# What is a nextbot game? Source: https://roam.lol/nextbot-game/. Checked November 5, 2026. A nextbot game is a chase game where a flat picture, usually a meme face, slides after you across a map while a loud sound plays. It has no animation and it never stops. You run, jump and loop around walls until it catches you. The idea grew out of Garry's Mod mods and moved to Roblox in 2022. Where to play the original: [Garry's Mod on Steam](https://store.steampowered.com/app/4000/Garrys_Mod/), [Evade on Roblox](https://www.roblox.com/games/9872472334/Evade). ## Where nextbots came from NextBot started as plain tech, not a meme. It is the name of an AI system Valve built for its Source engine games, used for bots in Left 4 Dead and Team Fortress 2. It moves a character across a map along a navigation mesh. Garry's Mod lets modders build their own NextBot characters, so anyone could make a chaser. On August 30, 2013, Steam users Xyxen and Nate Wingman posted an addon to the Steam Workshop: an invincible, badly drawn Sonic called Sanic that hunted players around any map. That is the earliest famous one, according to Know Your Meme. The format grew on YouTube in 2019 with maze videos packed with bots, and again in 2022, when creators ran nextbot chases through Backrooms maps on YouTube and TikTok. ## Where nextbot games are played now - **Garry's Mod (Steam)**: The original home. Nextbots are Workshop addons: you load a map, spawn the bots and run. By June 2022 the Workshop had over 8,100 results for nextbot chases. - **Evade (Roblox)**: A Roblox experience by Hexagon Development Community, released in 2022 (sources give June or August). The chasers are meme PNGs, and some maps are inspired by the Backrooms and old Quake levels. - **nico's nextbots (Roblox)**: A Roblox experience by the nico's stu group, with 1nicopatty as head developer. Its own page describes it as a Garry's Mod inspired game where loud PNGs chase you. Guides were covering it by August 2022. - **itch.io and Android**: itch.io lists free nextbot games under a nextbots tag, and Android app stores carry standalone nextbot chase games. ## Why the cheapest monster works A nextbot is one image, one sound and one speed value. That is why modders made so many of them. The sound does the scaring: it gets louder as the bot closes in, so you feel it before you see it. Then the face shows up, and it is a silly picture. Getting caught is a jump scare and a punchline at the same moment. To make your own, you need a map with loops and corners that break line of sight, a picture, and a sound that rises with distance. Set the bot a little slower than a sprint, so movement skill decides who lives. On Roam, Hush Hour and TALLOW are solo horror games where something hunts you while you sneak. ## Three nextbot ideas with your own chaser - **The Substitute**: A flat cardboard cutout of a smiling substitute teacher glides through an empty school at night. Lockers hide you, but only for five seconds. - **Closing Time**: A giant flat photo of a grinning carrot mascot named Mr. Crunch chases you down supermarket aisles. Grab ten items from the list before the doors lock. - **Hot Potato Bot**: The bot only hunts whoever holds the rubber duck. Bump a friend to pass it, and whoever has it when the timer ends is out. ## Play it on Roam - [Hush Hour](https://roam.gg/play/hush-hour/): Ms. Quill hears everything. Walk softly. - [TALLOW](https://roam.gg/play/tallow/): Night one. She keeps a tidy house. Find a way out. - [Bikes vs Bigfoot](https://roam.gg/play/bikes-vs-bigfoot/): Ranger Station Run. Pinecone Woods. Bigfoot is right behind you. ## Make your own nextbot chase with Roam Describe the map, the chaser and the sound. Roam builds a playable chase that you change by talking, like "faster bot" or "add a second floor". Roam is rated 13+ on the App Store. Try: "nextbot chase in an empty mall at night, the chaser is a flat picture of my dog, its bark gets louder when it is close, 3 lives, survive 2 minutes" [Get Roam on the App Store](https://apps.apple.com/app/apple-store/id6745489251?pt=126889634&mt=8&ct=rlol-nextbot-game) ## Questions people ask **What is a nextbot?** A flat 2D image that chases players around a map, usually with a loud sound. The name comes from NextBot, the AI movement system Valve built for its Source engine games. **What was the first nextbot?** The best-known early one is Sanic, a crude Sonic drawing posted to the Garry's Mod Workshop on August 30, 2013. **What Roblox games have nextbots?** Evade by Hexagon Development Community and nico's nextbots are two Roblox experiences built on the nextbot chase format. **Can you play nextbot games on a phone?** Yes. Evade and nico's nextbots run on Roblox, which has a mobile app, and Android stores list standalone nextbot chase games. ## Sources - NextBot is Valve's AI system for bot characters, used in Left 4 Dead and Team Fortress 2, moving along a navigation mesh: https://developer.valvesoftware.com/wiki/NextBot - Garry's Mod supports building custom NextBot NPCs: https://wiki.facepunch.com/gmod/NextBot_NPC_Creation - Sanic addon posted August 30, 2013 by Xyxen and Nate Wingman; 2019 maze videos; 2022 Backrooms chases on YouTube and TikTok; over 8,100 Workshop results by June 2022: https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/subcultures/nextbot-chase-garrys-mod - Evade is a Roblox experience by Hexagon Development Community based on the Garry's Mod nextbot chase: https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/subcultures/evade-roblox - Evade launched June 10, 2022: https://www.sportskeeda.com/roblox-news/things-know-playing-roblox-evade - Evade launched publicly August 4, 2022 (conflicting date): https://rowatcher.com/games/3647333358 - Evade nextbots are meme PNGs; maps inspired by the Backrooms and Quake: https://www.pockettactics.com/evade-roblox - nico's nextbots: nico's stu group, head developer 1nicopatty, Garry's Mod inspired chase by loud PNGs: https://www.roblox.com/games/10118559731/nicos-nextbots-the-backrooms - nico's nextbots covered by guides in August 2022: https://gamepretty.com/roblox-nicos-nextbots-codes/ - Garry's Mod is sold on Steam: https://store.steampowered.com/app/4000/Garrys_Mod/ - itch.io free games tagged nextbots: https://itch.io/games/free/tag-nextbots - Nextbot chasing for Android on Uptodown: https://nextbot-chasing.en.uptodown.com/android ## About Roam Roam ("Roam - Make Games" on the App Store) is an iPhone app where you play games and make your own by describing them or from a photo. It is free to download and play, and making games works without a subscription; optional Spark and Reality plans and credit packs add more creation. Android: pre-register on Google Play. https://roam.gg