What The Last Year Of Technoblade's Life Was Like

There haven't been many YouTubers as beloved as the one and only Technoblade. He first rose to fame on the Hypixel "Minecraft" server, over time becoming the beating heart of that community. Fans loved Technoblade's warm-hearted attitude, endless optimism, and pitch dark sense of humor. Technoblade's heartbreaking death occurred in the summer of 2022, after he'd undergone nearly a year of treatment for cancer in his right arm.

The entire streaming community reacted to Technoblade's death with shock and grief, but Technoblade had previously warned his community it was a real possibility. When Technoblade was first diagnosed with cancer in the summer of 2021, he told his fans what was going on with his health. Throughout the last year of his life, Technoblade never stopped sharing his treatment successes and setbacks with viewers and close friends. He also never lost his connection to his "Minecraft" collaborators, and even found ways to take his YouTube content in new and exciting directions. Even now, it's abundantly clear that Technoblade cared deeply about his community on YouTube, and the last year of his life is an inspiring story about how creators bring people together, as well as how fans can support their favorite creators through the hardest of times.

Prior to Technoblade's cancer diagnosis, he maintained a pretty clear division between his personal life and his life in the "Minecraft" community. Even so, Technoblade's large community of fans genuinely connected with him, even though they'd never seen his face and didn't know his real name. In fact, beyond knowing that Technoblade was close with his family, had some siblings, and had dropped out of college, fans barely knew anything about his "real life" at all.

Once Technoblade got his diagnosis, he started letting fans into his real life a little more than he ever had before. Near the end of August 2021, Technoblade uploaded a video called "where I've been" to his YouTube channel. It was the first video he'd uploaded since May, and he took the opportunity to share the story of getting his diagnosis and the anxiety he felt about the entire process. Technoblade still kept many of the details to himself, however. He never actually told his fans what kind of cancer he had, though many assumed it was sarcoma because Technoblade started raising money for the Sarcoma Foundation of America.

Technoblade continued to keep his fans in the loop about his health throughout the next year, but he waited until after he passed to reveal any true personal details. In a video called "so long nerds," Technoblade's father talked directly to his community and revealed that the YouTuber's real name was Alex. Of course by that point, the community had long since proven that you don't really need those kinds of details to care deeply about someone.

In his "where I've been" video, Technoblade talked about the fear and nervousness that came in the early days of his diagnosis. He went to the doctor after noticing that his arm was hurting and somewhat swollen, and though he very quickly learned that he had cancer, he couldn't start treatment immediately. Technoblade had to wait days for the doctors to take scans and perform a biopsy, and then he had to spend some of that time calling his family to tell them about the situation. "I gotta say, of all the phone calls I've made, nobody took it worse than my health insurance provider," Technoblade jokes in the video. "They've been inconsolable for weeks."

Throughout entire year, it seems Technoblade never fully lost his upbeat attitude, but his bright outlook really comes through in that particular video. Technoblade's treatment began with chemotherapy, which he said left him completely exhausted. His doctors told him that the exhaustion was all part of the process, and the cancer treatment seemed to be going well. Technoblade told his fans, "The doctors I have are, like, insanely good, bro ... so don't worry about me too much. I think the treatment has already started to show some results."

Several months into treatment, Technoblade's condition took a turn and he went through a horrifying experience. In a video titled "I Almost Became An Amputee," Technoblade told the tale to his fans with his usual cheeriness and a healthy supply of humor. Technoblade said, "I'm talking to my surgeon, and he's not coming out and saying this 100%, but the vibe I'm getting is that he thinks it's gonna be necessary to amputate my right arm." Before taking that drastic step, the doctors tried to cut off the tumor's blood supply with a procedure called embolization, which was extremely painful but showed some positive results. After the treatment, Technoblade's oncologist told him that it looked like his arm would be fine.

Technoblade barely had a moment for a sigh of relief before things took another turn. Technoblade's surgeon and radiation therapist said that his tumor had started to swell, and they needed to schedule an amputation right away. While sitting in his surgeon's waiting room for an appointment to discuss his options, Technoblade got a notification on his phone telling him that his amputation had just been put on the schedule. Then Technoblade walked into the appointment, where his surgeon told him that there was yet another option they could pursue instead of amputation.

Ultimately, Technoblade got to keep his arm. Instead of complaining about the medical whiplash, he approached the entire situation with a sense of humor, telling  fans that he'd planned an "elbow reveal" video in the event of an amputation.

During the last year of his life, Technoblade spent as much time as he could playing "Minecraft" and making videos for YouTube. He said that before his diagnosis, he'd set a personal goal of putting out a video every week. Once he started treatment, that goal was a bit out of reach, but he still wanted to double down on making as many videos as possible. In his "where I've been" video, Technoblade acknowledged that his fans would probably want him to focus on resting up and taking care of himself before making videos for them. He jokingly countered, "This isn't about you, bro. This is about me. I enjoy this, man. This is, like, one of the safest and most fun things I could be doing right now."

Technoblade didn't get to make nearly as many pre-planned videos as he wanted to, sadly. Over the next year, Technoblade put out just two "Minecraft" videos on his channel, but that's partly because he started spending more time streaming than editing videos. Technoblade stayed active with his friends and fellow YouTubers on "Minecraft" and took part in several multi-hour streams, despite being exhausted from chemotherapy and surgery. Technoblade wasn't lying when he said that content creation was something he did for himself, but during his last year, he also found a way to use his content to make the world a better place.

At some point during the last year of Technoblade's life, he decided that he wanted to use his platform to give back. When he first told his fans about his cancer diagnosis, Technoblade talked about how cancer leaves people immunocompromised and extremely likely to get sick. He urged his fans to contribute to making the world safer for cancer patients by getting vaccinated to prevent the spread of disease. Not much later, Technoblade found a way to let his fans help cancer patients like him more directly.

Technoblade started raising money for the Sarcoma Foundation of America, tackling fundraising on multiple fronts. Well before the cancer diagnosis, Technoblade had started selling his own merch, so he was able to quickly start donating a portion of his merch sales to cancer research. With the help of his friends, Technoblade also hosted a three-and-a-half-hour charity stream called "Minecraft But Viewers Control the Game." Technoblade's community raised nearly $400,000 for sarcoma research over the course of the stream, and by the time of his death in 2022, Technoblade had gotten more than $750,000 in donations for the SFA.

Fans didn't know much about Technoblade's family while he was alive, and they honestly still don't. Technoblade's parents were divorced, and since Technoblade died, his dad has confirmed that there are multiple Techno-siblings. Fans were shocked and delighted to find out that Technoblade is actually part of a set of triplets and has a twin brother and sister. He also has a younger sister and an older sister.

Technoblade raised an unbelievable amount of money for sarcoma research during the last year of his life, but as all that money was coming in, Technoblade was also thinking about his siblings' future. Everything he did on YouTube throughout his last year of life was as much for them as it was for himself and cancer research. In his final message to his fans, Technoblade talked about his accomplishments from the previous year and revealed that he'd raised enough money to send all of his younger siblings to college. In typical Technoblade fashion, he didn't let the big announcement go without a joke, saying, "Well, if they want to. I don't want to put any dead brother peer pressure on them." Technoblade knew he wouldn't get to see his siblings grow up, but he still managed to ensure that he'd be there for them the way only a big brother could.

One thing that became abundantly clear in the last year of Technoblade's life was just how much his community on YouTube meant to him. Technoblade made a lot of content that year, and it really seemed like YouTube was a healthy outlet for him to express his feelings and frustrations. It was also a place where he could be himself and fully embrace the darkly humorous way he looked at the world. Technoblade knew his fans understood him and would be there for him through anything, and that's why the fans were on his mind in his last hours of life.

According to Technoblade's father, the YouTuber wrote a letter to his fans about eight hours before he died. Technoblade's dad read the letter in the video titled "so long nerds," which has been viewed over 100 million times. In the letter, Technoblade thanked his fans for everything they'd done for him. Technoblade wrote, "If I had another 100 lives, I think I would choose to be Technoblade again every single time, as those were the happiest years of my life."

The fact that people keep coming back to hear Technoblade's letter again and again is a testament to just how much he still means to his fans and how powerful his final message for them was. Since Technoblade's death, his channel has continued to gain followers, and people keep coming back to the "so long nerds" video to leave new heartfelt messages for Technoblade and his family.

As one of the biggest "Minecraft" YouTubers of all time, Technoblade's content reached millions of viewers, but his impact extends beyond his immediate community or even the people who've seen his videos. Technoblade became such an important figure in the "Minecraft" world that Mojang Studios acknowledged his death on social media, writing in a post on the game's official account, "We have been trying to find the words, but all of us here at Minecraft are heartbroken over the loss of Technoblade. He meant so much to our community and brought so much joy. He will be missed dearly."

We have been trying to find the words, but all of us here at Minecraft are heartbroken over the loss of Technoblade. He meant so much to our community and brought so much joy. He will be missed dearly. 🐷👑🗡️

— Minecraft (@Minecraft) July 1, 2022

That post arrived right after Technoblade died, but the "Minecraft" developers quickly began working behind the scenes on a heartfelt tribute for Technoblade. In October 2022, the devs revealed a new launch screen for "Minecraft: Java Edition" that featured a pig sporting a crown in the background. Fans were overjoyed to see Technoblade's avatar getting recognition from the very company that created the game he loved so much.

Days after Mojang revealed the "Minecraft" tribute, fans were touched when YouTube made a tribute video for their favorite creator. The video used the slogan "Technoblade Never Dies" from the YouTuber's community as its title, and it showed off just how much Techoblade had given to his fans. The video quickly racked up tens of millions of views as people from across the internet poured in to remember one of YouTube's most beloved creators.

Technoblade's YouTube channel still exists, along with all the old streams and videos that fans loved. Since Technoblade's death, the channel's subscriber base has actually exploded, shooting up to over 18 million. That's partly because new people are still discovering Technoblade, and YouTubers and "Minecraft" players alike still subscribe to his channel to show their respect. That said, there's no way that Technoblade's channel would be as active and well-maintained as it is today without Mister Technodad.

Fans didn't properly meet Technoblade's father until he uploaded Techno's final message to YouTube, but in the years since then, they've gotten to know him as Mister Technodad. He's interacted with Technoblade's fans on Reddit, giving them a little more information about the family and occasionally reminding people to respect their privacy. He's also uploaded a few videos to Technoblade's channel. It was Technodad who uploaded a short celebratory video when the channel hit 10 million subscribers, and he put together a special video for the 10th anniversary of the channel. In that video, Technodad gave fans arguably their most intimate look at their hero when he shared the first video that Technoblade ever made — a video Technoblade had shot on his dad's cell phone when he was just 10 years old. By managing the YouTube channel and keeping Technoblade's merch store going — not to mention running his own successful channel — Mister Technodad is helping keep his son's legend alive.

Mister Technodad isn't the only person who's keeping Technoblade's memory alive. People still make videos and write articles to remember the videos he created and the impact he left on the "Minecraft" YouTuber community. Fans still buy his merch and create their own content dedicated to him. Search for Technoblade-inspired music on YouTube, and you'll find an entire catalog of songs dedicated to his memory. Fans will keep Technoblade in their hearts forever, and so will his closest friends from the "Minecraft" community.

As a fellow "Minecraft" YouTuber, TommyInnit had a particularly special relationship with Technoblade. The pair spent countless hours together playing "Minecraft," streaming for their fans, and coming up with ideas for their next ridiculous video. A year after Technoblade's death, TommyInnit posted a memorial video for his friend, in which he urged his viewers to keep watching Technoblade's videos, saying, "They're the best, man, alright. They inspired me, they got me out of s****y times, and they pushed me to be a YouTuber. And they'll make you feel something f***ing great, too." 

Technoblade is still on TommyInnit's mind to this day. In June 2024, TommyInnit helped create a brand new Technoblade video by editing together old footage that hadn't gone into one of their previous productions. The video was called "Technoblade VS 100 Minecraft YouTubers" and went up on Technoblade's channel. It got more than 15 million views from fans who were beyond thrilled to get another video from their favorite content creator. As many of them have written in the comments, "Technoblade never dies."