18 May,2022 08:15 PM IST | MUMBAI | BrandMedia
When the mobile video game, Call of Duty, was launched by TiMi Studios for Android and iOS version in October 2019, it was one of the biggest mobile game launches in the history of video games. Within a year, the game had generated more than US$480 million in revenue from 270+ million downloads. What this mobile game also changed is the life of Romanian born Michael Vlaicu, who is now settled in Canada. Michael, popularly known as "Starbeast" in the world of online games, has emerged as one of the top-ranking, energetic faces on the Call of Duty Mobile scene.
Michael Vlaicu, better known as âStarbeast' in the Facebook Gaming community, is the man behind one of the most exciting and interesting faces on the "Call of Duty Mobile" scene, with thousands of viewers connecting live with him on regular basis. So, what made his engaging community shoot up the streamer rankings on Facebook? It was his pure passion for gaming, which began when his father gifted him an MS-DOS computer, which had Michael instantly hooked on to learning everything he could about the then nascent world of game play.
Michael learnt to face hardships early in life. In fact, his fierce personality, displayed over his live streams on FB, finds its roots during those days when his country was going through a civil revolution & everything was rationed. Speaking about those days, Michael has often reminisced, "We would line up for bread for hours. I would only eat meat once a week, and cheese was considered a delicacy. I remember as a kid, I would tell my parents that I wanted to try Tropicana juice but couldn't because it was very expensive."
His life took a turn for better when the family decided to move to Holland from Romania, and finally to Canada, where they eventually settled. During the initial days, he would accompany his father to go and scope out the neighbourhood for second-hand furniture because the family was short on money. During his school days, Michael would spend hours at the local shop, playing Super Nintendo, and hone his skills with other kids.
His passion for gaming inspired his father to get him a basic MS-DOS computer, which changed the course of Michael's life. He started learning programming languages and increased his speed of typing. Thanks to all that hard work and passion, today he is known as one of the fastest computer typists in his province. He has won a lot of accolades and honours in the world of gaming for his 130plus words per minute with 99% accuracy.
Starting with the original Team Liquid as a 13-year-old, Michael earned fame with the Real-Time Strategy (RTS) game StarCraft and the world of video game received âStarbeast.' Building his expertise on StarCraft, he then moved on to Warcraft 3, he found his niche in high creep Tower strategies.
The company, Blizzard Entertainment, acknowledged his feats. About that he says, "It was during my time of StarCraft & Warcraft that I noticed my typing skills had come in handy. I felt like a superhero among my competitors, and I just wanted to keep that exhilaration going."
However, inside this avid gamer, there lies a bleeding heart too, who takes time out to work with the United Way, Salvation Army, and most recently became a Global Ambassador for the Pediatric Brain Tumor Foundation. Till date, he has donated more than $40,000, making him one of the biggest charity streamers in the world. "I've had open brain surgery, been that kid sitting in a hospital bed. I know what it's like, I know the pain. That's why I always look to give back as much as I can. I always told myself that if I came out of this alive, I would do something big for many kids around the world," says Michael about his need to give back to the society.
Recently, his podcast was published with Facebook's biggest streamer stonemountain64 too and he has also collaborated with Krafton and PUBG New State.
Michael's love for gaming has taken him places and with his online community, he intends to guide young minds towards sensible use of their valuable time.
