Gaming Memes’ account has a very impressive 350k followers over on Instagram. It is run by the team at ‘Weird Media,' which is also responsible for the well-known ‘Wasted’ Instagram account that currently boasts 13.7 million followers. ‘Gaming Memes’ takes a very direct approach and focuses on memes and videos related to gaming.
While they are hilarious, they do require someone to be at least partially interested in gaming as a whole to understand the context necessary for the jokes to make sense.
As reported by Statista, the video game market is projected to grow by 8.76% per year between 2024 and 2027. That means that in just a few short years, the market value should stand around $363.2 billion. Of course, these are just projections. Many things can (and probably will) change in that time. The industry might run into unforeseen problems or see unexpected booms in popularity.
By 2027, it’s expected that there will be 1.472 billion video game players worldwide. The most profitable part of the market is in-game advertising, which is said to bring in a whopping $109.6 billion in revenue in 2024. However, despite these optimistic trends and the continuing popularity of video gaming, the industry has suffered some recent shocks.
One of us
I am so happy he’s behind the Warhammer 40k show. You just KNOW it’ll be done right. This man is fully invested in the source material… as an aside, we’ll never have a better Geralt than he.
The video game industry has been rocked by massive layoffs in the past few months. If you’ve been following any video game-related media outlets recently, then you probably know that many companies—big and small—have been downsizing.
Video game industry workers have been losing jobs even if the companies themselves have been boasting about major profits from recent projects.
GameSpot reports that industry giant Sony announced in late February of 2024 that it would lay off 900 employees, including people working at the well-known Naughty Dog and Insomniac studios. Electronic Arts (aka EA) announced that it would be letting go of 670 people, which is around 5% of its total workforce.
HEY hey. Heeey. Sometimes you get a prettier gun or a horse or something.
Killing demons - that’s what the Doom games are all about! What could possibly be MORE Christian than killing demons? >_>
Other major industry players have been cutting back in the size of their workforce as well. “A startling number of developers and publishers have made major staff reductions, including Epic Games, the many studios owned by the Embracer Group and by Microsoft, Take-Two Interactive, Amazon, Bungie, CD Projekt Red, Ubisoft, Riot Games, and Unity. In just the first two months of 2024, the games industry saw at least 8,100 people laid off, according to a running tally of announcements kept by a developer at Riot Games,” Phil Hornshaw reports.
Layoffs are nothing new in the video game industry. 2023 was a particularly brutal year as well. Reportedly, 11,250 gaming industry employees lost their jobs that year, as per PC Gamer’s calculations.
I buy all the capes in Helldivers 2 before I buy the better weapons…. XD
Understandably, many professionals are worried about whether they’ll be next on the chopping board. Meanwhile, those who lost their jobs are facing the tough reality of having to compete with many other talented individuals for new positions elsewhere.
Meanwhile, Kotaku reports that Take-Two Interactive, the publisher of the hotly-awaited Grand Theft Auto VI, just announced wide-sweeping cuts. It plans to lay off 5% of its workforce (around 11,000 people).
Furthermore, it has canceled several projects that were already in development, valued at around $140 million.
I wasted all my ammo on this scene before I realized he can't be killed, and I could run away. *memories*
Though many of us dream of working as video game developers, concept artists, or ‘idea people,’ the reality is far less romantic. Unless you work at a particularly ethical company that puts its employees above profit or you’re an indie developer, you’ll probably work long hours in a very demanding, competitive market.
Meanwhile, as the final project deadline approaches, you’ll also likely experience a ‘crunch,’ where the staff work extremely long hours, trying to iron out bugs and implement the remaining features before ‘going gold.’
I’m picturing that texture indented into my skin after holding the controller XD fortunately I am PC MASTER RACE (joke) so it’ll never happen! XD
I remember when polygons first became a thing… XD FFVII and Tomb Raider, yikes. Only a couple hundred polygons per character back in those days.
Even if you manage to avoid burnout, you might end up being disappointed by the final result. After all, no single employee makes all the decisions. The higher-ups (aka the corpo ‘suits’) might force the developers to add features or details that prioritize monetization over mechanics.
Or the unrealistic deadlines and changes in course mean that you end up having to put out an unfinished mess of a game that will take years of patches and updates to fix. It’s definitely not all sunshine and rainbows in the grueling and gritty gaming industry.
“As of 2023, 119,550 World War II veterans are still alive, out of the 16.1 million Americans who fought in the war. The museum estimates that 131 of these veterans are dying each day.” My grandpa fought in that war (and his great-grandpa in the Revolutionary War). It just seems so crazy to me that history is literally dying before our eyes.
What video game genres do you typically go for, dear Pandas? What are your top three video games of all time? Which of the memes we’ve featured in this list did you enjoy the most? What game are you playing in your spare time these days? What do you think of the recent video game industry layoffs?
We’d really like to hear your thoughts on everything. If you have a moment, share your opinions, experiences, and recommendations in the comments!
Can someone explain? I Googled and found that PlayStation has been around longer than Xbox, so I’m not entirely sure why Xbox’s comment was seen as an insult. Is it just because they’re competitor companies, or am I missing smth? Idk much about either company, so don’t hate me for not getting it.
Ahh, now I’m sad again… reminds me of TotalBiscuit. One of my favorite commentators. After he died, they put an Easter egg memorial to him into the game Doom Eternal. We’ve lost a lot of gamers/commentators/streamers. May they live on in our hearts and minds. (RIP Reckful, too, though he did not die of cancer.)
Sims 2 is, and will always be, the better game. Sadly my EA App refuses to admit I own it.
I’m not a guy, but this is more or less exactly my setup XD My shikifuton has a cover on it, though - I’m not on-board with that bare mattress XD