Murlocs come from Blizzard's Warcraft universe, where they are small amphibious creatures that swarm beaches and riverbanks in World of Warcraft, released in 2004. Players learned to dread their gurgling aggro call because one murloc usually meant several more were about to join the fight. That shared memory turned the noise into a long-running gaming meme, shared in streams, fan videos and soundboards whenever a tiny threat appears far more confident than it should be.