What Does 'Game Is Game' Mean? The Viral Pick-up Catchphrase And The Recent Controversy On TikTok Explained

From time to time a slang term becomes so popular online that people forget it already existed before the internet and that's the case with Game is game. This not-so-new expression has been taking over TikTok to the point some users are spamming comment sections with the phrase, most often written with the speaking head emoji (🗣️).

Game is game started as a silly slang term online and, as of March 2024, is the center of a controversy in TikTok involving people insinuating sexual intentions towards a 3-year-old. Here's everything you need to know about the expression and the latest incident on TikTok.

What Does 'Game Is Game' Mean?

Much similar to the slang Rizz, "Game is game" centers on pickup culture, which attests that it doesn't matter what the method is (or game is) in a pick-up scenario as long as it works and achieves the final result, which is usually towards a sexual benefit.

Where Does 'Game Is Game' Comes From?

"Game is game" goes all the way back to the 90s, originating from African American Vernacular English (AAVE) and becoming mainstream in rap music from the era. One of the phrase's first known uses was in the rap song "Stories From The Black Book" by K-Rino, released on the album of the same name on April 12th, 1993. The lyric, "Game is game yet death is reality" is said in the song's third verse (YouTube upload shown below).

How Did 'Game Is Game' Was Popularized As A Catchphrase Meme?

Despite the three-decades-old origin, "Game is game" wasn't widely used in memes and internet discourse until the 2020s. A key figure that spread the expression online was former TikToker and Instagram user Life and Scars (@lifeandscarz), who repeated the phrase at the end of his "dating advice" videos. On October 8th, 2022, he posted a video to Instagram in which he ended his video with "game is game" for the first time (shown below).

Approximately a year later, the phrase could be spotted in several meme content across TikTok, X, YouTube and Instagram. For instance, on May 25th, 2023, TikToker @_flexoffender__ posted a Life and Scars fan edit with the caption, "Game is game."

'Game Is Game' Controversy

As we all know by now, the internet is not always the most decent and sane place to be. In February 2024, some people started to use the "Game is game" expression to spam the comment section in the video of a 3-year-old Chinese kid dancing in a bunny costume (shown below, left), most of the comments insinuating a sexual connotation.

The sudden spark of "Game is game" in the kid's video sparked several enraged posts on TikTok, as people expressed their disbelief in the predatory behavior towards a child. For example, on March 13th, 2024, TikTok user @ilyasuna_ posted the kid in a bunny costume video paired with the overlay texts "game is game" and "prison is prison."

For the full history of the "Game is game" meme, be sure to check out Know Your Meme's entry for even more information.