What's The 'I've Played These Games Before' Meme And How Is It Used Online? The 'Squid Game 2' Meme Format Explained

The latest season of the South Korean TV drama Squid Game has been out for less than a month, and it has already kicked off a flurry of memes and internet trends.

The second season sees the protagonist Seong Gi-hun (played by actor Lee Jung-jae) returning to the deathly competition after winning it, this time trying to stop it for good.

One scene showing Gi-hun shouting, "I've played these games before!" as his fellow contestants argue and chatter behind him became a viral meme on TikTok over the new year and has since spread to other platforms like Reddit and Twitter / X.

Here are some of the funnier ways in which internet users have twisted the meaning of Seong Gi-hun's outburst as the brief clip from the show has evolved to become a meme format lately.

Where Did The Line 'I've Played These Games Before' Come From?

The second season of the hugely popular South Korean drama Squid Game was released on Netflix in late December 2024, following the protagonist and the winner of the previous season, Seong Gi-hun, as he reenters the games in an effort to end them once and for all.

In the third episode of the show, Seong Gi-hun has a sudden outburst during a heated discussion between his fellow contestants in which he shouts, "I've played these games before!"

An English dub version of the scene was reposted to TikTok by @squidgamefanpage29 on December 26th, with memes featuring the line appearing on the platform soon after. The video, captioned, "546 noobs vs 1 pro ahh" gained over a million views in a week.

@garfieldl0ver6 he's so done with those people who vote "O"😭🙏🏻 #fyp #squidgame #squidgameedit #fyp #idk ♬ original sound – repilus ♱

How Did Seong Gi-hun Shouting 'I've Played These Games Before' Become A Meme?

Seong Gi-hun's scene quickly a viral meme on TikTok in late December 2024 before eventually spreading to other platforms in the following weeks.

People mostly used the scene to joke about times when they have been "played" by someone or times when they have had to flex their experience over a bunch of noobs.

@munburumu IVE PLAYED THESE GAMES BEFORE 🗣️😭😭💔 #squidgame #squidgames #squidgame2 #squidgameseason2 #meme #highschool #relatable #fyp #viral #munburumu ♬ original sound – repilus ♱

By early January 2025, the meme had spread to Reddit and Twitter / X. People were using it to joke about trite and overdone discourse, as seen in a tweet posted by @velsmells in which they joke about Marvel Rivals players repeating the same arguments as Overwatch players.

Overwatch players watching Marvel Rivals complain about unbalanced team comps, broken characters, and healers being left behind by their team pic.twitter.com/LYSjDOSDqN

— Xiao at 200% lesbian power (@velsmells) January 5, 2025

What Are Some More 'I've Played These Games Before' Memes?

https://www.tiktok.com/embed/v2/7454452354197294378

https://www.tiktok.com/embed/v2/7455090856198966559

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For the full history of I've Played These Games Before, be sure to check out Know Your Meme's encyclopedia entry for more information.