An EXE is a term used to label characters based off of
popular IPs turned into characters that differ greatly from the source material, usually bearing a file extension in their name, though this is not required. The specific use of the EXE Extension was popularized by the infamous creepypasta by the name of "
Sonic.EXE." An EXE can be classified as an
OC, but an
OC cannot directly be classified as an EXE, as an EXE is
based around a pre-existing Intellectual Property; most times being
based directly upon a specific character from a given property I.E. Sonic, Mario, Pac-Man, etc. Most times an EXE is meant to act as a character used in a horror game or some type of horror related media, but some serve the opposite purpose; some serving the role as parodies or joke characters.