Meta Runner is an Australian  computer-animated web series created by Kevin and Luke Lerdwichagul. It is produced in-house by Glitch Productions, along with production funding provided by Screen Australia, financed with support from Crunchyroll and AMD, and financed in association with Epic Games. It premiered on YouTube on July 25, 2019, with season 2 premiering on the channel GLITCH on October 16, 2020. The third and final season, known as Meta Runner: The Final Season, premiered on July 22, 2022.
 The series takes place in a futuristic society where entertainment and lifestyle are based around video games and esports. The best of the best gamers in this society are known as "Meta Runners", many of whom replace one of their arms with a cybernetic arm also called a "Meta Runner" arm in order to optimize their gameplay performance. The series focuses on an amnesiac cyborg girl named Tari, who discovers that she has the ability to warp inside video games, and comes across and helps an undercover group called MD-5 in their mission to expose the corrupt company TAS Corp.
 A pilot for a spin-off show titled Ultra Jump Mania, based on the fictional video game of the same name in the show, was released on 4 September 2020. However, as of September 2023, it has not been picked up for a full season.
 In Silica City, all media and entertainment are mostly based around video games, not just serving as entertainment, but also jobs in live streaming and lifestyle. Among members of society are Meta Runners, individuals who have replaced their limbs with cybernetic arms that allow them to boost their gaming performance.
 The series tells the story of Tari, a Meta Runner who was the subject of an experiment called Project Blue, led by Dr. Sheridan, a scientist who was commissioned by TAS Corp. After waking up in an abandoned lab, Tari finds herself in Silica City with amnesia. The last thing Tari can remember is a sudden accident causing an explosion in the lab that seemingly kills Sheridan and his patient, Lucinia Porter.
 As revealed in a video titled "The Making of Tari" uploaded by Luke and Kevin Lerdwichagul on 14 February 2019 on the YouTube channel SMG4, the concept of Tari's character started when Kevin and Luke asked their younger sister, Tish, who was drawing in her sketchbook, if she had any ideas for a new character to add to their channel's titular machinima series; she drew a “gamer girl” character who would become Tari. The first early design of Tari was for her to be a robot instead of a cyborg, an antenna on top of her head, headphones, a simple jacket with a love heart stitched onto it and a d-pad for her right eye.
 Eventually, Tari was redesigned as a human cyborg with a white vest with the Meta Runner emblem, which was based on the blue jay’s wing. She was also given a blue hoodie with blue jay wing patterns on each shoulder starting from "Sequence Break" (episode 4).
 Meta Runner was first teased at the end of the SMG4 episode, "War of the Fat Italians 2018", depicting the character Theo and the date 5 December 2018. The months following had similar teasers of different Meta Runner arms before the official trailer for Meta Runner was uploaded on 5 December 2018.
 On 18 March 2019, it was announced that Meta Runner was one of many projects to receive funding from a $500,000 grant from Unreal Engine. On 25 June 2019, it was announced that Meta Runner would be funded by Screen Australia, Epic Games and AMD. On 20 July 2019, Glitch Productions announced that they had partnered with Crunchyroll to produce the series. On 20 April 2020, Screen Australia announced the funding of Meta Runner season 2. The second season aired from 16 October to 18 December 2020.
 A third season was announced by the creator Luke Lerdwichagul a few weeks before season 2 was completed, before being formally announced on November 29, 2021. A teaser trailer was released on May 6, 2022. The teaser confirmed that the third season will be the final season and will be released the summer of the same year.
 On June 24, 2022, the official trailer for season 3 was released, confirming it would begin on July 22, 2022. It ended on September 9, 2022.
 The series has not continued since the final episode, however it has been referenced in the primary SMG4 series, with the recurring leitmotif being heard in the SMG4 Movie "Western Spaghetti". The SMG4 counterpart of Tari was also redesigned to resemble her Meta Runner equivalent.
 After the finale on September 9, 2022, a comic series, entitled "Meta Runner: Source" was announced, appearing to go through the backstory of Lucinia Porter. It was also promoted through a pre-video announcement for the third episode of SMG4's Lawsuit Arc, "SMG4: If Mario Was In... Splatoon 3", released on September 10. A trailer dedicated to the comic was released on September 11 on the GLITCH channel.
 All episodes were written by Kevin Lerdwichagul and Jasmine Yang, and Luke Lerdwichagul served as creative director.
 Belle angrily interrogates Tari over her warping abilities, but with encouragement from Theo, Tari agrees to tell Belle everything she knows only to evade her and execute the glitch. In the real world, Masa and Theo commend Tari, while Lamar urges everyone to evacuate the arena. MD-5 tries to escape, but are cornered by a furious Lucks (who shoots off Masa's robotic arm) and the TASCorp security personnel who subdue Tari, Lamar, and Theo. When a tearful Sofia shows herself to prevent Lucks from killing Masa, Lucks takes her tablet and has guards clear it and destroy any backup servers. When Sofia says she just wanted to know what happened with her sister, Lucinia, Belle reveals the footage of the explosion despite Luck's orders. Sofia breaks down and asks why Lucinia was with Sheridan, and Belle says to ask Tari, diminishing Masa's trust in Tari. Lucks prepares to imprison MD-5 for life, when Tari offers to join TASCorp on the condition that Lucks lets everyone else go. Lucks shocks Theo, revealing that he discovered MD-5's plan by using Theo as a spy camera via the corrupted Ultra Jump Mania cartridge. As Lucks subdues Theo, he threatens to destroy him if MD-5 causes trouble again or Tari starts to show signs of disloyalty. Lucks lets MD-5 go and leaves with Tari, who promises that she'll be fine.
 All episodes were written by Jasmine Yang and directed by Luke Lerdwichagul.
 Tari and Theo eventually defeat Evelyn and clear the game. Theo escapes the cartridge, but Tari is visited by Lucinia, who tells her about her past. Back in the real world, Lamar rams into the side of TASCorp's van but Lucks holds Masa at gunpoint and demands Tari to give him the cartridge. However, the data has been leaked to the public, and an arrest warrant has been issued for Lucks. Masa fights Lucks and subdues him, but Lucks reveals that Lucinia is still alive, the explosion having only destroyed parts of her consciousness. He also reveals that the AI created with those pieces, which is Tari herself, could also revive her to which Tari confirms, stating she will sacrifice herself for the task. Sofia promises Tari that she’ll bring her back as MD-5 retreats, but Masa accidentally shoots Lucks, killing him. Belle stays with Masa and urges the others to run, but they are offered a ride by Marco.
 Tari and her friends face off against Evelyn and the brainwashed Lucinia, Masa, and Belle. Marco is sidetracked trying to get revenge on Masa, and after getting eliminated, he sets out to destroy Sheridan’s server to keep the kidnapped runners safe. Meanwhile, Theo confronts Evelyn by himself to buy time for his friends. Evelyn makes Theo disintegrate by essentially squeezing him to death and gloats to a distraught Tari about it, but this brings Masa’s mind back. He strangles Sheridan in the lab, who breaks free and stabs him in the neck before Masa’s arm explodes, causing the device hooked to Belle to stop working. Belle helps Tari defeat Evelyn once and for all, and Sofia urges Tari to revive Lucinia before Marco destroys the server.
 Tari is forced to fight Lucinia in Sheridan’s server. Sheridan controls Lucinia while Sofia assists Tari by hacking into the server. Though Sheridan seemingly gets the upper hand, Sofia enables Tari to reach the room where the lab explosion took place. Tari bids a final goodbye to Sofia and is reassured by AI Lucks before asking Lucinia to tell MD5 thanks and goodbye, and the transition takes place in the nick of time. Meanwhile, Marco hooks Sheridan's control bugs to his body, electrocuting Sheridan to death and destroying the server; Lucinia is reunited with Belle, a still-alive Masa, and Sofia; and the gang mourn the losses of Theo and Tari but rejoice over being together. Marco also forgives the debt Masa owes him.
 Evelyn is arrested for her crimes and the murder charge against Masa is dropped. Marco’s workers repair Masa’s cybernetic arm, and Marco holds onto it for safekeeping, looking forward to a true rematch with Masa in the future. Masa places a picture of Tari and Theo, as well as Tari’s hoodie and Theo’s newly somewhat-repaired game cartridge courtesy of Belle, at MD5 headquarters, praising Tari for keeping MD5 together. Sofia eagerly takes Belle and Lucinia to their “initiation” into MD5, to Belle’s annoyance and Masa’s amusement.