In brief: With stories about toxicity, addiction, and other negative elements, gamers and the gaming industry are often portrayed in a bad light. But there are times when communities come together to do something special. In this case, a terminal cancer patient will be granted his wish to play Borderlands 3 early.

Reddit user taurustrev, whose real name is Trevor Eastman, posted a message on the official Borderlands Reddit a month ago that revealed he had been diagnosed with stage 4 esophageal, stomach, and liver cancer.

With Eastman not sure if he'll live to see Borderlands 3's September 13 launch, he asked the community if anyone knew of a way that he could play the game early. He'd already tried to see Avengers: Endgame ahead of its release but wasn't successful.

Huge fan with a bad hand dealt. from r/Borderlands

A few days ago, Eastman posted an update. With so many redditors tweeting and getting in touch with 2K Games and Gearbox, it seems someone at the former company took note. A 2K employee---Eastman isn't sure if he's allowed to mention names---is flying out at the beginning of June to let him play Borderlands 3. Whether he'll get an actual copy of the game or if something else is being arranged is unclear.

Update on dying 27 year old. from r/Borderlands

"I just wanted to thank you all so much for helping make this dream come true. It means the world to me that you all cared enough to do that for me," wrote Eastman.

There have been other instances of companies allowing fans with terminal diseases to play titles ahead of their release. We've also seen players memorialized in games, including Michael Mamaril, who passed away at age 22 from cancer, being added as an NPC to Borderlands 2.