Summary

  • Duo the Owl's sudden passing led major gaming studios to pay tribute, with various theories circulating about the mascot's demise.
  • Duolingo's green owl mascot, Duo, transcended language learning, becoming an internet sensation and meme ingrained in pop culture.
  • An investigation into Duo's death revealed a Cybertruck as the culprit, catapulting the owl to an unexpected demise, leaving fans mourning.

The gaming industry has responded to the unexpected passing of Duolingo’s beloved mascot, Duo the Owl, as announced by the company on February 11. Some of the biggest game studios paid tribute to Duolingo’s mascot and shared their theories as to what happened to Duo the Owl, the popular coach who helped players learn a new language through play.

Duolingo is one of the most popular language-learning apps, known for its gamified approach to education as it gives its users daily challenges to complete as they learn a new language. To help Duolingo’s users learn a new skill like chess, Duo the Owl acted as a coach, congratulating students on their progress or slowly dying when they didn’t log in for a long time. Duolingo's green owl mascot quickly became an internet phenomenon, taking over social media with humor. On February 11, 2025, Duolingo announced that Duo had passed away, though details remain scarce as to how the mascot met its end.

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Following the news, several major gaming companies reacted to Duo’s passing. Destiny 2 suggested that the killer of Duolingo’s mascot could be Keit'Ehr, the Subjugator skulking around the flagship of Oryx, while Vampire Survivors hinted that it could be Red Death. Hitman claimed Duo’s killing was a planned accident and Just Dance feared that the owl died from dancing too much. And Kratos from God of War and Ezio Auditore da Firenze from Assassin’s Creed also paid their respects to the green owl. Dying Light and Dead Island both teased that Duolingo’s mascot could return as a zombie in a future update.

Gaming Companies React to Duolingo's Mascot Death

Duo’s influence extended far beyond Duolingo’s app, becoming a popular character on social media besides its initial role as a coach for languages lovers. The green owl was frequently the subject of memes, often portrayed as aggressively reminding users to complete their lessons. Over the years, Duolingo leaned into the joke, further solidifying Duo’s status as an internet icon, reacting to whatever was the hot topic on social media, and even joining the beef between Drake and Kendrick Lamar. The app even featured references to video games, including a hidden nod to The Witcher in a Duolingo Finnish lesson.

As the gaming industry and internet communities pay their respects to the green owl, Duolingo has launched an investigation into the death of its mascot. According to a video published on Duolingo’s social media, a Cybertruck caused Duo’s demise, hitting the bird and sending it flying through the sky up until the gates of Hell. While Duolingo is trying to figure out what happened to Duo the Owl, the company has yet to announce a replacement mascot to keep on helping players learn new languages.