Tuberculosis is characterized by the formation of granulomas. These macrophage-rich structures are formed to restrict the growth of Mycobacterium tuberculosis; however, macrophage necrosis in granulomas can facilitate pathogen growth. In this study, Mahamed et al. tracked infection outcomes in primary human macrophages in vitro using time-lapse microscopy and found that M. tuberculosis induced macrophage death dependent on the number of internalized bacteria. Phagocytosis of large bacterial aggregates was more cytotoxic than several small aggregates. Macrophage death did not result in bacterial clearance and, instead, M. tuberculosis grew faster in dead cells. Moreover, the internalization of dead infected cells resulted in a cell death cascade that fuelled bacterial infection and growth.