A 25-year-old Grand Theft Auto 6 fan who drew widespread attention for saying he hoped to live long enough to play Rockstar Games’ next release has died, according to the report. His family said he died on October 29, 2026, after years of illness and a rapid decline in the weeks before his death.
The fan had been battling interstitial lung disease since he was 17. His condition eventually became severe enough that he needed a lung transplant, and his family said the illness worsened after a series of infections. Months before he died, supporters rallied around his story and helped raise money for his treatment, recovery and transplant-related costs.
His story spread after he spoke openly about wanting to see GTA 6 release. That wish struck a chord with a wide online audience as interest in the game kept building. Earlier GAMER2GO coverage has tracked that attention, including reports on the game’s music plans, NPC behavior and development process, such as six radio stations and a wide mix of music.
Family says a severe infection triggered the final decline
In a TikTok update shared on November 2, a family member said he developed a severe infection several weeks before his death. The infection reportedly caused his lungs to fill with blood. Doctors told the family he was unlikely to survive and presented hospice care as an option, but he initially chose to continue treatment and remained on life support equipment that included ECMO, a machine used to support heart and lung function.
His condition kept getting worse. On October 28, he told his family he was ready to stop fighting. The next morning, they got a call saying another infection had developed overnight. His blood work had worsened, and his organs were beginning to shut down.
Family members returned to his bedside and found that he was no longer responsive as he had been the day before. The family member who gave the update described his final moments in brief, direct terms.
“He was peaceful. He was at peace. He was peaceful. He was so peaceful,” the family member said.
The same update said he was no longer fighting and no longer hurting. The report said his death came after months of medical struggles, but the family’s account showed how quickly his condition changed once the infections worsened and his blood work deteriorated. He had been supported through that period by people who learned about his wish to live long enough to see GTA 6.
The family also said that the outpouring of support mattered to him while he was still alive. Donations, messages and attention had helped turn a frightening medical situation into something they could share with people who wanted to help. The report said the supporters who followed his story were part of what made his final months meaningful.
His GoFundMe raised more than $96,000
Before his death, his mother, Paris Fort, organized a GoFundMe campaign titled “Help My Son Reach His Lung Transplant.” The fundraiser said he had been living with interstitial lung disease for eight years and needed a transplant after his condition worsened. Donations were intended to help cover transplant-related expenses, relocation and recovery costs.
The campaign went far beyond its original target. According to the report, it raised more than $96,000 from approximately 5,000 donations, surpassing the initial $15,000 goal by a wide margin. That money helped cover the costs tied to his treatment as his health declined and his family tried to keep his care moving forward.
In the announcement of his death, the family thanked supporters for helping make his final months memorable. They said he felt like his dreams were coming true and wanted to give back to the people who had helped him along the way.
“He was so happy. He felt like his dreams were coming true, and he wanted to give back like y’all gave to him,” the family member explained.
GTA 6 was only one part of what he hoped to do. The family said he also wanted to share his music with more people and be known for his voice. That goal had mattered to him alongside the attention his story received from GTA fans and the donations that followed.
“All he wanted was to push his music out and to be known and for people to hear his voice,” the family member said.
The family is planning a balloon release for supporters, although they have not announced a date. The TikTok video ended with another message of appreciation for everyone who supported him through his medical battle: “Thank y’all for making his last few months beautiful.”
His mother’s fundraiser and the family’s update showed how a viral gaming wish became a wider community effort. Supporters responded with money, messages and attention while he was still receiving treatment, and his family said that support helped carry him through the last stretch of his life.
i’ve been on GTA for years and this one hits weird. i remember grinding online waiting for the next game like it was never actually gonna happen, and then seeing someone say they wanted to live long enough for it… man. it makes the wait feel stupidly small compared to real life. RIP to him and i hope his family got to read some of the good messages
yeah, same. the game hype gets silly sometimes, but this is the bit that snaps you back to reality real fast
96k from a 15k goal is a huge jump. that part stood out more than the viral clip to me
it’s mad how GTA fan attention can actually turn into something useful when people bother to show up. 5,000 donations is no joke either, that’s a proper community pile-in. shame it took something this sad to get there though, and the ECMO detail makes it feel even more brutal
kinda feels like the internet did one decent thing for once
ECMO and hospice in the same story is rough
nah, the part that gets me is how fast it changed after the infections stacked up. one day he’s still talking, next day organs starting to shut down – that’s not some long drawn out movie scene, that’s just ugly reality. the life support detail makes it worse because it shows they were really trying everything
yeah, that’s what i meant
waiting for GTA 6 is not heroic
bro he was just being honest about wanting to see a game he cared about. that’s not hero stuff, it’s just human. people latch onto that because everyone knows the wait has been absurdly long and he was open about it
I get why it resonated, but the viral angle can also flatten the person into just
fair, but the headline was always going to do that
ecmo carrying the wait lol
lol and the man still had to sit through the GTA 6 wait. brutal timing, no patch for that
Bit dark but yeah, the update wording is savage. Still, the meme angle sits weird with a real death and a family update right there. I get why people joke, but the story is about him being at peace and the support he got, not the hardware
too soon
yeah, probably
5,000 donations is wild
not really, the story spread hard and gta fans are loud as hell online
still a lot tho
sure, but ‘still a lot tho’ is doing a lot of work there. 5,000 donations means a lot of people each tossed in a bit, not some giant whale stack. in GTA terms it is the difference between one crazy modder and a whole lobby actually helping. both matter, just in different ways
yeah okay, fair point. i meant it still feels like a lot to see that many people click donate for one guy, not that it was all huge amounts. either way the support was real, and that is why the story stuck
music dream too
more sad than the game part
yeah, but the music was his dream too. i think people missed that bit
music stuff usually gets buried by the headline
true, but it was in there
His family saying he felt like his dreams were coming true is the only part i can focus on. the game wait, the music, the donations – all of that matters less than the fact he got some comfort before the end
pretty fair take. the whole thing reads like a community doing something decent for once
96k is huge
his voice part hit me hardest