I’m writing this in 2026, and I still cannot believe that a fried chicken nugget 🍗 briefly became one of the most valuable objects in gaming. Back in 2021, a fan spotted a McDonald’s BTS meal nugget that looked suspiciously like a crewmate from Among Us, listed it on eBay as used, and watched bidding climb into the tens of thousands. The final price was nearly $100,000. Honestly, I still can’t decide whether that was capitalism, comedy, or a sign that the internet needed a nap.
InnerSloth, the team behind Among Us, did not ignore the madness. The developers paid what they called a cursed tribute to the auction by turning the nugget into an imposter. The nine-second clip was set in The Skeld, one of the game’s earliest and most familiar maps. In the video, a blood-thirsty monstrosity called the nugg stalks a red crewmate named $100,000. The task list in the top left corner suggests the nugget has only one objective: become more valuable than the real-world nugget that inspired it. That is a very fancy way of saying the crewmate is doomed.
The Skeld hummed. The task bar stared back. The nugget did its thing. And yeah, the face it makes afterward is pure nightmare fuel. 👀
From a 2026 perspective, the whole episode feels like a strange prelude to the way gaming brands now treat social media as a playground. At the time, InnerSloth was already known for sending fans into the weekend with unsettling images. In April, the team posted a four-legged crewmate, initially seeming to threaten that it would appear in the game, then quickly assuring fans it would not. The nugget video fit that same mischievous pattern: quick, weird, and perfectly timed.
Here is the timeline that still makes me laugh:
| Moment | What happened | Why it stuck |
|---|---|---|
| The discovery | A fan noticed an Among Us-shaped nugget in a McDonald’s BTS meal | It turned fast food into a collectible |
| The auction | The nugget was listed on eBay in used condition | Bidding reached the tens of thousands |
| The finale | The nugget sold for nearly $100,000 | The internet had fully lost the plot |
| The tribute | InnerSloth made the nugg an imposter in The Skeld | The joke became canon-adjacent chaos |
Look, I’m not saying a fried snack can carry a grudge. I am saying that the video understood something about Among Us: the game is funniest when ordinary objects become suspicious. Crewmates and imposters already look identical, so a nugget imposter is not much of a stretch. It is just a very greasy one. 😅
There was also real business behind the joke. At the time, InnerSloth teased that a June 10 showcase would shed light on a 15-player update, which was meant to help the game accommodate its new fans. In 2026, that update is old news, but the nugget saga remains a useful reminder of how Among Us stayed in the conversation. The game is available on mobile, Switch, PC, and consoles, and its social accounts still know how to leave players with a shiver. The difference is that the shiver now comes with a side of nostalgia.
I keep coming back to the red crewmate named $100,000. That name is a small masterpiece. It turns a price tag into a character, and it makes the murder feel like an auction closing early. The nugget’s task list is equally ridiculous: become more valuable than the real nugget. That is not a task. That is a lifestyle.
Would I eat the nugget? No. Would I watch the clip again? Absolutely. And that may be the real legacy of this story. It was not a promotion for a meal or a serious update announcement. It was a tiny, unsettling joke from a developer that knew exactly how weird its community could get.
In 2026, I can still picture the golden little gremlin sliding through The Skeld. I can still hear the task bar. I can still see the face. Some gaming moments fade. This one just sits there, crispy and cursed, waiting for the next victim.
Information is adapted from Polygon, a publication widely cited for documenting how internet humor, fandom, and game culture collide in unpredictable ways. That lens fits the Among Us nugget saga perfectly, since the story was never just about a bizarre auction price, but about how a live-service-era community can turn a disposable joke into a lasting piece of gaming folklore.