Streamer was trash-talking his in-game ‘enemy,’ then he heard a voice he hadn’t heard in 10 years
At first, he didn't notice the voice, but the moment the player said, 'It's James here,' he realized who he was
High-school friendships never really end, even when friends grow apart or go their separate ways. Nathan “Crayator” Ryan (@crayator), the viral Twitch streamer and 33-year-old Australian YouTuber, recently stumbled upon an 'enemy assassin' in a video game, who ultimately turned out to be his high-school best friend. On March 11, 2026, he shared the surprising moment online, and to date, his video has received over 20 million views on TikTok.
@crayator If this hits 1.5 million views, I’ll buy James a PC #gaming #fyp ♬ original sound - Crayator
A surprising alliance
Crayator was playing Bungie’s new "Marathon," a futuristic sci-fi multiplayer game where the player, or the “extraction shooter,” enters a dangerous world to find loot on Tau Ceti IV, and then they must escape before being killed and losing everything. The game requires a player to compete against other players in a fast-paced setting. During a livestream of the game, Crayator was exploring the "Borderlands" map in solo mode when a conversation made him realize that there was another player in the same building as him.
Face-to-face with his opponent
He moved towards the source of the sound, found the enemy, opened fire, and broke the opponent’s shield. The opponent escaped in a smoke cloud. Using the game's proximity chat, which lets players talk on voice chat, Crayator asked, "Are you still there?" A question came from the enemy’s voice, "Nathan?" He replied, "Never call me Nathan in your life." He thought the player was a viewer and a stream sniper, but it took a while for him to realize that he wasn’t. He was someone he lost contact with a decade ago. "It’s James here." When the player uttered these words, Crayator finally realized who he was.
'Is that you?'
"You mean James from high school?" Crayator asked, surprise dripping from his voice. The other player confirmed that he was his high-school bestie. "Bro, I have goosebumps," Crayator exclaimed. "Bro, I'm gonna start crying. I can't believe this. I'm actually stunned." As it turned out, Crayator and James (@james_boyo19), a registered nurse, were best friends in high school, but lost touch over time. "I've never seen a streamer have this happen. This might be the first, like. I've never seen something like this happen before. What is going on? Man," said Crayator. Moreover, he promised to buy James a PC if the video hit 1.5 million views, and as he updated in a comment, he already did. James also shared a photo of them when they were still young and together.
Social connections via video games
According to ActivePlayer.io, about 14,399 people are playing Marathon as of May 2026. The probability of encountering a friend is quite low in this game since the player doesn’t really know the names of the players in the round, and one cannot invite other people into a solo lobby, per MeinMMO. James himself remarked that it was the first time someone spoke to him in that shooter mode. But as Statista notes, it is not unusual, because about 39% of US gamers have met a good friend, spouse, or significant other through gaming. The same report revealed that 78% of respondents believe that playing games can help introduce them to new friends.
The surreal moment
Meanwhile, viewers were left heartened by the surprising encounter. Many of them said they too wished to experience something like it. For example, @vincentsmg commented, "One of the best moments I’ve seen in game history." Reflecting on the episode, @nickikieffer said, "Meeting people you haven’t spoken to for literally a decade has to be the most surreal experience ever — like, the amount of memories just floating in is just crazy, plus there is so much you’d want to say because so much has happened."
You can follow Nathan "Crayator" Ryan (@crayator) on TikTok for gaming videos.
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