Abel finds himself in a first-person narrative exploring the subject of romance with a female (possibly a prostitute or stripper), knowing that it will fail in the end. Despite having awareness of this, he dives into the interaction because he needs confidence.

“Wicked Games” was The Weeknd’s first single released to radio, and hit platinum in 2013. Many fans refer to this track as the first song they heard by the Toronto native.

In June of 2015, “Wicked Games” was featured on the soundtrack to the boxing film Southpaw.

An orchestral cover by Ramin Djawadi (of Game of Thrones fame) of the song was featured in “The Mother of Exiles”, the 4th episode in the 3rd season of the HBO series Westworld) which was released on 5th March 2020.