Genshin Impact Memes

2020Gaming meme collection / image macros / video edits / copypastaactive

Also known as: Genshin Memes

Genshin Impact Memes are the massive body of internet humor generated by the community around miHoYo's (later HoYoverse) free-to-play action RPG, which launched on September 28, 2020. From Paimon's "emergency food" running gag to gacha pull rage, Scaramouche Bohemian Rhapsody edits, and the McGenshin trend, the game's fandom turned frustration and fandom into one of the most prolific meme ecosystems in modern gaming. The memes spread across Reddit, TikTok, Twitter, and YouTube, fueled by a global player base of millions and the shared suffering of the gacha system.

review bomb memesgacha game memeshoyoverse memesmobile game memesfan art memes

Overview

Genshin Impact Memes cover a wide range of formats tied to miHoYo's open-world gacha RPG. The game's massive character roster, punishing gacha mechanics, and active online community created fertile ground for memes almost immediately after launch. Common formats include image macros about gacha luck (or lack thereof), reaction images using in-game character expressions, video edits pairing gameplay with trending audio, copypasta about in-game grinding, and fan art parodies of character designs.

The meme ecosystem is unusually broad because the game itself generates new content every six weeks with version updates, character banners, and limited-time events. Each update cycle produces a fresh wave of jokes, complaints, fan art, and shitposts. Key recurring themes include the "emergency food" joke about the mascot Paimon, the absurdity of the gacha pity system, character power-level drama, and crossover edits placing Genshin characters in fast food uniforms or other unlikely settings.

Genshin Impact launched worldwide on September 28, 2020 across PC, PlayStation 4, iOS, and Android. Within four days, the game hit 17 million downloads. The earliest memes appeared during the closed beta in July 2020, when players first encountered the dialogue option to call the guide character Paimon "emergency food." On July 5, 2020, Redditor Kuhl_Notes posted one of the first Emergency Food memes to r/Genshin_Impact.

After the full launch, the Paimon joke exploded across social media. The in-game moment where the player can choose to describe Paimon as "emergency food" to her visible annoyance became the game's first major meme. Players also quickly began creating content around the gacha system's brutal RNG, with memes about failed pulls and the "pity" counter becoming a universal language among Genshin players.

The game's first character-specific meme surge came in November 2020 when Scaramouche debuted during the "Unreconciled Stars" event. His intro cutscene was uploaded to YouTube on November 25, 2020, pulling in over 930,000 views2. On November 26, 2020, a Reddit post titled "Scaramouche is a manlet" hit over 18,000 upvotes on r/Genshin_Impact2.

Origin & Background

Platform
Reddit, Twitter, TikTok (community-created from Genshin Impact gameplay)
Creator
Unknown
Date
2020

Genshin Impact launched worldwide on September 28, 2020 across PC, PlayStation 4, iOS, and Android. Within four days, the game hit 17 million downloads. The earliest memes appeared during the closed beta in July 2020, when players first encountered the dialogue option to call the guide character Paimon "emergency food." On July 5, 2020, Redditor Kuhl_Notes posted one of the first Emergency Food memes to r/Genshin_Impact.

After the full launch, the Paimon joke exploded across social media. The in-game moment where the player can choose to describe Paimon as "emergency food" to her visible annoyance became the game's first major meme. Players also quickly began creating content around the gacha system's brutal RNG, with memes about failed pulls and the "pity" counter becoming a universal language among Genshin players.

The game's first character-specific meme surge came in November 2020 when Scaramouche debuted during the "Unreconciled Stars" event. His intro cutscene was uploaded to YouTube on November 25, 2020, pulling in over 930,000 views2. On November 26, 2020, a Reddit post titled "Scaramouche is a manlet" hit over 18,000 upvotes on r/Genshin_Impact2.

How It Spread

Genshin Impact memes spread through distinct waves, each triggered by in-game events, controversies, or character releases.

Late 2020: Scaramouche and Zhongli. The Scaramouche Bohemian Rhapsody connection took off on December 30, 2020, when YouTuber CrownieShorts posted a dubbed comic where characters sing Queen's "Bohemian Rhapsody" to Scaramouche, riffing on the lyric "Scaramouch, Scaramouch, will you do the Fandango." The video pulled over 817,000 views2. Around the same time, players revolted over 5-star character Zhongli's perceived weakness. Memes about his underwhelming gameplay flooded Reddit and Twitter, and the community pressure eventually forced miHoYo to announce buffs on December 19, 2020.

Early-to-Mid 2021: McGenshin. On December 2, 2020, Redditor anoffdutyhooker posted the earliest known McDonald's-themed Genshin meme, editing a McDonald's ordering machine over Zhongli's Dominus Lapidis pillar. On February 11, 2021, Redditor -Valstrax- escalated the trend with a meme editing a Big Mac over Zhongli's meteor, captioned "This Is Your Order". By April 2021, the McGenshin trend went fully viral on Twitter with custom profile pictures of Genshin characters wearing McDonald's uniforms. A dedicated Discord server launched on April 13 and gained nearly 450 users in a month. The role-playing got so out of hand that mods on the official Genshin Discord started muting people for it by April 27.

September 2021: The Anniversary Review Bomb. When miHoYo announced rewards for Genshin Impact's first anniversary on September 20, 2021, players felt the rewards were insultingly small. The game's Google Play rating cratered from 4.6 stars to 1.9 stars, with at least 70,000 negative reviews submitted in a single day. Frustrated players spilled over into review-bombing miHoYo's other games, Honkai Impact and Tears of Themis. The meme output during this period was enormous: mock thank-you letters, satirical anniversary "rewards" posts, and comparison memes showing other gacha games' anniversary generosity.

October-November 2022: Scaramouche Returns. On October 31, 2022, the official Genshin Impact Twitter account announced Scaramouche as a playable character (renamed "The Wanderer"), with a redesigned outfit. The tweet got over 276,000 likes in three days2. Gameplay leaks followed in November, and TikTok creators flooded the platform with fancams and edits2.

Ongoing: r/Genshin_Memepact and r/AlbedosCreations. The dedicated meme subreddit r/Genshin_Memepact grew to over 234,000 members, while the spin-off subreddit r/AlbedosCreations specializes in cursed character edits and hybrid creations.

Platforms

TikTokRedditTwitter

Timeline

2021-01-01

Meme still see steady use

2022-01-01

Genshin Impact Memes reached mainstream popularity and media coverage

View on Google Trends

How to Use This Meme

Genshin Impact memes don't follow a single template. Instead, they branch into several common formats:

- Gacha pull memes: Screenshot your pull results (especially bad ones) and add captions expressing despair, shock, or rage. The contrast between desired 5-star characters and unwanted pulls drives the humor. - Emergency food jokes: Reference Paimon as a food item in any context. Works as a reaction image, caption format, or standalone joke. - Character power-level drama: Make comparison memes about how weak a new character is vs. expectations, or celebrate an unexpectedly strong kit. - McGenshin-style crossovers: Edit Genshin characters into uniforms, logos, or settings from unrelated brands or franchises. - Scaramouche + Bohemian Rhapsody: Any edit combining Scaramouche content with Queen's "Bohemian Rhapsody" fits the running joke. - Event/update reaction memes: After each version update, make memes about new content, bugs, or controversial design choices. Typically shared on r/Genshin_Memepact or Twitter within hours of patch notes dropping.

Create Your Own

Cultural Impact

Genshin Impact's meme culture is inseparable from the game's commercial scale. The game hit $1 billion in mobile revenue within its first six months and attracted millions of active players worldwide. That massive player base meant Genshin memes reached audiences far beyond the usual gacha game niche.

The 2021 anniversary review bomb was covered by PC Gamer, Kotaku, Newsweek, and other mainstream outlets. The incident became a case study in how gaming communities use memes and coordinated action to pressure developers. miHoYo responded by issuing additional rewards and hosting an online concert, though the community's trust took a lasting hit.

Paimon's "emergency food" joke crossed over into official merchandise, with HoYoverse selling plush toys and apparel featuring the phrase1. The character's mixed reception among critics (PC Gamer's James Davenport compared her unfavorably to Navi from Ocarina of Time, while Screen Rant's Austin King called her the game's most memorable character "just maybe not for completely good reasons") only fed the meme machine1.

In September 2025, a Paimon costume was added to Among Us, marking a crossover between two of gaming's biggest meme-generating franchises1.

Fun Facts

Genshin Impact's Google Play rating dropped from 4.6 to 1.9 stars in a single day during the anniversary controversy, with over 70,000 negative reviews flooding in.

The "emergency food" joke appeared in the July 2020 beta before the game even launched, making it older than the game's official release.

The McGenshin role-playing trend got so intense that moderators on the official Genshin Impact Discord began muting participants by late April 2021.

Scaramouche's connection to Queen's "Bohemian Rhapsody" comes from the lyrics referencing "Scaramouch," an actual character from commedia dell'arte theater2.

Genshin Impact hit $1 billion in mobile revenue faster than any game in history at the time, giving its meme community an unusually massive global audience.

Derivatives & Variations

Genshin Impact Memes Variations

Different takes on the Genshin Impact Memes format with modified content

(2020)

Genshin Impact Memes Mashups

Combinations of Genshin Impact Memes with other popular memes

(2021)

Genshin Impact Memes Remixes

Updated versions with current events and references

(2021)

Frequently Asked Questions

References (2)

  1. 1
    Paimon (Genshin Impact)encyclopedia
  2. 2
    Genshin Impact Memes - Know Your Memeencyclopedia

Genshin Impact Memes

2020Gaming meme collection / image macros / video edits / copypastaactive

Also known as: Genshin Memes

Genshin Impact Memes are the massive body of internet humor generated by the community around miHoYo's (later HoYoverse) free-to-play action RPG, which launched on September 28, 2020. From Paimon's "emergency food" running gag to gacha pull rage, Scaramouche Bohemian Rhapsody edits, and the McGenshin trend, the game's fandom turned frustration and fandom into one of the most prolific meme ecosystems in modern gaming. The memes spread across Reddit, TikTok, Twitter, and YouTube, fueled by a global player base of millions and the shared suffering of the gacha system.

review bomb memes gacha game memes hoyoverse memes mobile game memes fan art memes

Overview

Genshin Impact Memes cover a wide range of formats tied to miHoYo's open-world gacha RPG. The game's massive character roster, punishing gacha mechanics, and active online community created fertile ground for memes almost immediately after launch. Common formats include image macros about gacha luck (or lack thereof), reaction images using in-game character expressions, video edits pairing gameplay with trending audio, copypasta about in-game grinding, and fan art parodies of character designs.

The meme ecosystem is unusually broad because the game itself generates new content every six weeks with version updates, character banners, and limited-time events. Each update cycle produces a fresh wave of jokes, complaints, fan art, and shitposts. Key recurring themes include the "emergency food" joke about the mascot Paimon, the absurdity of the gacha pity system, character power-level drama, and crossover edits placing Genshin characters in fast food uniforms or other unlikely settings.

Genshin Impact launched worldwide on September 28, 2020 across PC, PlayStation 4, iOS, and Android. Within four days, the game hit 17 million downloads. The earliest memes appeared during the closed beta in July 2020, when players first encountered the dialogue option to call the guide character Paimon "emergency food." On July 5, 2020, Redditor Kuhl_Notes posted one of the first Emergency Food memes to r/Genshin_Impact.

After the full launch, the Paimon joke exploded across social media. The in-game moment where the player can choose to describe Paimon as "emergency food" to her visible annoyance became the game's first major meme. Players also quickly began creating content around the gacha system's brutal RNG, with memes about failed pulls and the "pity" counter becoming a universal language among Genshin players.

The game's first character-specific meme surge came in November 2020 when Scaramouche debuted during the "Unreconciled Stars" event. His intro cutscene was uploaded to YouTube on November 25, 2020, pulling in over 930,000 views2. On November 26, 2020, a Reddit post titled "Scaramouche is a manlet" hit over 18,000 upvotes on r/Genshin_Impact2.

Origin & Background

Platform
Reddit, Twitter, TikTok (community-created from Genshin Impact gameplay)
Creator
Unknown
Date
2020

Genshin Impact launched worldwide on September 28, 2020 across PC, PlayStation 4, iOS, and Android. Within four days, the game hit 17 million downloads. The earliest memes appeared during the closed beta in July 2020, when players first encountered the dialogue option to call the guide character Paimon "emergency food." On July 5, 2020, Redditor Kuhl_Notes posted one of the first Emergency Food memes to r/Genshin_Impact.

After the full launch, the Paimon joke exploded across social media. The in-game moment where the player can choose to describe Paimon as "emergency food" to her visible annoyance became the game's first major meme. Players also quickly began creating content around the gacha system's brutal RNG, with memes about failed pulls and the "pity" counter becoming a universal language among Genshin players.

The game's first character-specific meme surge came in November 2020 when Scaramouche debuted during the "Unreconciled Stars" event. His intro cutscene was uploaded to YouTube on November 25, 2020, pulling in over 930,000 views2. On November 26, 2020, a Reddit post titled "Scaramouche is a manlet" hit over 18,000 upvotes on r/Genshin_Impact2.

How It Spread

Genshin Impact memes spread through distinct waves, each triggered by in-game events, controversies, or character releases.

Late 2020: Scaramouche and Zhongli. The Scaramouche Bohemian Rhapsody connection took off on December 30, 2020, when YouTuber CrownieShorts posted a dubbed comic where characters sing Queen's "Bohemian Rhapsody" to Scaramouche, riffing on the lyric "Scaramouch, Scaramouch, will you do the Fandango." The video pulled over 817,000 views2. Around the same time, players revolted over 5-star character Zhongli's perceived weakness. Memes about his underwhelming gameplay flooded Reddit and Twitter, and the community pressure eventually forced miHoYo to announce buffs on December 19, 2020.

Early-to-Mid 2021: McGenshin. On December 2, 2020, Redditor anoffdutyhooker posted the earliest known McDonald's-themed Genshin meme, editing a McDonald's ordering machine over Zhongli's Dominus Lapidis pillar. On February 11, 2021, Redditor -Valstrax- escalated the trend with a meme editing a Big Mac over Zhongli's meteor, captioned "This Is Your Order". By April 2021, the McGenshin trend went fully viral on Twitter with custom profile pictures of Genshin characters wearing McDonald's uniforms. A dedicated Discord server launched on April 13 and gained nearly 450 users in a month. The role-playing got so out of hand that mods on the official Genshin Discord started muting people for it by April 27.

September 2021: The Anniversary Review Bomb. When miHoYo announced rewards for Genshin Impact's first anniversary on September 20, 2021, players felt the rewards were insultingly small. The game's Google Play rating cratered from 4.6 stars to 1.9 stars, with at least 70,000 negative reviews submitted in a single day. Frustrated players spilled over into review-bombing miHoYo's other games, Honkai Impact and Tears of Themis. The meme output during this period was enormous: mock thank-you letters, satirical anniversary "rewards" posts, and comparison memes showing other gacha games' anniversary generosity.

October-November 2022: Scaramouche Returns. On October 31, 2022, the official Genshin Impact Twitter account announced Scaramouche as a playable character (renamed "The Wanderer"), with a redesigned outfit. The tweet got over 276,000 likes in three days2. Gameplay leaks followed in November, and TikTok creators flooded the platform with fancams and edits2.

Ongoing: r/Genshin_Memepact and r/AlbedosCreations. The dedicated meme subreddit r/Genshin_Memepact grew to over 234,000 members, while the spin-off subreddit r/AlbedosCreations specializes in cursed character edits and hybrid creations.

Platforms

TikTokRedditTwitter

Timeline

2021-01-01

Meme still see steady use

2022-01-01

Genshin Impact Memes reached mainstream popularity and media coverage

View on Google Trends

How to Use This Meme

Genshin Impact memes don't follow a single template. Instead, they branch into several common formats:

- Gacha pull memes: Screenshot your pull results (especially bad ones) and add captions expressing despair, shock, or rage. The contrast between desired 5-star characters and unwanted pulls drives the humor. - Emergency food jokes: Reference Paimon as a food item in any context. Works as a reaction image, caption format, or standalone joke. - Character power-level drama: Make comparison memes about how weak a new character is vs. expectations, or celebrate an unexpectedly strong kit. - McGenshin-style crossovers: Edit Genshin characters into uniforms, logos, or settings from unrelated brands or franchises. - Scaramouche + Bohemian Rhapsody: Any edit combining Scaramouche content with Queen's "Bohemian Rhapsody" fits the running joke. - Event/update reaction memes: After each version update, make memes about new content, bugs, or controversial design choices. Typically shared on r/Genshin_Memepact or Twitter within hours of patch notes dropping.

Create Your Own

Cultural Impact

Genshin Impact's meme culture is inseparable from the game's commercial scale. The game hit $1 billion in mobile revenue within its first six months and attracted millions of active players worldwide. That massive player base meant Genshin memes reached audiences far beyond the usual gacha game niche.

The 2021 anniversary review bomb was covered by PC Gamer, Kotaku, Newsweek, and other mainstream outlets. The incident became a case study in how gaming communities use memes and coordinated action to pressure developers. miHoYo responded by issuing additional rewards and hosting an online concert, though the community's trust took a lasting hit.

Paimon's "emergency food" joke crossed over into official merchandise, with HoYoverse selling plush toys and apparel featuring the phrase1. The character's mixed reception among critics (PC Gamer's James Davenport compared her unfavorably to Navi from Ocarina of Time, while Screen Rant's Austin King called her the game's most memorable character "just maybe not for completely good reasons") only fed the meme machine1.

In September 2025, a Paimon costume was added to Among Us, marking a crossover between two of gaming's biggest meme-generating franchises1.

Fun Facts

Genshin Impact's Google Play rating dropped from 4.6 to 1.9 stars in a single day during the anniversary controversy, with over 70,000 negative reviews flooding in.

The "emergency food" joke appeared in the July 2020 beta before the game even launched, making it older than the game's official release.

The McGenshin role-playing trend got so intense that moderators on the official Genshin Impact Discord began muting participants by late April 2021.

Scaramouche's connection to Queen's "Bohemian Rhapsody" comes from the lyrics referencing "Scaramouch," an actual character from commedia dell'arte theater2.

Genshin Impact hit $1 billion in mobile revenue faster than any game in history at the time, giving its meme community an unusually massive global audience.

Derivatives & Variations

Genshin Impact Memes Variations

Different takes on the Genshin Impact Memes format with modified content

(2020)

Genshin Impact Memes Mashups

Combinations of Genshin Impact Memes with other popular memes

(2021)

Genshin Impact Memes Remixes

Updated versions with current events and references

(2021)

Frequently Asked Questions

References (2)

  1. 1
    Paimon (Genshin Impact)encyclopedia
  2. 2
    Genshin Impact Memes - Know Your Memeencyclopedia