The Most Infamous Glitches in Gaming History

7 January 2026

Let’s face it—glitches are like the weird, sometimes hilarious, sometimes frustrating, black sheep of the gaming world. They’re not really supposed to be there, but somehow, they end up stealing the spotlight. Whether you stumbled into an endless void, watched a character's face melt in real time, or suddenly became invincible (by accident), gaming glitches have a weird way of sticking with us.

So, grab your controller and load up some memories. We're diving into some of the most infamous glitches in gaming history. Some were game-breaking, some were game-changing, and others were just downright bizarre.

What’s a Glitch Anyway?

First off, in case you’re new to the gaming scene or just never really thought about it, a glitch is essentially a bug or an error in the game’s programming. It causes something to go wildly off-script—from physics defying stunts to characters doing the moonwalk during cutscenes. Glitches aren’t always bad. In fact, sometimes they’re weirdly amazing.

Why We Love (And Hate) Glitches

Here’s the thing: Glitches bring unpredictability into a world that developers try so hard to polish. They’re like the blooper reel of gaming—awkward, unexpected, but sometimes more entertaining than the game itself.

Sure, no one likes losing hours of progress because the game crashed during a mission. But let’s be honest—watching a horse fly into the sky in Skyrim? Pure gold.

Now, let’s talk about the classics.

1. MissingNo – Pokémon Red and Blue

Ah yes, the glitch that launched a thousand corrupted save files. If you played Pokémon Red or Blue back in the late '90s, chances are you either heard about or captured the legendary MissingNo (short for "Missing Number").

By surfing along the right side of Cinnabar Island and exploiting some memory manipulation magic, players could encounter this glitched Pokémon. The results? Duplicated items, weird graphics, and a moment in gaming so iconic that it’s practically urban legend.

What made it infamous? It wasn’t even in the Pokédex, and catching it could mess up your save. But hey, infinite Rare Candies? Worth it.

2. Skyrim’s Flying Mammoths and Glitchy NPCs

Bethesda’s Skyrim is a masterpiece, no question. But it’s also a playground of bugs. Remember your first dragon fight, only for it to randomly fly backward? Or when giants smacked you into the clouds with one hit? Yeah, that wasn’t a special attack—it was just Skyrim being Skyrim.

Flying mammoths, NPCs stuck inside walls, and entire towns disappearing? It’s like the physics engine just threw up its hands and gave up. But let’s be honest: half the charm of Skyrim is never knowing what weirdness is around the corner.

3. The “Naked Raiden” Codec Glitch – Metal Gear Solid 2

Metal Gear Solid has always flirted with fourth-wall breaks and messing with your head, but MGS2 took things to another level with its infamous Codec glitch. Near the end of the game, Raiden receives increasingly bizarre messages suggesting he’s being watched, monitored, or even controlled.

At one point, the game even boots you to a fake "Game Over" screen. Yup. You didn’t die—the game was just trolling you. It wasn’t a glitch in the traditional sense, but it was intentionally designed to feel like one. Talk about psychological warfare!

4. The “World Flip” - Assassins Creed Unity

Ubisoft’s Assassin’s Creed Unity tried to take full advantage of next-gen at the time, but unfortunately, it also showcased some of the weirdest glitches on launch day.

Players ran into faceless NPCs—literally just eyeballs and teeth hovering mid-air. Others would fall through the map, get stuck in odd poses, or enter cutscenes with half-loaded textures.

It was a mess. Like, full-blown glitch soup. Unity became an internet sensation overnight, not for its gameplay, but because of how broken it was. It's what happens when a game is rushed out like a hastily pre-heated microwave dinner.

5. Gary’s Mod Physics Madness

Alright, not technically a glitch in the traditional sense, but Garry's Mod was born from exploiting the Source engine. The whole point of the game is to mess with physics, spawn items, and cause chaos.

But sometimes… things get a little too chaotic. Players have witnessed flying bathtubs, sentient props, and human ragdolls doing backflips just from bumping into a can. Every moment in Garry’s Mod feels like you're watching a glitch try to explain itself and fail miserably.

6. The Infinite Headless CJ – GTA: San Andreas

GTA games are fertile ground for glitch hunters, but San Andreas had one that was outright creepy.

If players used cheat codes and moved too quickly through certain missions, they could spawn a version of protagonist CJ… without a head. Not only that, but sometimes the game would load creepy textures, skinned models, and weird lighting effects.

Players thought they'd uncovered a hidden horror game inside Rockstar's sandbox. The glitch got so much attention it birthed urban legends like "Ghost Cars" and "Bigfoot." It was spaghetti code at its finest.

7. The “Waluigi in Super Mario 64 DS” Myth

Now, this one’s more of a collective glitch in our collective imagination. For years, rumors swirled that Waluigi was an unlockable character in Super Mario 64 DS. Players posted supposed screenshots, went on wild goose chases, and tried all kinds of arcane rituals.

None of it was real. But the belief was so strong, it felt like the game itself glitched reality. It just goes to show: when people want something badly enough, they’ll see ghosts in the machine.

8. Modern Warfare 2's Javelin Glitch

Online multiplayer is a whole different beast when it comes to glitches. Especially when it comes to Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2. There was a time when you literally couldn’t play without someone abusing the infamous “Javelin glitch.”

Basically, by queuing certain inputs, players could cause their character to explode like a human bomb the moment they died. It turned online matches into chaotic, explosive tag. Not ideal for competitive play, but definitely unforgettable.

Eventually, Activision had to issue emergency patches just to bring peace back to the multiplayer scene.

9. The “Stretch Armstrong” NBA 2K Glitches

Sports games? Oh, they’re not safe either. NBA 2K has a long, hilarious history of graphical bugs. From players stretching their limbs into body-horror nightmares to being launched into the crowd at impossible speeds, it's like the physics engine took a sick day.

The crowd? Often frozen in time or dancing for no reason. Coaches? Glitching through the floor mid-timeout.

While frustrating for die-hard fans, for casual players, it turned into a comedy highlight reel.

10. Cyberpunk 2077... Everything

We can't talk about glitches without mentioning Cyberpunk 2077. Hype levels were through the roof. But when the game launched? Yikes.

Players experienced cars that hovered mid-air, NPCs t-posing, clothes disappearing, and missions that couldn’t be completed. Some players couldn’t even get past the intro without crashing.

CD Projekt Red had to issue multiple patches, and even offer refunds because the game was basically unplayable on older consoles. While many of the issues were resolved over time, the launch has gone down as one of the most chaotic in modern gaming history.

Why Glitches Matter

Let me ask you something: Would we even remember these games as much if they didn’t have those glitches? Sometimes, the bugs end up being part of the charm or legacy. They remind us that games are built by humans, with code that’s messy, alive, and unpredictable.

They're also a goldmine for speedrunners. Some of the best speedrun records rely on exploiting glitches to skip massive chunks of a game.

So, in a weird way, glitches are like pixelated poltergeists haunting the corners of our gaming memories. And we love them for it.

Final Thoughts

Glitches in games are like bloopers in movies—they humanize the whole experience. Sure, they mess things up, but they also make moments more memorable. Whether it’s breaking the fourth wall, defying the laws of physics, or just making you laugh so hard you choke on your Mountain Dew, glitches remind us that gaming is just as much about fun as it is about perfection.

Next time a game bugs out, don’t just rage-quit. Take a screenshot, laugh it off, and know that you’ve just witnessed a piece of gaming history in the making.