On May 24, 2018, the gaming world lost one of its most beloved members, John Bain, better known as TotalBiscuit. Hugely popular for his WTF is…. series, Bain amassed large fan following over the course of many years. In April of 2014, he was diagnosed with Bowel Cancer. Despite this, Bain continued to produce, write, and edit the show, as well as his podcast, The Co-optional Podcast. However, in early 2018 he announced that his illness had taken turn for the worse and would be retiring as a game critic. Later in May, he passed away, and the gaming community hasn’t been the same since.
Bain and his wife Genna were huge supporters of the popular RTS, StarCraft II. In addition, they also formed and managed one of the professional teams, Axiom. Blizzard recognized this as they announced a special Commemorative Bundle for the game in honor of Bain. On their official post, the StarCraft team states, “As many of you know, John “TotalBiscuit” Bain was one of StarCraft II’s strongest supporters.” The team then goes onto say, “In appreciation for the contributions the Bain family have made to StarCraft II, we’ve created a collection of commemorative cosmetics for the game. 100% of the funds received from the sale of these items will go directly to Genna and their son, Orion.”
The bundle itself features cosmetics which include Bains iconic hat from “The Cynical Brit” series, multiple logos from the professional team, Axiom, and a picture of Bain himself. On top of that, there is another bundle pack that players can buy, the John’s Announcer Pack, which features Bains voice as the announcer during matches. Any future sales, less applicable taxes, will directly support his wife and son, Genna and Orion respectively. The Commemorative bundle is available starting this week as a limited time offer, as it will no longer be available after December 31, or once it sells out.
Bain’s influence is still felt today, as many gamers, youtubers, and streamers cite him as a major reason for starting up their profession. While there are many people in the industry that have done some amazing things for the community, the amount of sweat, love, and passion that Bain put into his work cannot be overstated. This bundle for StarCraft II is just one of the many tributes that have been in his name, and it won’t be the last, as TotalBiscuit’s legacy lives on in all gamers.