Games of death: online anger as family of China student who died after marathon live-stream gaming sessions offered US$700 ‘humanitarian’ payout

An undergraduate student in China has died after a series of marathon live-stream gaming sessions squeezed into less than a month.

The student’s employer has denied responsibility for his death and offered just 5,000 yuan (US$700) in “humanitarian concern” compensation, sparking outrage on mainland social media.

The young man, Li Hao, from the Ping Ding Shan Vocational and Technical College in Henan province in central China, died suddenly on November 10 after his final overnight gaming live-stream, reported The Paper.

According to his father, the student joined the company in mid-October to comply a six-month internship requirement.

The tragic student took on the live-streaming internship as part of his college course. Photo: 163.com

“He had actively sought internship opportunities since the summer. By mid-October, he told us he had secured a position as a gaming live-streamer in Zhengzhou, earning a monthly salary of 3,000 yuan (US$420),” the student’s father said.

A month after Li joined the company, his father received the devastating news that his son had died on the job.

“He started having problems at 5pm on November 10,” his father said. “He was still asleep at that time, but his roommate noticed he was breathing rapidly and couldn’t be woken.

“They quickly called an ambulance and performed CPR on him under the guidance of a doctor. Unfortunately, they couldn’t save him.”

Records show Li conducted 89 live-streaming sessions between October 15 and November 10.

After November 5, he started live-streaming sessions that went through the night. The night before his death, he live-streamed from 9pm until 6am, his fifth consecutive overnight shift.

His employer denied all responsibility, claiming it had a cooperation agreement with Li, rather than directly employing him.

“We provide a venue,” said Zhang, the company’s legal representative, adding: “We only take commission from viewer gifts given to the live-streamer.”

He claimed the company was not aware of Li’s late-night live-streams and implied the young man had not properly managed his schedule.

“Many live-streamers have difficulty in properly managing the extent of their live-streaming,” Zhang said.

However, Li’s father noted the employment agreement requires a minimum of 240 hours of live-streaming per month to qualify for a base salary.

Yet the company continued to deny any responsibility and said 5,000 yuan would be offered to the family as a gesture of “humanitarian concern”.

The company’s offer of US$700 in compensation for the student’s death has been met with anger online. Photo: Shutterstock

The tragedy has sparked widespread outrage on mainland social media.

“Companies like this should go bankrupt sooner!” one online observer said.

“Such ‘scam’ companies are very enthusiastic about sharing the profits, but as soon as something bad happens, they immediately distance themselves,” added another.