The Highly-Respected Emulator Developer Near Has Passed Away

Content warning: this article mentions suicide and self-harm.

The emulator developer Near--a highly-respected luminary in the fan emulation scene--has died, according to social media posts from a close friend. Several friends of the developer grew concerned when Near posted a photo of themselves along with several messages that seemed to suggest suicidal ideation.

Then, on June 27, notable hacker Hector Martin posted a Google document that he said was authored by a close friend of Near's, which contains explicit details of Near's death. Later, on June 28, Martin said that he spoke to the police department in charge of the investigation, who confirmed that Near died on June 27. The Google doc has been accepted by many as proof of Near's death, in part due to the hacker's intensely private nature.

Near--who was nonbinary--stated in their Twitter thread that they had suffered a lifetime of harassment and abuse from bullies over the years. However, that abuse had intensified in recent months due to the toxic cyberbullying forum Kiwi Farms.

Near, who previously went by the handle Byuu, was a notable fixture of the online emulation scene. They authored higan (formerly bsnes), which is generally considered the most accurate Super Nintendo emulator available. They also contributed to the famous fan translation of Mother 3, and recently released a improved re-translation of the SNES game Bahamut Lagoon.

The National Suicide Prevention Hotline in the U.S. is available 24 hours a day at 1-800-273-8255. A list of international suicide hotlines can be found here.