Per 
Item #: SCP-XXXX
Object Class: Euclid (Upgrade to Keter pending)
Special Containment Procedures: Specialized webcrawlers are to be monitoring social media and video sharing websites for any traces of cognitohazards consistent with the anomalous entity. Detections are to be traced, deleted from the server, and replaced with non-anomalous versions of the content. Trained Foundation personnel with a memetic resistance rating of 2 or above are to join the communities and closely observe them for the activity of SCP-XXXX-1, to track them and administer amnestics as needed.
In the unlikely case of a new source of a memetic vector to surface, Mobile Task Force Mu-4 "The Debuggers" is to be deployed to track down the origins of the anomaly and act immediately to administer Class B amnestics to all SCP-XXXX carriers in the area as well as take down the vector itself. In the case of a severe containment breach, the aforementioned MTF is to temporarely take down the servers where the memetic vector was located as well as isolate the communities to prevent mass spread of SCP-XXXX, and deploy the Hollard-Bronnoford Amnestic Cognitohazard (HBAC) in masse to prevent victims from further spreading the memetic anomaly.
Description: SCP-XXXX is a memetic anomaly in the form of a video trailer teasing "Elden Ring", an action-based roleplaying game being developed by FROM Software, a japanese videogame development company founded in November 1986, and published by Bandai Namco Entertainment Inc.. The video has two minutes and thirty seconds in length and was uploaded in the 9th of June of 2019 during the videogame event "E3 2019", and was originally uploaded by FROM Software's Youtube channel and later by several dozen other channels in the same platform. Currently, the original video is the strongest vector of the memetic hazard, with the copies being considered weaker but still potential memetic vectors. The original vector of the memetic anomaly has a 78% chance of infecting the viewer, while the copies of the vector are between 24% and 49%. Any vector that is located by Foundation personnel or the webcrawlers is to be replaced with a modified copy which has its cognitohazardous elements removed, but knowing that there are instances of SCP-XXXX that are in home computers or smaller servers, it's only a question of time before a new vector is uploaded to the internet, requiring the Foundation to keep an watchful eye on social medias for new instances or to deepen the searches outside the scope of the internet surface.
A human being who watches the trailer in full has a chance of becoming an infected of the memetic anomaly, hereafter to be called SCP-XXXX-1. The progression of the memetic takeover has several stages:
Stage 1: Once SCP-XXXX infects a human brain it begins developing thoughts related to its contents, which produces an abnormal amount of endorphins when such neuron patterns are activated; this will cause SCP-XXXX-1 to experience feelings of excitement and euphoria upon watching the trailer and will desire to make it a habit to rewatch SCP-XXXX in a daily or weekly basis. By doing this, the memetic infection is strengthened within SCP-XXXX-1's mind, which will allow a hastened advancement into the further stages of the infection as the intrusive thoughts continue spreading through SCP-XXXX-1's brain. Currently it's estimated that ██% of the global population is a carrier of the memetic infection in this early stage, and it's estimated that between 80% to 95% of this amount is part of the Elden Ring online communities, where victims of the memetic vector in varying stages can be found. Class A amnestics are very effective in reversing the effects of SCP-XXXX during Stage 1. After reaching a certain infection threshold, SCP-XXXX-1 will advance into the next stage.
Stage 2: The amount of anomalous thoughts created by the memetic vector will continue increasing, replacing SCP-XXXX-1's own that are related to its tastes, hobbies, and even personality traits. SCP-XXXX-1 will begin to experience melancholy, frustration and the initial stages of depression due to the wait for the aforementioned game to be released as SCP-XXXX becomes its only source of entertainment; however, due to the constant exposure to SCP-XXXX, the intensity of the pleasure brought by the anomaly will slowly lose its intensity, requiring ever increasing amounts of exposure to the anomaly to keep SCP-XXXX-1 satisfied, which makes a vicious cycle of reinfection. This stage is collectively nicknamed by the community as "hollowing" in reference to another game made by FROM Software. SCP-XXXX carriers in Stage 2 will behave in a more lethargic manner as the cognitohazard continues causing damage to the infected's brain as it starts affecting more of its functions. By this point Class B amnestics are only partially effective, able to ease the symptoms for a few weeks before they return. Once the infection starts affecting SCP-XXXX-1's motor and cognitive functions, that signals the late phase of Stage 2 and the very beginning of Stage 3.
Stage 3: Once SCP-XXXX has caused sufficient damage to the cognitive and motor functions of SCP-XXXX-1's brain, SCP-XXXX-1 is now considered completely taken over by the memetic vector and will behave in an erradic and unpredictable manner. By this point, SCP-XXXX-1 is unable to speak cohesive sentences, able only to vocalize the quotes of SCP-XXXX at random; it's currently unknown if this is a mechanism of the anomaly to spread SCP-XXXX further or if it's merely a symptom of the memetic infection itself. SCP-XXXX-1 in Stage 3 are beyond recovery, becoming aimless and aggressive at random times, barely able to maintain their basic needs on their own accord. Succumbing to the physical symptoms of the memetic anomaly, they will visually look like dishivelled humans suffering from lack of sleep, hair loss, weight loss and loss of motor functions correlated to the symptoms of accelerated depression. (considered to be in the highest level of "hollowing") They still apparently behave like non-anomalous humans within the online community, but that's believed to be only a disguise created by the memetic activity to avoid detection. It's estimated that 32% of all victims of SCP-XXXX are in Stage 3 currently. This is considered the end of SCP-XXXX's development within a human brain, however there are rare extreme cases which overexposure to the memetic vector can cause SCP-XXXX-1 to enter a fourth stage, stated below.
Stage 4: At this point, SCP-XXXX-1 instances will barely look human due to their complete lack of self care, decayed appearance and borderline animalistic behaviour outside of their online medias. Victims of SCP-XXXX become mainly living vectors of SCP-XXXX, unable to perform any other human function other than spread SCP-XXXX in various forms of media. SCP-XXXX-1 become responsible in broadcasting news about Elden Ring or are moderators of online communities, further spreading the memetic anomaly and bringing new members to the community. A well known carrier of SCP-XXXX in this stage is a Person of Interest entitled ████████, whom uploads daily videos to its Youtube channel related to Elden Ring, bringing a small number of new victims of SCP-XXXX to join the community daily. The whereabouts of the PoI are still unknown. All instances of SCP-XXXX-1 in Stage 4 must not be approached without the assistance of a Mobile Task Force due to their unpredictable nature as well as the development of [REDACTED].
Addendum 109-01: 6 hours after the discovery of SCP-XXXX, the Mobile Task Force Mu-4 was deployed to several branches of Bamdai Namco in Europe and North America and the FROM Software's headquarters in Japan in an attempt to look for the source of the anomaly. An early copy of the game was discovered and confiscated, and amnestics were deployed to all the civilians in the facility.1 Analysis of the assets in the confiscated content reported no anomalous properties. It's currently not entirely understood why the teaser trailers were the initial vectors of the memetic anomaly. See Addendum 109-03.
Addendum 109-02: A SCP-XXXX-1 called Richard █████ was located and interviewed by undercover agent Frederick Oswald of the Department of Memetic and Cognitive Anomalies in its residence. This instance of SCP-XXXX-1 was confirmed to be at a late Stage 2. An excerpt of the audio recording of the events are as follows:
[EXTRANEOUS DATA REMOVED]
Agent Frederick: Thank you for your cooperation, Richard. This will be a short interview.
SCP-XXXX-1: Sure, I guess.
-brief sound of shuffling pages-
Agent Frederick: So, you mentioned that you have been having troubles sleeping, is that correct?
SCP-XXXX-1: That's true. I have been restless because of the wait.
Agent Frederick: Wait?
SCP-XXXX-1: Yes! There's this game that has been teased a little over a year and half ago that I have been hyping a lot. Have you- Have you heard about Elden Ring?
Agent Frederick: I'm afraid not, could you tell me more about it?
-SCP-XXXX-1 stands up and talks frenetically-
SCP-XXXX-1: Ohh man, it's gonna be great! FROM Software said it's gonna be their greatest game so far and the leaks that have been surfacing on 4chan only… Only made me more excited you know?! But at same time… It's- It's been complicated to endure the wait, it feels like it's never going to end and-
Agent Frederick: Richard, please sit down.
-brief pause, SCP-XXXX-1 sits down-
SCP-XXXX-1: I apologize, I'm just too excited you know? But at same time… I'm frustrated. I'm becoming a hollow.
Agent Frederick: A hollow?
SCP-XXXX-1: Yeah, that's how we call the people who wait for Elden Ring and slowly lose their minds.
Agent Frederick: 'We' who? A community you are part of?
SCP-XXXX-1: Yes, we are collectively waiting for it, we are hollowing together with no end in sight.
Agent Frederick: When did this begin?
SCP-XXXX-1: After E3 2019, when the trailer was first released. Ohhhhh, it's beautiful… It- it was… I-I…
-several seconds of silence-
Agent Frederick: …Richard?
-more seconds of silence, brief gurgling sounds-
Agent Frederick: Richard, do you hear me?
-Agent Frederick snaps his fingers a couple times-
SCP-XXXX-1: I doubt… You could even… Imagine it…
Agent Frederick: What?
-SCP-XXXX-1 slowly stands up-
SCP-XXXX-1: That which commands the stars… Given life its fullest brillance…
Agent Frederick: Oh, [EXPLETIVE REMOVED]
SCP-XXXX-1: The Elden Ring… Ohhhhh, Elden Ring…
Agent Frederick: -to a communication device- This is Agent Frederick Oswald, requesting backup to my location. An SCP-XXXX-1 instance has advanced.
-gurgling sounds followed by a coffee table being flipped to the side-
Agent Frederick: Hey! Stay back!
-Agent Frederick stands up and unholsters his sidearm, more gurgling-
Agent Frederick: Sit down or I will shoot!
SCP-XXXX-1: Look up at the sky! It burns!!
-single gunshot, a body falls over, several more seconds of silence-
Agent Frederick: -to a communication device- I need a cleanup team on my location asap.
[RECORDING TERMINATED]
Addendum 109-03: In February 4th of 2020, an IRC chat log dated from June 6th, 2019, was discovered in a computer in ███████████, Nevada, between two individuals that are linked to the Groups of Interest Are We Cool Yet? (PoI-4454 under the alias timburtonisbae) and Gamers Against Weed (PoI-3114 under the alias asura2525) which has links with the origin of SCP-XXXX documented below.
[EXTRANEOUS DATA REMOVED]
[11:44] <timburtonisbae>: dude i've been thinking
[11:44] <timburtonisbae>: you know how people hype for shit? like
[11:44] <timburtonisbae>: they become so obsessed with something that they like
[11:45] <asura2525>: cyberpunk? yeah i totally do lol
[11:45] <timburtonisbae>: some of them seem to forget about everything else?
[11:45] <timburtonisbae>: they grasp at the concept of the thing desperately
[11:45] <asura2525>: yeah yeah
[11:45] <timburtonisbae>: it's like if they are gonna die if they let it go
[11:45] <asura2525>: we call that hype tho
[11:45] <asura2525>: and it makes people do dumb shit
[11:45] <asura2525>: like preordering stuff
[11:46] <timburtonisbae>: so i've been thinking about it for a while
[11:46] <timburtonisbae>: maybe those people are empty
[11:46] <timburtonisbae>: hollow, perhaps
[11:47] <asura2525>: i see you have been playing dark souls lol
[11:47] <timburtonisbae>: oi that was your suggestion
[11:47] <timburtonisbae>: and its kicking my ass
[11:47] <asura2525>: all you have to do is stop levelling dex you [EXPLETIVE REMOVED] lmao
[11:47] <timburtonisbae>: yeah i will just stick to art where i'm best at
[11:48] <timburtonisbae>: but yeah so
[11:48] <timburtonisbae>: this thing of hype gave me an idea
[11:48] <timburtonisbae>: and i wanna make something but i will need your help this time
[11:48] <asura2525>: really, with what
[11:48] <timburtonisbae>: you know about games better than me
[11:48] <timburtonisbae>: i want my next art piece to do with something related to it
[11:49] <timburtonisbae>: i know you have been messing with some servers here and there
[11:49] <timburtonisbae>: you've shown me some cool shit
[11:49] <asura2525>: yeah like holy shit
[11:49] <asura2525>: not all of those games are exciting to me but seeing that they're really making ████████2 made me lose my mind
[11:50] <timburtonisbae>: you've shown me some cool stuff yeah
[11:50] <timburtonisbae>: and i wanna use some of that stuff to make my art
[11:50] <timburtonisbae>: a demonstration of how excitement fills an empty person with a different emptiness
[11:50] <asura2525>: really lol
[11:50] <asura2525>: is that what you need a game for
[11:50] <asura2525>: i'll never understand your art
[11:50] <timburtonisbae>: just pick something i'm not good at it lol
[11:50] <asura2525>: k give me a minute
[11:50] <timburtonisbae>: k
[EXTRANEOUS DATA REMOVED]
[12:11] <asura2525>: found something new
[12:12] <timburtonisbae>: took you long enough
[12:12] <asura2525>: so
[12:12] <asura2525>: you remember dark souls right
[12:12] <timburtonisbae>: the capra demon won't let me forget it
[12:12] <asura2525>: omg you suck more than i thought lmao
[12:12] <timburtonisbae>: just [EXPLETIVE REMOVED] tell me
[12:12] <asura2525>: geez
[12:12] <asura2525>: so anyways
[12:12] <asura2525>: from soft has a lot of respect from the souls fans
[12:12] <asura2525>: people hype every game they make despite them being hard as hell
[12:12] <timburtonisbae>: yeah?
[12:12] <asura2525>: i took a deep peek in their servers and found this
[12:12] <asura2525>: [URL REMOVED]
[12:12] <asura2525>: take a look and let me know what you think
[12:12] <timburtonisbae>: sure thanks
[1:51] <timburtonisbae>: holy shit dude this is just what i needed
[1:51] <asura2525>: really?
[1:51] <timburtonisbae>: yeah, this is brand new stuff, and they even have a teaser finished
[1:52] <asura2525>: yeah it looks dope
[1:52] <asura2525>: i couldn't find much stuff about it because its split between servers
[1:52] <asura2525>: this one had far less security encryption compared to the others
[1:52] <asura2525>: poor choice of safety methods i guess
[1:53] <timburtonisbae>: doesn't matter i don't need the game assets
[1:53] <timburtonisbae>: they got a trailer in progress, its pretty much finished
[1:53] <timburtonisbae>: it doesn't seem to be gameplay
[1:53] <timburtonisbae>: that makes it even better for my work
[1:54] <asura2525>: lol if you say so
[1:54] <asura2525>: while i'm at it i will try to get through their servers a bit more
[1:54] <asura2525>: i'll let you now if i make progress
[1:56] <timburtonisbae>: thanks dude i appreciate it
[1:56] <asura2525>: so anyways
[1:56] <asura2525>: do you still need help with dark souls lmao
[1:56] <timburtonisbae>: ….
[1:58] <timburtonisbae>: log on psn i will summon you
[1:58] <asura2525>: hahahaha okay
The contents discovered in the url link sent by PoI-3114 contained the trailer for the making of its anomalous counterpart as well as random assets of the game still in its alpha state. The trailer sent in the download link is currently being used by the Foundation to replace its own anomalous version. The method used by PoI-4454 to create SCP-XXXX using the video as a base is still not understood. The whereabouts of both PoI are still unknown.
