League of Legends, released by Riot Games in 2009, uses a ping system so players can communicate quickly without voice chat. The missing ping, often called the MIA ping, alerts a team when an opponent has left a lane and could be moving elsewhere on the map. Streamers and clip creators picked it up because its meaning is instantly clear to anyone who has played the game, and it later spread into short-form edits and memes about people disappearing, going silent, or sneaking away. It remains popular because it is short, recognisable, and easy to drop into a joke.