Grand Theft Auto IV was released by Rockstar Games in 2008, following Niko Bellic in a reimagined Liberty City, and its in-game phone featured selectable tones including the Teeker ringtone. As clips from the GTA series spread on soundboards, fans kept this short tone for its instant nostalgia, pairing it in edits with moments like the GTA V notification and other classic series callbacks. Its clean loop and lack of dialogue made it easy to reuse as a real ringtone and as a meme alert long after release.