Twitch streamer Brian Vigneault, known as “Poshybrid,” died this weekend in the middle of a 24-hour marathon livestream. Vigneault was 35 years old and a father of three, living in the Virginia Beach area.
Vigneault was most known for streaming World of Tanks, a team-based shooter video game. He was regularly streaming five-plus days a week to raise money for various charities like the Make-A-Wish Foundation, Kotaku reports.
According to a Twitch moderator posting on Poshybrid’s page, Vigneault left to go smoke at 3:30am CT—22 hours into his livestream—and never returned. At 11am the following morning, the stream was still running and viewers assumed he had simply fallen asleep. After a friend saw him online in a Discord chatroom and messaged him, a detective from the Virginia Beach police department responded, confirming Vigneault’s death.
Since the news of his death, the Twitch users have turned Poshybrid’s page into a memorial channel, posting condolences to his family and writing about his impact in the World of Tanks community.
Screengrab via Poshybrid/Twitch
Screengrab via Poshybrid/Twitch
The constant pressure to stream more engaging content for longer periods of time regularly plagues top users in the Twitch community—especially those who are sponsored streamers. Discussions about time management, sleep deprivation, and tips for the potential dangers of drunk streaming or 24-hour streaming are frequently discussed on the Twitch subreddit.
And though they are less commonplace in the U.S., video game addiction and gaming-related deaths are nothing new. In 2015, a man in a Taiwanese internet cafe was found dead after playing for five days straight.
Although Vigneault’s stream was motivated by charity, there are still significant risks involved with gaming for long periods of time, no matter what the cause. According to the last update on his page, Vigneault’s streams raised over $10,000 for charity.
The Twitch community guidelines prohibit “any activity that may endanger your life or lead to your physical harm,” but do not mention the risks associated with 24-hour streaming.
H/T Kotaku
