What is Video Game Apologies?

Video Game Apologies are parody image macros that mock the formal statement letters game publishers release when a title ships broken or faces delays.

Where did Video Game Apologies come from?

The format grew from three real apology statements CD Projekt Red posted in 2020 about Cyberpunk 2077 delays, with the parody trend taking off in May 2023 after Daedalic's Gollum apology.

What does Video Game Apologies mean?

The term refers to a running joke that industry apologies look so similar across companies that they feel copy-pasted, which players satirize by making fake versions.

How do you use Video Game Apologies?

Users typically edit the yellow CDPR-style template or a similar studio layout to post a fake apology, often substituting ridiculous scenarios or unrelated games.

Is Video Game Apologies still popular?

The parody trend peaked in late May 2023 after Daedalic's Gollum apology, and a viral collage of real apologies that same week earned over 45,000 likes.

Video Game Apologies

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Published October 16, 2026

Video Game Apologies, also called Game Developer Apology Letters, parody the plain yellow statements publishers post whenever a title ships broken or slips its launch date. CD Projekt Red's three Cyberpunk 2077 delay notices in 2020 cemented the yellow template, and after a 2023 run of real apologies from Naughty Dog, EA and Daedalic, Twitter users posted fake letters mocking Silent Hill 2 and other titles in May 2023.

gaming exploitable templates cyberpunk memes twitter memes 2023 memes

Overview

Typical entries use a plain background, often yellow or white, with the studio logo at the top and formal corporate wording signed by an executive. Parody edits replace the apology copy with absurd scenarios, like a fake Silent Hill 2 enhanced edition statement posted by @WhereAllBegins in May 20239.

By May 2023, enough publishers had issued near-identical statements that Twitter users collected them side by side to show the pattern8. Daedalic Entertainment's apology for The Lord of the Rings: Gollum was the specific flashpoint, since that game had been widely panned on release10.

Gallery

Origin & Background

Platform

Twitter

Date

2020

Bethesda Game Studios ran one of the earliest versions of the format on October 22, 2018, apologizing for the bugs that plagued Fallout 76 at launch1. The template that fans later parodied came from CD Projekt Red, which posted three statements on January 16, June 18 and October 27, 2020, each pushing back the Cyberpunk 2077 release date2 3. Fans began editing the yellow background and formal language of the CDPR letters into joke versions soon after4.

How It Spread

Between early 2022 and spring 2023, several more studios shipped the same style of letter. Naughty Dog apologized on February 3, 2023 for delaying the PC port of The Last of Us Part I5. On April 28, Electronic Arts addressed performance issues in Star Wars Jedi: Survivor6. Daedalic Entertainment's May 26 statement on The Lord of the Rings: Gollum received over 1,200 retweets and 14,600 likes within four days7.

That Gollum post set off the parody wave. Later that day, @LookAtMyMeat1 posted a collage of apologies from different companies that earned over 4,900 retweets and 45,000 likes8. Also on May 26, @WhereAllBegins published a fake Silent Hill 2 enhanced edition apology that drew 3,500 retweets and 38,200 likes in four days9.

Timeline

2018-10-22

Bethesda Game Studios apologizes for bugs and performance issues in Fallout 76.

2020-01-16

CD Projekt Red posts its first Cyberpunk 2077 delay apology, introducing the yellow template.

2020-06-18

CD Projekt Red issues a second Cyberpunk 2077 delay apology.

2020-10-27

CD Projekt Red issues a third Cyberpunk 2077 delay apology.

2023-02-03

Naughty Dog apologizes for delaying the PC port of The Last of Us Part I.

2023-04-28

Electronic Arts apologizes for performance issues in Star Wars Jedi: Survivor.

2023-05-26

Daedalic Entertainment apologizes for The Lord of the Rings: Gollum, sparking a parody wave.

2023-05-26

@LookAtMyMeat1 posts a viral apology collage; @WhereAllBegins posts a fake Silent Hill 2 apology.

How to Use This Meme

A typical parody keeps the familiar layout: a plain yellow or white background, studio logo at the top, a formal paragraph of corporate wording, and a signature from a fictional executive. Common edits replace the game title and the stated reason for apology with absurd scenarios or an unrelated title9.