Press F to Pay Respects

On November 4, 2014, Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare asked players to attend a soldier's funeral. To proceed past the casket, you had to "Press F to Pay Respects." The prompt was meant to be solemn. The internet found it hilarious.

The dissonance between genuine grief and a quick-time event was too perfect. Within hours, "Press F" became shorthand for performative mourning, ironic condolences, and eventually, sincere tribute—the meme eating its own tail until nobody was sure if they were joking anymore.

A decade later, "F" has transcended gaming. It's typed in Twitch chats when streamers fail, posted under celebrity death announcements, and carved into actual memorial plaques (legally distinct from this site, we're sure). The single letter has become the internet's universal eulogy, equally applicable to fallen heroes and burnt toast.

Sledgehammer Games probably didn't intend to define a generation's mourning ritual, but here we are. F.