Jerry Fort, the GTA 6 Fan Who Hoped to Play It, Has Died

Jerry Fort, the GTA fan who went viral in August for hoping to live long enough to play GTA 6, has died. He was 25. He passed away on October 29, three weeks before the game's release, and his sister shared the news on TikTok on November 2Reported3. complex.com — Terminally Ill 'GTA' Fan Dies Three Weeks Before Game's Sixth Installment Releases4. tribune.com.pk — Terminally ill longtime 'Grand Theft Auto' fan passes away weeks before 'GTA 6' release.

Who was Jerry Fort?

Jerry posted on TikTok as Void Only. He had lived with interstitial lung disease, a condition that scars the lungs, since he was 17Reported1. kotaku.com — Fan Who Went Viral Wishing To Stay Alive Long Enough To Play GTA 6 Has Passed Away4. tribune.com.pk — Terminally ill longtime 'Grand Theft Auto' fan passes away weeks before 'GTA 6' release.

On August 8, he posted a video from intensive care with a simple caption: "I just want to play GTA VI". It spread quickly to X and beyondReported5. allthings.how — GTA 6 Fan Jerry Fort's Lung Transplant Fundraiser, Explained, and thousands of people who had never heard of him started following his story.

The fundraiser and the transplant

His mother, Paris Fort, set up a GoFundMe to help him get a lung transplant. Gamers responded, and by early November it had raised more than $96,000Reported2. dexerto.com — GTA 6 fan who went viral for hoping to live long enough to play the game has died3. complex.com — Terminally Ill 'GTA' Fan Dies Three Weeks Before Game's Sixth Installment Releases.

Jerry had the transplant in September, but a severe infection followedReported1. kotaku.com — Fan Who Went Viral Wishing To Stay Alive Long Enough To Play GTA 6 Has Passed Away3. complex.com — Terminally Ill 'GTA' Fan Dies Three Weeks Before Game's Sixth Installment Releases. He chose to keep fighting rather than go into hospice care and stayed on ECMO life support, until another infection on October 28 led to multiple organ failureReported2. dexerto.com — GTA 6 fan who went viral for hoping to live long enough to play the game has died. He died the next dayReported3. complex.com — Terminally Ill 'GTA' Fan Dies Three Weeks Before Game's Sixth Installment Releases4. tribune.com.pk — Terminally ill longtime 'Grand Theft Auto' fan passes away weeks before 'GTA 6' release.

Did he get to play GTA 6?

As far as anyone has reported, no. He had planned to stream the game when it came outReported6. techtimes.co.uk — GTA 6 Fan's Death Has Gamers Asking Why Rockstar Couldn't Give Him Early Access, and Rockstar and Take-Two haven't commented on his deathReported2. dexerto.com — GTA 6 fan who went viral for hoping to live long enough to play the game has died3. complex.com — Terminally Ill 'GTA' Fan Dies Three Weeks Before Game's Sixth Installment Releases6. techtimes.co.uk — GTA 6 Fan's Death Has Gamers Asking Why Rockstar Couldn't Give Him Early Access. His story has led some players to ask why he couldn't have been given early accessReported6. techtimes.co.uk — GTA 6 Fan's Death Has Gamers Asking Why Rockstar Couldn't Give Him Early Access.

There was an earlier, separate story in January about a terminally ill fan whose relative, a developer at another studio, asked Rockstar for a private playtestReported8. gamesradar.com — Terminally ill GTA 6 fan with 6-12 months to live has seemingly been put in touch with Rockstar about playing the game early. That was a different person, and the two stories have sometimes been mixed up online.

Tributes from the GTA community

• Fans are asking Rockstar to honour him in the game. It's a request from players, and nothing has been announcedReported4. tribune.com.pk — Terminally ill longtime 'Grand Theft Auto' fan passes away weeks before 'GTA 6' release.
• Some players have added "Void" to their usernames in his memoryReported6. techtimes.co.uk — GTA 6 Fan's Death Has Gamers Asking Why Rockstar Couldn't Give Him Early Access.
• His family is planning a balloon release, and has said Jerry also hoped more people would hear his musicReported2. dexerto.com — GTA 6 fan who went viral for hoping to live long enough to play the game has died3. complex.com — Terminally Ill 'GTA' Fan Dies Three Weeks Before Game's Sixth Installment Releases.

The story has reached far beyond English-speaking gaming circles, with Spanish-language outlets also covering his deathReported7. gamersrd.com — Muere el fan de GTA VI que pidió vivir para jugarlo. Some viral videos have misspelled his name; it's Jerry Fort.

GTA 6 launches on November 19. For a lot of players, Jerry will be on their mind when it does.