Leeroy Jenkins

The story

The video, Leeroy!!, went up on WarcraftMovies.com on 11 May 2005. The whole group is wiped out by newly hatched dragons, and when his friends complain, Leeroy answers that at least he has chicken. The guild also posted it on the official game forums with a straight face, as if asking for advice, which helped it spread.

It was the site’s most popular download from the first day, and within months it reached TV: on 16 November 2005 a Jeopardy! clue named heroes like Leeroy Jenkins, and none of the three players knew the answer was World of Warcraft. Players began to use Leeroy as a verb for a reckless move that wrecks a plan.

For years Schulz liked people to decide for themselves whether it was real. In 2017 he and the friend who recorded it released their first take, and said they had assumed everyone would see it as a joke.

Why it matters

It was one of the first video game memes to break into everyday culture, reaching quiz shows and sitcoms when most viewers had never played the game, and an early case of a game’s makers folding a fan’s joke into their own world, with a trading card, an in-game title and Leeroy himself.

Where it is now

Leeroy is still in World of Warcraft: for the game’s 20th anniversary in late 2024 he turned up selling fried chicken, and in May 2025 the game’s makers wished him a happy 20 years.