(CelebrityAccess) — John Bain, one of the first breakout YouTube stars, known for his acerbic long-form video game criticism, died on Thursday. He was 33.
Bain died from complications of bowel cancer that spread to his liver and other organs. Bain was first diagnosed in 2014, but the disease went into remission, only to return and spread to his liver and spine.
Bain, who was known professionally as TotalBiscuit, or the Cynical Brit, first made a name for himself in 2009 when he began uploading game footage to YouTube and providing reviews of games, both indie, and Triple-A titles. His YouTube channel grew to reach more than 2.2 million subscribers.
In addition to his work on YouTube, Bain was a regular host or panelist at live video game events, such as the E3 conference and Gamescom.
In 2012, Bain launched a competitive e-sports team, Axiom eSports, which focused on Activision-Blizzard Entertainment’s popular Starcraft series. The team shuttered in 2015, following Bain’s diagnosis.
Last month on Reddit, Bain announced plans to retire from game criticism, noting that he did not “have long left” and conceding that the cancer was terminal.
“I can’t do the job anymore. I’m under the influence of too much medication to think clearly and my schedule too unreliable to get coverage out in a timely manner,” he wrote in the post.
“There is literally nothing I can do about it other than try to manage the pain as best as possible and stay as hydrated as possible to ease the pressure on the liver,” he added.
Following the announcement of his passing, there was an outpouring of grief from the games industry.
Twitch, a streaming video platform that Bain helped to popularize, wrote: “John Bain’s opinionated game critiques and sense of humor led to him becoming one of the most prominent voices in the gaming industry. The emote bearing his face represents the indelible mark that he has left on Twitch.”
He is survived by his wife Genna and their son Orion.
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