The NPC meme was created in July 2016 by an anonymous author and first published on the imageboard 4chan, where the idea and inspiration behind the meme were introduced. The meme gained widespread attention and in October 2018 was covered in numerous news outlets, including The New York Times, The Verge, BBC, and Breitbart News.
See also: The American Meme, Internet meme, Doge (meme), Meme, Distracted boyfriend, Meme (film),