Manuel Otto, the 30-year-old creator of the popular multiplayer game Stick Run, died on Tuesday evening during a livestream on Twitch. His body was found following a fire in southeast Germany after a neighbour noticed the blaze and tried to extinguish it.
Stick Run acknowledged the incident in a post on X, stating that Mr Otto appeared to have died by suicide. The post said: "Stick Run is aware of a livestream on Twitch involving its creator and owner, Manuel Otto, in which he appeared to have taken his own life. We understand that Twitch has since removed the livestream and associated video."
Community Urged to Avoid Speculation
The statement continued: "We encourage the community to refrain from spreading unverified information or speculation. If you have any information that may help clarify the circumstances surrounding this incident, please reach out to us or contact your local law enforcement agency."
Stick Run's official X page later issued a follow-up statement: "It is with a heavy heart that we confirm and announce the passing of our creator, developer, and fellow Stick Runner, Marc-Manuel Alexander Otto."
Twitch Removes Channel and Video
A spokesperson for Twitch told The Post that the platform quickly removed Mr Otto's channel and any video of his death. They said: "What took place is horrible, and the mental health and wellbeing of our community matters deeply to us. We encourage anyone who may be struggling to seek support, and we offer tools on Twitch to help people connect with local mental health resources in their area. We moved quickly to remove the channel and Video on Demand to prevent it from being viewed by others."
Stick Run's Legacy
Stick Run was created as a free-to-play game on Facebook in 2010, when Mr Otto was just 14 years old. According to Dexerto, the game has been played by more than 43 million people globally on both desktops and cell phones.
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