The Evolution of LARPing

Let me take you on a quick journey, my friends. I was galavanting through my YouTube feed, as one does, just hanging out with my favorite creators and passing the time before heading to bed.

Then – I saw him.

Larpiplier.

My investigation began at his channel, of course. His profile picture was an uncanny copy of one of my favorite content creators’ own pictures, but with a purple background and blue mustache. One thing was clear – this profile seemed to be a copycat of Markiplier himself.

My investigation continued … and I discovered more of these “larptubers.” Charlie from penguinz0 had a doppelganger called “Larpeguinz0.” Even PewDiePie got his own duplicate – “LarpewDiePie.”

Looking at these channels is very fun because they bring back the early 2010s of YouTube, but I also found that the term “LARPing” has changed quite a bit over the past few years.

So, what is LARPing now?

The definition of LARPing (meaning “live action role-play) hasn’t changed much when it comes to these “larptubers.” People put on a different persona and act that way for their own enjoyment.

For example, Larpiplier appears to be in it for the memes. Once his channel hit 180K subs, he posted a video to explain why he started the channel in the first place. He claimed he expected absolutely nothing when he started his channel in May of this year. But, his sub count grew and he even got noticed by Markiplier himself.

At the time of this posting, his channel has surpassed 190K subscribers.

Larpiplier appears to be more serious about his content while other channels indulge the absurdity. Larpenguinz0 will use actual thumbnails from the original penguinz0 channel rather than his own creations.

Other larptubers have become problematic. Penguinz0 even talked about one of these channels, known as “Technolarp.”

Technolarp, which no longer exists as a channel on the platform, emulated Technoblade, who passed away in 2022. Penguinz0 said he believes Technolarp isn’t replicating the channel in bad faith, but felt uncomfortable about the situation.

Besides this, Gen Z has used the term “LARPing” in more of a negative connotation. Instead of the term meaning something fun and creative, it’s being used as an insult similar to the word “poseur.” It’s a new way to call out someone for being inauthentic IRL.

Don’t worry, though. It’s mainly used in a joking way. Some Gen Z folks seem to use it as a shield to appear more nonchalant about something they are really into. As USA Today’s Rachel Hale explains, “young people place a lot of focus on being nonchalant, constantly editing themselves and trimming anything that might come off as try-hard, awkward or embarrassing.”

A quick LARPing history

OK, so how did we get here? LARPing has been around for decades. And I mean decades. This VICE article from 2015 dates it back to at least 1977 and the foundation of Dagorhir, a full-contact medieval game played outdoors in the Washington, D.C. area. As of this posting, there are chapters around the world.

There are also connections to the infamous tabletop game Dungeons & Dragons, which debuted three years earlier.

Self-proclaimed nerds gathered to play these games and more. Another LARPing game I have to mention is Vampire: The Masquerade, where players take on the roles of different species of vampires and play through scenarios similar to D&D.

Fast-forward to the early 2000s – the term LARPing is Googled but not NEARLY as much as it would be in the year 2026.

That huge uptick is likely due to the term’s recent shift in definition, while others are from releases like “Stranger Things.”

Transformation of words and memes

I minored in speech communication (insert hair flip), so I like to think I know a lot about words and their meanings. Here in the Midwest, it’s all about tone when you say something like “bless your heart” or “you poor thing.” I think this is applicable to “LARPing” when used in the current lexicon.

When this change in meaning popped up in my feed, I immediately thought of what happened to the meme “Pepe the Frog.” TL;DR, the frog used to be used in a chill way. Then, it was co-opted by the alt-right and turned into a symbol of hate. (Creators have tried bringing Pepe back to his original purpose; time will tell if they are successful in that endeavor.)

That’s a pretty new example compared to how words like “sick” and “bet” changed meanings over the last few years. Obviously, “sick” is meant to convey when someone is ill and not feeling well. I currently use it as another term for “cool” or “neat.”

The word “bet” changed to become more of an affirmation that you understand what someone has said or finally solidified those plans with a friend. Of course, the original definition means to risk money on an event or game.

There are plenty more words and phrases that have changed meanings in just the last few years. Obviously they have changed since the first time they were recorded. Language is ever-evolving, and the nerd in me LOVES that.

Why should you care about how words and memes change?

It all comes down to effective communication. If you want to converse with your younger friends in an impactful way, it’s better to get on their level to make sure your message gets across. It’s easier said than done, of course, but if you do it authentically you might just make it work for yourself.

I think about my nieces and nephews and how they still can’t stop saying “6-7” no matter how uncool their grandpa (my dad) makes it seem when he says it. I think they keep saying it with him to have that connection that they might not have with their mom (my sister) who REFUSES to indulge them in that language.

Overall, girlie, I think you should be able to say whatever you want without fear of judgment (and without causing harm to others). LARPing is a phrase that I think will stand the test of time because it’s been around for so long already. You can hit the kids with the “back in my day” anecdotes all you want – hopefully they learn something new and understand how language can change for the better.