The instakill power-up first appeared in Call of Duty: Black Ops 2, released in 2012, as part of the Zombies mode created by Treyarch. When a player picks up the skull power-up, the game plays this cue and temporarily makes every zombie die from one hit. The sound became familiar to players through Zombies runs, streams, and highlight clips, where it signalled a brief chance to clear a room and recover. It remains popular because Black Ops 2 Zombies still has a large nostalgic community, and creators reuse the cue to suggest a power-up, a comeback, or an easy win.