Destiny 2 fans board the Glorbo train, helping trick AI-written websites

Just a short while ago, “glorbo” meant nothing; it was just a silly word. Now, the name is spreading across gaming spheres, becoming a phenomenon. Destiny 2 players are the latest players to exploit the power of Glorbo, and even Bungie is getting in on the act.

World of Warcraft fans, noticing the trend of AI-driven websites scraping popular topics off social media, set a cunning trap. One player wrote a post about “Glorbo,” praising the upcoming feature. Of course, there is no such feature as a Glorbo; it was bait. Sure enough, an outlet called The Portal, published by ZLeague, wrote an article about how much fans love Glorbo, and a meme was born.

Destiny 2 fans noticed the Glorbo gambit, and took their own shot at staging a similar trap. In this context, Glorbo is not a new feature, but instead a mysterious secret boss.

Fans were sure to maintain kayfabe across their posts. “Glorbo killed my grandma,” one poster shared mournfully.

“I seriously can’t want for the Glorbo fight in season 23,” another post enthuses. “There was a leak that Glorbo would be tougher than Oryx by the time he powers up in his veil acceptance chamber. I am seriously astonished by how well Bungie has slipped Glorbo into the most recent lore book on the Bungie Store and even the old grimoire pages of the Destiny 1 game.”

Of course, it worked this time too.

I, for one, welcome our new Glorbo overlords. Glorbo’s successful transition from World of Warcraft to Destiny 2 suggests we may see bigger, bolder Glorbo moves. Perhaps a developer will even take the bold step of adding its very own glorbo to the mix.

This isn’t the first time fans have gone a little wild in making up their own lore. In the wait leading up to Elden Ring, players who were desperate for more details started posting about playing through their own imaginary versions of the game, sharing lush fictional details about a FromSoftware game that does not exist. Glorbo was originally created as a trap, but it fits into the same mold of fans just having fun by being silly together. Tricking AI sites is just a bonus.