What is Mission Failed, We'll Get 'Em Next Time?

It's a Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 voice line spoken by the character Ghost when a player fails a Special Ops mission, which became a popular FAIL video sound effect on Vine and YouTube[1][4].

Where did Mission Failed, We'll Get 'Em Next Time come from?

The line was written by Infinity Ward for Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, released in November 2009, and voiced by English actor Craig Fairbrass[2].

What does Mission Failed, We'll Get 'Em Next Time mean?

In-game it's Ghost consoling the player after a failed objective, but online it's used ironically as a punchline sound over any real-world wipeout or embarrassing mistake[3].

How do you use Mission Failed, We'll Get 'Em Next Time?

Editors drop the Ghost audio over a video of someone failing, timing the line to hit at the moment of the wipeout, or use the phrase as a caption or chat reply after any small screw-up[4].

Is Mission Failed, We'll Get 'Em Next Time still popular?

The Vine-era peak was 2016, but the audio stuck around as a classic Call of Duty reference in gaming communities and FAIL compilations[4].

Mission Failed, We'll Get 'Em Next Time

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Published September 6, 2026

"Mission Failed, We'll Get 'Em Next Time" is a Call of Duty voice line spoken by the character Ghost after a player dies in Modern Warfare 2. Starting in 2016, Vine editors ripped the audio and slapped it over real-world wipeouts, turning a game-over cue into one of the defining FAIL sound effects of the late Vine era.

call of duty memes sound effect memes vine memes fail memes audio edit memes

Overview

"Mission Failed, We'll Get 'Em Next Time" is a radio transmission from the character Ghost that plays when a player dies or blows an objective in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2's Special Ops mode1. English voice actor Craig Fairbrass delivered the line, and it later showed up in Modern Warfare 3 as well2.

Online, the line works as a punchline sound effect. Editors drop the audio over a clip of someone eating pavement, missing a dunk, or otherwise failing spectacularly, so Ghost's calm consolation lands on top of very uncalm real-world wreckage3. The joke is the mismatch between the po-faced military delivery and the goofy amateur footage underneath.

The format sits in the same lineage as other short game-over sound gags, but is tied specifically to the Call of Duty fandom and Modern Warfare 2 nostalgia4.

Origin & Background

Platform

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 (source) / Vine (viral spread)

Creator

Infinity Ward

Date

2009

The line was written for Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, the November 2009 sequel to Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare from Infinity Ward1. Inside the game, Ghost radios in "mission failed, we'll get 'em next time" whenever the player dies or fails an objective during a Special Ops mission, and the same line was reused in 2011's Modern Warfare 32.

The earliest known repurposing of the audio as a comedy FAIL sound effect was a Vine posted by user Sock Jesus on March 29, 2016, which set the template of pairing the Ghost audio with a clip of someone wiping out4.

How It Spread

Through spring and summer 2016, Vine filled up with copycats using the same audio over skate bails, sports flubs, and general slapstick disasters4. On June 6, 2016, a single-topic Twitter account, @MissionFailed, launched to curate the best Vine edits4. Four days later, on June 10, ObeseFailTV uploaded a compilation of the Vine parodies to YouTube that pulled more than 232,000 views in the following six months4.

The format bled off Vine and into general-purpose humor sites, showing up as post titles on Imgur and 9GAG4. The YouTube explainer series Behind The Memes later cataloged the FAIL remix trend, keeping the audio in circulation with newer viewers who never played the original Modern Warfare 2 mission3.

The line stuck around as a shorthand for any small-stakes screw-up in Call of Duty communities, well after Vine itself shut down in 2017.

How to Use This Meme

The typical format is a short video of a real-life fail, edited so the Ghost voice line hits right at the moment of impact. Common conventions include cutting to black or freezing the frame on the fail while the audio plays, or captioning the clip with "Mission Failed, We'll Get 'Em Next Time" as text overlay. It also works as a standalone reply, dropped in chat or comments after someone shares a story about messing something up.

Frequently Asked Questions

References (5)