On July 2, 2020, Byron "Reckful" Bernstein committed suicide. His death shocked both the game streaming and esports worlds, as Reckful was a popular Twitch streamer and also one of the most successful professional World of Warcraft players of all time. It didn't take Blizzard long to honor Reckful in-game by adding a new Rogue Trainer NPC as part of the Shadowlands expansion, immortalizing him in the MMORPG forever.
Reckful's NPC in the World of Warcraft: Shadowlands expansion isn'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.
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 the World of Warcraft MMORPG. 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. Blizzard even allowed Chatterton to record a voice line for the quest, immortalizing the young player in the persistently popular game.
Michael Mamaril (Borderlands 2)
Borderlands fan Michael Mamaril passed away at the age of 22 before Gearbox Software was able to finish development on Borderlands 2. Mamaril's friend wrote Gearbox a letter asking if the studio could create a eulogy for Mamaril using Claptrap'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 of Borderlands 2's achievements, plus they get a free weapon for their efforts. Needless to say, this ensured that a ton of Borderlands 2 players 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, but Minecraft tasks the players with doing all the creating themselves. And so a Minecraft player 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 to name his own daughter after Princess Zelda from The Legend of Zelda franchise. Another game Williams played was reportedly Blizzard's World 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 to World of Warcraft. Ultimately, Blizzard added new NPCs to World of Warcraft based on Williams' most famous movie characters as part of the Warlords of Draenor expansion.
Roger Rall (Guild Wars 2)
Dark Age of Camelot player Roger "Oldroar" Rall was looking forward to playing Guild Wars 2 with his Gaiscioch guild, but sadly, he passed away before the game was released. Gaiscioch members decided to launch a campaign to convince Guild Wars 2 developer ArenaNet to add a tribute to Rall in Guild Wars 2, which included sending thousands of baked goods to the studio. Ultimately, ArenaNet decided to pay tribute to Rall in Guild Wars 2 by 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 of MechWarrior Online's biggest fans. Sarah's life was cut tragically short when she died from brain cancer in 2013, and so MechWarrior Online studio Piranha Games added a tribute to her in the form of a specialized mech. Sarah's Jenner mech was sold to MechWarrior Online players, 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 in Borderlands 3. After being diagnosed with terminal cancer, Eastman reached out to Gearbox in hopes that he would be able to play Borderlands 3 early. Gearbox let Eastman play a preview build of Borderlands 3, and also named a powerful shotgun after him called the Trevanator.
Wu Hongyu (Overwatch)
20 year old Blizzard fan Wu Hongyu was looking forward to playing the company's new hero-shooter Overwatch, 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 in Overwatch itself, 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 in World of Warcraft after he passed away, as well as things like the Dads of Destiny tribute for Destiny fan TheSquashPhD, who tragically passed away from cystic fibrosis.
Other times, memorials are put in games for the developers themselves. One example of this is Star 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 Galaxies has 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.