Last July, Byron “Reckful” Bernstein passed away at the young age of 31. He was well-known as a video game streamer on Twitch as well as a World of Warcraft player in the pro scene.
During that time, his cause of death wasn’t confirmed yet, but his loved ones implied that he took his life. Now, after the Travis County medical examiner’s notes were made public knowledge, it has been ruled that Reckful’s death was, in fact, a suicide.
According to TMZ, the medical examiner’s report states that the streamer was already pronounced dead on the spot after he could no longer be resuscitated by the emergency responders. However, we don’t know how much time passed between Bernstein taking his own life and when the emergency responders made an appearance.
Before his death, Bernstein made some pretty troubling tweets that understandably worried his friends, family, and fans. One of his tweets said, “ahh, i feel bad for anyone who has to deal with my insanity.”
He made a follow-up to this tweet saying “please just know in these situations the insane person does not feel in control of their actions.” Shortly after he sent out those tweets, reports started circulating that the beloved streamer was no longer with us.
This was later confirmed by his ex-girlfriend who is well-known by her online handle ‘BlueGoesMew,’ as well as by another streamer known as NymN and esports journalist Rod Breslau.
Bernstein was never afraid to talk about his mental health and how much he struggled with it. As such, his fans were already pretty aware that he grappled with depression. He also made an appearance on the HealthyGamerGG show, which is where he revealed to the world that he was diagnosed with Bipolar Type 2 as a child.
The death of Bernstein was definitely a shock to the Twitch streaming community, which led to numerous content creators talking about it and making a statement about it. He was mostly known for playing World of Warcraft, as such, the community was also heartbroken by the news.
To mourn the loss of Reckful and to show gratitude for all he has done for the community, countless World of Warcraft players from all over gathered together to host in-game memorials.
Blizzard also paid tribute to Bernstein’s passing by adding him to World of Warcraft as an NPC. You will be able to interact with an NPC named Reckful once World of Warcraft: Shadowlands gets released.
Reckful's NPC has special dialogue options:https://t.co/tZLXDq3I4E pic.twitter.com/retOlulv11
— Wowhead (@Wowhead) August 6, 2020
Reckful was known for primarily using a Rogue character in World of Warcraft, so it makes sense that Blizzard decided to make the NPC a Rogue Trainer. That being said, this wouldn’t be the first time that Blizzard included him in the game.
In 2018, Blizzard added a character named Byron Burnside to World of Warcraft, and this character was based on Bernstein. The fact that even Blizzard paid tribute to the streamer just goes to show just how much he meant to people and how his passing impacted the community.
If you or someone you know is having suicidal ideations, please don’t hesitate to reach out to someone or contact the National Suicide Helpline at 1-800-273-8255. You’re not alone and you never will be.
