Beloved Dead by Daylight Twitch Streamer Puppers Dies at 32

Another beloved video game streamer has departed from this world.

Popular Twitch streamer Puppers, also known as Max, recently passed away this week after being diagnosed with a motor neuron disease.

He was only 32 years old.

Puppers Death Details

Light in the Fog's Twitter page revealed that Puppers had died on June 2 after 32 years of "staying comfy." While the recent post didn't mention what caused his death, previous posts and media outlets, such as the BBC, mentioned that he died from complications due to terminal Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, also known as Lou Gehrig's Disease or ALS.

The American Twitch streamer first started streaming on Justin.tv, Twitch's precursor, in 2011, per PC Gamer citing Puppers' bio in the Light in the Fog website. During that time, he played League of Legends and various horror games before discovering Behaviour Interactive's asymmetric survival horror game Dead By Daylight (DBD) after its 2016 release.

It was during this time Puppers found his niche and capitalized on it; he became known for his DBD-inspired cosplays, in-game skits, and interactive chat experience. His channel saw exponential growth, with him eventually gaining a Twitch partnership on Feb. 20, 2018. By May 2021, he had close to 200,000 followers on Twitch.

However, his ALS started showing itself in early 2020 when he felt a "tickle" in his throat he couldn't clear. It soon progressed to a mild slur in his speech which his friends - known by their online usernames Eshleee, Sunshine, and Silver - noticed.

Months of testing with multiple doctors and specialists narrowed it down to ALS, though it didn't stop Puppers from streaming. Unfortunately, Puppers began to experience difficulty breathing on May 25 and decided to forego further interventions to prolong his care, per a GoFundMe page set up to help Max's family with funeral expenses.

Behaviour Interactive, the DBD community, and Puppers' friends and fans paid respects to the fallen streamer in their own way, such as by memorializing him in tweets. Many fans echoed Puppers's signature sign-off, such as "Rest easy" and "Stay comfy."

What Is ALS?

For those unaware, ALS is the most common form of motor neuron disease in 2020. According to USA Today, the disease affects nerve cells in the brain and the spinal cord, causing stiffness of muscles, muscle twitching, and muscle weakness, which may result in difficulty speaking, swallowing, and eventually breathing.

You may remember a popular social media challenge known as the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge, which saw people pouring ice-cold water on themselves or others to raise awareness about the disease and raise money for research.

The challenge went viral in July and August 2014, with more than 17 million people posting videos online about them doing the challenge and nominating three others to do it. Thanks to it, the ALS Association received $115 million in donations which helped them make scientific advances in understanding the disease and the development of medicine to treat it.