Zero Deaths — PewDiePie wearing headphones speaking into a microphone during a video

Zero Deaths

2016catchphraseclassic

Published October 8, 2026

Zero Deaths is a running catchphrase from Let's Player PewDiePie, who repeats it as faux-bragging about his skill while dying over and over in difficult video games. It started during his March 2016 Dark Souls III run and grew into a long-running bit his fans turned into image macros and remix songs.

pewdiepie memes catchphrase memes lets play memes gaming self deprecating memes

Overview

Zero Deaths is a running bit from Swedish Let's Player Felix Kjellberg, better known as PewDiePie, where he repeats the phrase mid-gameplay to pretend he never dies, usually right after dying1. The joke works because the audio and the footage flatly contradict each other, so the bragging reads as self-deprecating comedy rather than an actual claim of skill2.

After the Dark Souls III bet that started it, the phrase stuck as a verbal tic PewDiePie carried into other hard or horror-leaning games, including Outlast II and Crash Bandicoot N. Sane Trilogy23. Fans picked it up and spun it off into image macros, reaction edits and remix songs built around the clip of him saying it2.

Origin & Background

Platform
YouTube (PewDiePie Let's Play) / Reddit (fan macros)
Creator
Felix Kjellberg
Date
2016

PewDiePie first used the catchphrase in his playthrough of From Software's Dark Souls III, where he bet he could clear the game without dying. The video went up on March 26, 2016 and pulled in over 7 million views, with him repeating "zero deaths" throughout despite the deaths piling up on screen12.

Two days later, on March 28, 2016, a thread about the attempt was posted to the Dark Souls III board on GameFAQs, which was the first notable fan discussion of the bit outside the video itself2.

How It Spread

The phrase stopped being tied to one game pretty quickly. By May 29, 2017, a confused viewer posted to r/outlast asking what "zero deaths" even meant after watching PewDiePie say it constantly during his Outlast II run, which showed the bit had followed him into horror content4. That same summer he leaned on it heavily during his Crash Bandicoot N. Sane Trilogy playthrough, where the deaths-per-level count made the gag land even harder2.

Fans turned the catchphrase into reposts on PewDiePie-focused subreddits. On August 5, 2017, Redditor Majsr____ posted an image macro using the phrase that picked up 80 upvotes, and on August 12, 2017, Redditor KingShrekthe69th uploaded a Zero Deaths joke to r/PewDiePieSubmissions that cleared 340 upvotes2. The audio side of the meme grew too: on August 7, 2017, YouTuber Day by Dave uploaded a remix song built around PewDiePie saying the line, which passed 130,000 views2.

Outside of PewDiePie's own community, the phrase overlaps with an older Super Smash Bros. term "zero-to-death," meaning a combo that KOs an opponent starting from 0% damage, which Urban Dictionary entries document separately from the PewDiePie usage5.

Timeline

2016-03-26

PewDiePie uploads his Dark Souls III "zero deaths" bet video, the first appearance of the catchphrase.

2016-03-28

A thread about the Dark Souls III run is posted to the GameFAQs Dark Souls III board.

2017-05-29

A Redditor asks r/outlast what "zero deaths" means after watching the Outlast II playthrough.

2017-08-05

Redditor Majsr____ posts a Zero Deaths image macro that gets 80 upvotes.

2017-08-07

YouTuber Day by Dave uploads a Zero Deaths remix song, later passing 130,000 views.

2017-08-12

Redditor KingShrekthe69th posts a Zero Deaths joke to r/PewDiePieSubmissions that passes 340 upvotes.

Frequently Asked Questions