Original artwork, not a still
Mission failed. We'll get 'em next time.
— Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 • 2009
Behind the line
What it means
Our interpretation.
In its home game this is a grim, almost courteous sign-off from a masked soldier, a way of telling the player to try again. Online it became the all-purpose soundtrack for failure: attach it to a botched trick, a dropped plate or a lost match and the joke lands at once. The flat, calm delivery is the point, since nothing in the voice is disappointed.
Context reviewed
In context
Spoilers for Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2Show the scene
In Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 (Infinity Ward, November 2009), a failed Special Ops mission ends with a radio message from Simon 'Ghost' Riley, voiced by Craig Fairbrass: the mission has failed, and the team will get them next time. The same line returns in Modern Warfare 3 (2011). It became a meme years later, when the clip was used as a sound effect for fail videos; the earliest known Vine doing so dates from 29 March 2016.
Sources (2)
- Know Your Meme: Mission Failed, We'll Get 'Em Next TimeAbout, Origin and Spread sectionsReference checked
- Call of Duty Wiki: Simon "Ghost" RileyQuotes sectionReference checked
Context reviewed
