Technoblade, a YouTube persona who constructed a following of hundreds of thousands along with his wry commentary on movies of himself taking part in Minecraft, has died, his father introduced in a video posted on his son’s account.
Greater than 11 million subscribers made a behavior of watching display screen recordings of Technoblade’s Minecraft gameplay as he offered commentary off digicam. Whereas he often targeted on what was occurring within the sport, in some movies he described life occasions as mundane as going to the D.M.V. or as devastating as receiving a most cancers analysis.
A video titled “so long nerds,” which was posted on Technoblade’s YouTube channel on Thursday and has been considered greater than 26 million instances as of Friday afternoon, departed from the channel’s typical aesthetic of colourful, pixelated bricks. As a substitute, a person who identifies himself as Technoblade’s father seems, sitting in a chair towards a stark white background with a small white canine in his lap.
His father, who doesn’t give his identify, reads a message from his son that begins: “Hiya, everybody. Technoblade right here. In case you are watching this, I’m lifeless.”
The message goes on to disclose Technoblade’s first identify, Alex, which he didn’t use on-line. The video additionally encompasses a handful of images of Alex with family members. He had not often proven himself in his YouTube movies, preferring as an alternative to current himself as his avatar: a topped, sword-wielding pig.
“If I had one other hundred lives, I believe I’d select to be Technoblade once more each single time,” Alex’s letter says. “These had been the happiest years of my life.”
His father, who stays emotional all through the video, says he and his son talked for months about whether or not to document a closing video. As a substitute, Alex determined to write down the letter and died about eight hours after ending it, his father says.
“I don’t suppose he mentioned every thing he needed to say, however I believe he received the details,” he says.
The video ends with a written assertion attributed to Alex’s mom, who is just not named. She wrote that her son prevented private fame and was self-deprecating, at the same time as his channel skyrocketed in recognition.
“From Technoblade’s earliest on-line days, he was all the time strategizing methods to please and reward his viewers, giving freely on-line prizes, encouraging good sportsmanship and, most of all, sharing his Minecraft adventures for leisure and laughs,” she wrote.
Alex’s household couldn’t be reached on Friday. Hypixel, a gaming firm that labored with Technoblade, mentioned the household had requested that requests for remark not be forwarded to them. “The video they shared comprises all data they’re comfy sharing right now,” Don Pireso, the corporate’s lead administrator, mentioned in a Twitter direct message.
Alex first publicly acknowledged his most cancers analysis in a video posted on his channel in August. Just like the others, the video confirmed the sport whereas he spoke off digicam. He retained his self-deprecating, humorous fashion, refusing to get too earnest. He additionally revealed his age on the time, 22.
Within the video, he described how the primary spherical of chemotherapy left him so exhausted that he may barely look ahead to a digital physician’s appointment. Then, he joked: “Sitting in a chair, am I Superman?”
He mentioned he was identified after experiencing critical ache in his arm. He initially dismissed it as a repetitive stress damage from taking part in video video games, however even after a couple of days of relaxation, he mentioned, his shoulder “was swelling like loopy.”
He additionally implored folks to get a Covid-19 vaccine, saying that the most cancers therapies had weakened his immune system, placing him at larger threat of great sickness from the coronavirus.
“I’m going to go forward and communicate on behalf of all most cancers sufferers after I say it’s extremely annoying when the hospitals are getting overworked by folks dying of preventable ailments,” he mentioned within the video. “I’m simply saying, we’ve received dibs on these hospital beds.”
On social media, Technoblade’s mates and followers praised him for his humor and for being a job mannequin amongst Minecraft gamers.
Minecraft is not like most video games as a result of its proprietor, Microsoft, doesn’t management the servers the place gamers meet on-line. Gamers can as an alternative create their very own servers or be a part of one made by another person, making a sprawling community of worlds within the Minecraft universe.
Hypixel, which runs a community of Minecraft servers, mentioned it had created a digital memorial guide for folks to write down messages that will be printed and despatched to Technoblade’s household. The company’s tribute featured an illustration of Technoblade’s pig avatar as a statue. “In some ways, the success of many people is tied to the success of Technoblade,” the corporate mentioned.
One in all Technoblade’s mates, the YouTuber Thomas Simons, higher often known as TommyInnit, described him on Twitter as a “legend.”
“I simply know,” Mr. Simons wrote, “he’s strategizing in heaven on easy methods to beat God.”
Claire Fahy contributed reporting.
