Beloved TikTok star Epic Gamer Grandma dead after suffering a stroke months prior
A TikTok star known as Epic Gamer Grandma has died at the age of 78.
The video gamer’s death was announced Tuesday by her grandson, Culsans, on Instagram. He wrote in a statement that his grandmother, whose real name is Agnes, died peacefully December 21, with her daughter, Pauline, holding her hand.
“She left this world the way she lived in it: surrounded by love,” he wrote about Agnes, who had more than 2.4 million followers on TikTok. “We watched the strongest woman we know slowly lose her words, and now that she’s gone, we are drowning in all the things we never got the chance to say back.”
“We are completely heartbroken, but also incredibly proud,” he added. “Proud of the woman she was long before anyone knew her online, proud of the mum and grandma who held our family together. And proud of the way she spent her later years proving that life does not end at a certain age, it only changes.”
Culsans’ statement came two months after he shared details about his grandmother’s health online, explaining why she hadn’t been posting videos. In an October post on her Instagram account, he said that her Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) had “worsened significantly” and her family needed to call an ambulance.
Two days later, he wrote in another update that she “suffered a major stroke” and was “undergoing heavy treatment.”
Along with more than two million followers on TikTok, Epic Gamer Grandma had 858,000 followers on Instagram and 117,000 followers on YouTube. Some of her videos over the years have included her playing games like Minecraft and Phasmophobia.
When announcing his grandmother’s death, Culsans said that before she was known as an influencer, she was a beloved mother, grandmother, neighbor, and friend. She was also a person “who made sure everyone else was fed before herself” and “remembered birthdays.”
“And then, somehow, in the middle of all that, she became something none of us expected: Scotland’s biggest elderly creator,” he wrote. “People from all over the world started calling her epic gamer grandma, but to us, she was still just nana making us tea, telling us stories, and laughing at the absurdity of it all.”
He shared some of the lessons Agnes taught her friends and family and praised her for showing her fans that the internet, including the online gaming space, isn’t only for young people.
“She showed that you can be in your seventies and still find new communities, new friendships, new ways to express yourself,” he added. “She reminded people that our elders are not invisible. that they have stories, humor, opinions, and so much love left to give.”
Culsans noted that while her last months of life were “full of pain, fear, and uncertainty,” she never stopped being herself. And when she couldn’t say words, her eyes showed “the same kindness, the same wittiness, and the same quiet strength” that she always had. He then expressed his gratitude to the fans who’ve reached out to his grandmother online.
“Even when she couldn’t respond, she heard you. She knew she was loved. not just by her family, but by millions of people she’d never even met. That meant more than we can ever explain,” he wrote. “Her story does not end here. It will continue in the realm of the internet, in perpetuity.”
“Thank you for giving her a second family online. Thank you for making her feel seen, valued, and celebrated in a world that often forgets people her age. She mattered to us, to you, and to so many more than she ever realized,” he concluded. “You completed the game of life, with a perfect score, and your player 2, George [Agnes’ late husband] is waiting for you to start another.”
