Pop Spotlight

Wildly popular Minecraft player Technoblade died Thursday at the age of 23 following a battle with cancer. Now, the video game that the young streamer devoted so much of his life to is paying tribute to the beloved figure.

”We have been trying to find the words, but all of us here at Minecraft are heartbroken over the loss of Technoblade,” the company wrote in a Twitter post Friday. ”He meant so much to our community and brought so much joy. He will be missed dearly.”

Technoblade began uploading Minecraft videos to YouTube in 2013 and grew a dedicated audience over several years. But his profile really exploded around 2019 when he won several installments of “Minecraft Monday,” a weekly tournament hosted by controversial streamer Keemstar.

Technoblade revealed his cancer diagnosis in Aug. 2021. At the time, he said he’d been experiencing pain in his right arm, which he just assumed was from a stress injury tied to gaming. It was after his shoulder started swelling that he went to a hospital and was diagnosed with cancer. 

Technoblade’s family announced his death in a YouTube video, in which his father read a letter Technoblade wrote before his death. In the letter, the creator finally revealed his first name, Alex, a long-kept secret amidst his massive popularity.

Alex thanked fans for all their support, especially for purchasing various memberships and merch over the past year, even if it seemed like he was selling out. He noted that the money from all that would be used to help send his siblings to college — “Well, if they want to,” he quipped. “I don’t want to put any dead brother peer pressure on them.”

“If I had another 100 lives, I think I would choose to be Technoblade again every single time because those were the happiest years of my life,” Alex wrote. “I hope you guys enjoyed my content, and that I made some of you laugh. And I hope you all go on to live long, prosperous, and happy lives, because I love you guys.”