Sonic.exe started life as a 2011 creepypasta — an online horror story — written by JC-the-Hyena and posted to the Creepypasta Wiki. The premise: a player receives a strange copy of a Sonic game in the mail, only to discover the cartridge is possessed by a demonic version of Sonic who hunts down the other characters one by one.
The character exploded across YouTube, fan art, and fan games. He's now one of the most recognizable unofficial Sonic spinoffs in the world, with countless redesigns, sequels, and parodies. He is not part of SEGA's official Sonic canon — but his cultural footprint is enormous, especially among older kids and teens who love horror games.