Roblox's Iconic "Oof" Sound Returned to its Original Creator

While Roblox may be one of the most under-celebrated yet popular games on the internet (apparently half of American children play it), when you hear the name, what's the first and probably the only thing that pops into mind?



Yep, the "oof." That strange, endlessly comical sound effect has become a community-wide meme that's transcended the community itself and spread across the internet as a whole. But today, I just learned something strange: apparently, that "oof" was a fan creation. What's more... it's plagiarized.

It was discovered last year (apparently) that the iconic "oof" sound effect came from a much less iconic source: an obscure 2000 action game called Messiah, where you play a fat cherub sent down to earth by God to purge the world of sin. The creator of the sound effect, Intellivision Entertainment CEO Tommy Tallarico, realized this, and decided he might as well sue since there's no possible way he could lose that suit.

One year later, he functionally did, and Roblox settled.

The results of that suit are pretty interesting: rather than just straight-up taking money from the company, Intellivision Entertainment took control of the license of the "oof" sound effect, and are now selling it on Roblox for $1 a pop. So while the sound isn't going anywhere, now it costs you a little change if you want to participate in the meme.

But the most interesting bit is that Intellivision Entertainment now has the right to sell "oof" merchandise on the Roblox Amazon store. So rather than just take their ball home, they've decided to try and milk it for all its worth. It feels a little gross, but... the more I think about it the less I can think of a reason WHY it feels gross.

Oh, and also, they're now selling four other sound libraries, which cost between $10 and $250. I doubt they'll be as popular, but might as well, right?