Overview

The Death of Manuel Otto by Self-Immolation, also known as Manuel Otto Self-Immolation Video, occurred on October 20th, 2026, when German streamer and indie game developer Manuel Otto, who created the endless runner video game Stick Run, appeared on his Twitch stream, poured a combustible liquid (purportedly gasoline) on himself while laying on a couch, and lit himself on fire. Otto was 30 years old at the time of his death, which is presumed to be a suicide.

The video and images of the self-immolation stream went viral in the days after the incident occurred, garnering media attention and reactions across the web. Many social media users mourned and discussed his death online as it spread, with the Stick Run page confirming his death on October 21st, 2026.

Background

Manuel Otto was a 30-year-old game developer, content creator and streamer known for creating the popular endless runner video game Stick Run at the age of 14.^[1]

On March 25th, 2026, Otto allegedly sent a message to his Discord channel revealing that he had "some metastatic cancer," which stopped him from working on a project.

Self-Immolation Stream

On or prior to October 20th, 2026, Otto hosted a livestream on Twitch. During the stream, he appeared with a lighter seemingly attached to his leg, as well as short shorts and a black shirt. He then proceeded to lie on the couch, cover himself in a flammable fluid, and set himself on fire using the lighter, with the video showing him becoming engulfed in flames before becoming motionless.

The Twitch stream of the incident was quickly removed from the platform. However, multiple recordings of it were taken by viewers, with clips of it then being reposted and distributed online over the following days (censored screenshots seen below).

A screenshot of the members of the Stick Run Discord channel purportedly reacting to Otto's death in real time also circulated online on sites like Kiwi Farms.

Developments

As word of Manuel Otto's death spread on October 21st, 2026, the Stick Run X^[2] / Twitter account posted an official statement confirming his passing. The post garnered over 117,000 views, 810 likes, 130 retweets and 20 comments in four hours.

Online Reactions

The video of Manuel Otto's self-immolation circulated online in late October 2026, including on sites like Kiwi Farms, 4chan, X / Twitter and Reddit, among others, despite many major platforms attempting to remove reuploads of the graphic content.

On October 21st, 2026, X^[3] user @TTExulansic posted images of Otto taken before self-immolating, writing, "Manuel Otto, the creator of a game called Stickrun dressed up as a woman, turned on Twitch livestream and set himself on fire today and is likely deceased. There is obviously video of this. I do not recommend seeking it out and I will not post stills. If you have more information on this story, please let me know," gaining over 3,000 likes in under a day.

That day, the story was posted to the /r/LivestreamFail^[4] subreddit, gaining over 4,000 upvotes and 550 comments in under a day, with many Redditors expressing confusion, shock and sadness in the comment section.

Also on October 21st, 2026, Redditor hizashiYEAHmada shared the story about Otto's suicide to the /r/whennews^[5] subreddit, alongside a Walter White Breaks Down meme, garnering over 2,300 upvotes and 130 comments in 11 hours.

Search Interest

External References