An Xbox gamer was heartbroken when he finally tracked down an old video game pal and discovered he had died.
Lee Fabela used a new Xbox feature to search for his online friend with hopes of reliving their younger days playing Halo 2 together.
However, when the Twitch streamer messaged Shaun he received a reply from his nephew saying he had died from cancer.
Mr Fabela said he wished he had the chance to speak to his ‘online best friend’ one last time before his death, the Daily Star reports.
He said: "I was looking for him for years, Xbox finally added a search bar that gives you gamertag suggestions.
"I looked him up, and sent him a message thinking I would get a reply back, and maybe play Halo again like the good old days."
After messaging him, Mr Fabela received no response for months.
That was until he received a response from the man's nephew, who said that his uncle Shaun had tragically died from leukaemia a year prior and passed on his Xbox account to him.
In a Facebook post , Mr Fabela paid tribute to his former Internet friend, calling him "the coolest person ever".
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He wrote: "It's always sad to find out an old Xbox friend has died. I was like 11 years old when I started playing with him, he was in his 40s.
"While everyone ignored me because I was a squeaker, he would play with me, and when someone older would talk shit to me, he would jump in.
"He was the coolest person ever."
Mr Fabela added: "When we ran together, we never lost a game. I consider this man the best online friend I have ever had, a true Halo 2 legend.
"It sucks I didn't get to talk to him one last time. I think he would want me to play with his nephew now.
"F*** Leukaemia." It is not clear if he continued to play newer Halo games with the friend's nephew."
Now 20 years old, Halo has been one of the most popular and influential videogames in the history of the Xbox.
The latest instalment in the series, Halo: Infinite, just launched its multiplayer mode for free in celebration of the console's anniversary.
