The nope line comes from the Engineer, the Texan builder class in Valve's Team Fortress 2, released in 2007. In game the voice line is a simple negative response, and players clipped it for machinimas, Garry's Mod videos and early meme edits. The fadeaway version shortens the delivery even further, turning a normal response into a comedic exit. It stayed popular because Team Fortress 2 clips remain common in gaming edits, and a single clear nope needs no context to be understood by new viewers.