On July 16, 2025, Byron “Reckful” Bernstein committed suicide. His death shocked both the game streaming and esports worlds, asReckfulwas a popular Twitch streamer and also one of the most successful professionalWorld of Warcraftplayers of all time. It didn’t take Blizzard long to honor Reckful in-game by adding a new Rogue Trainer NPC as part of theShadowlandsexpansion, immortalizing him in the MMORPG forever.
Reckful’s NPC in theWorld of Warcraft: Shadowlandsexpansionisn’t the first time that a video game company has added an in-game memorial or tribute to a fallen player. In fact, it’s happened numerous times over the years, and remains a great way for video game companies to acknowledge some of their greatest fans when their lives are tragically cut short.
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Ezra Chatterton (World of Warcraft)
12 year old Ezra Chatterton used his Make-A-Wish wish to visit Blizzard’s headquarters, as he and his father Micah were big fans of theWorld of WarcraftMMORPG. While Chatterton visited Blizzard’s offices, the company allowed him to design his own quest for the game. The quest, Kyle’s Gone Missing, tasks players with finding a missing dog, making it one of the more wholesome quests that players can complete in the game.Blizzardeven allowed Chatterton to record a voice line for the quest, immortalizing the young player in the persistently popular game.
Michael Mamaril (Borderlands 2)
Borderlandsfan Michael Mamaril passed away at the age of 22 before Gearbox Software was able to finish development onBorderlands 2. Mamaril’s friend wrote Gearbox a letter asking if the studio could create a eulogy for Mamaril usingClaptrap’s voice, but the studio decided to take things a step further. Instead of simply creating a eulogy for Mamaril, Gearbox actually added him to the game as an NPC that players can encounter in Sanctuary. Not only that, but players have to talk to Mamaril if they want to unlock all ofBorderlands 2’s achievements, plus they get a free weapon for their efforts. Needless to say, this ensured that a ton ofBorderlands 2players have interacted with the Mamaril NPC, which is a great way to pay tribute to his memory.
Pauline (Minecraft)
Most of the memorials listed here were created by game developers, butMinecrafttasks the players with doing all the creating themselves. And so aMinecraftplayer set to work creating a massive in-game tribute to his fallen wife Pauline. To honor their wife’s memory, they decided to create a large statue, along with a shrine. It was a significant undertaking, but stands as one of the most impressive and extravagant in-game memorials to date.
Robin Williams (World of Warcraft)
World famous comedian Robin Williams was a well-documented gamer, going as far as toname his own daughter after Princess ZeldafromThe Legend of Zeldafranchise. Another game Williams played was reportedly Blizzard’sWorld of Warcraft, and so when he passed away in 2014, fans started a petition to have him immortalized in the game. The Robin Williams petition passed over 10,000 signatures, and Blizzard decided to find a way to add him toWorld of Warcraft. Ultimately, Blizzard added new NPCs toWorld of Warcraftbased on Williams' most famous movie characters as part of theWarlords of Draenorexpansion.
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Roger Rall (Guild Wars 2)
Dark Age of Camelotplayer Roger “Oldroar” Rall was looking forward to playingGuild Wars 2with his Gaiscioch guild, but sadly, he passed away before the game was released. Gaiscioch members decided to launch a campaign to convinceGuild Wars 2developer ArenaNet to add a tribute to Rall inGuild Wars 2, which included sending thousands of baked goods to the studio. Ultimately, ArenaNet decided to pay tribute to Rall inGuild Wars 2by naming one of the servers after him and adding some lore about a “Rall Oldroar” to the game.
Sarah (MechWarrior Online)
A five year old girl named Sarah was once one ofMechWarrior Online’s biggest fans. Sarah’s life was cut tragically short when she died from brain cancer in 2013, and soMechWarrior Onlinestudio Piranha Games added a tribute to her in the form of a specialized mech.Sarah’s Jenner mechwas sold toMechWarrior Onlineplayers, with all of the proceeds being donated to the Canadian Cancer Society.
Trevor Eastman (Borderlands 3)
One of the more recent examples of in-game video game memorials and tributes is the story of Trevor Eastman inBorderlands 3. After being diagnosed with terminal cancer, Eastman reached out to Gearbox in hopes that he would be able to playBorderlands 3early.Gearbox let Eastman play a preview build ofBorderlands 3, and also named a powerful shotgun after him called the Trevanator.
Wu Hongyu (Overwatch)
20 year oldBlizzard fan Wu Hongyuwas looking forward to playing the company’s new hero-shooterOverwatch, but he was killed a day before launch after he chased down someone who had stolen his classmate’s bike. Hongyu was honored by his local government with the Courageous Citizen award, and he was also honored inOverwatchitself, as Blizzard added his name to the Lijiang Tower map.
Besides the memorials listed here, fans have also banded together to host their own in-game memorial events for their fallen gamers. This included massive in-game memorials for Reckful inWorld of Warcraftafter he passed away, as well as things like the Dads of Destiny tribute forDestinyfan TheSquashPhD, who tragically passed away from cystic fibrosis.
Other times, memorials are put in games for the developers themselves. One example of this isStar Wars Galaxies’s Jeff Freeman, who was the game’s lead gameplay designer. Freeman committed suicide in 2008, and so the team added The Freeman Memorial to honor him in-game. Unfortunately,Star Wars Galaxieshas since been shut down, but there are various ongoing attempts by fans to revive the game with emulators and the like.
If you or anyone you know is experiencing suicidal thoughts, please contact the National Suicide Helpline at 1-800-273-8255.
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