German video game designer and influencer Marc-Manuel Alexander Otto has died at the age of 30 after apparently taking his own life during a livestream on Twitch, according to NBC News and platform representatives. Otto was widely recognized in the digital gaming community for creating the viral obstacle game “Stick Run” as a 14-year-old high school student in 2010.
Bavarian police confirmed that authorities discovered Otto’s body on Tuesday after responding to emergency reports of a fire in an attic room at a residential property in the village of Breitbrunn am Chiemsee. According to law enforcement statements cited by NBC News, a local resident attempted a courageous intervention to extinguish the blaze quickly, but it was already too late to save the person inside the apartment. German outlet BILD reported that authorities have initially ruled out the involvement of a third party, while the formal police investigation into the circumstances of the incident remains active.
Platform Response and Community Tributes
Following the broadcast, streaming platform Twitch moved quickly to address the incident. A spokesperson for Twitch stated in an email that the platform removed the channel and all associated Video on Demand content to prevent public viewing. “What took place is horrible, and the mental health and well-being of our community matters deeply to us,” the Twitch representative said, while encouraging anyone struggling with mental health challenges to seek professional support.
The official Stick Run team also issued a public statement confirming his passing. “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,” the team posted on social media. Colleagues and fans expressed shock and sorrow, recalling how the signature game brought millions of players together through obstacle courses on Facebook and mobile devices over more than a decade.
Legacy of “Stick Run”
Otto launched “Stick Run” as a free-to-play browser game in 2010 while still a teenager attending high school. Players controlled a moving stick figure navigating increasingly difficult obstacle courses in a two-dimensional plane. The project later expanded into a dedicated mobile application across Android and iOS platforms.
According to digital media metrics from Dexerto, the game accumulated more than 43 million players worldwide throughout its operational lifecycle. Tributes continued to pour in from international fans and childhood players who remembered competing for high scores and sharing memories of the title, marking the sudden end of a notable figure in independent digital media history.