Anyone's death diminishes me,
because I am involved in mankind.
And therefore never send to know for whom
the bell tolls; it tolls for thee.
-- John Donne, 1624
Never Let Them Be Forgotten
I programmed my first game on a PDP-10 mainframe computer in 1971, before the release of Pong, and my career includes projects on every generation of video game consoles. Those of us who have worked to build the games industry over the last 50 years have many relationships. We are competitors, fellow artists, friendly rivals and co-creators of an entirely new artistic medium.
The loss of any member of our craft, our art form and our industry diminishes us. We must honor the past and preserve their work so that their legacy is never lost. And we must honor the future by training and mentoring new game professionals.
To add video games industry people who have died -- from any country, discipline or role -- please email to ddaglow via gmail dot com. I work to corroborate all reports. If you see any errors or can offer better links please let me know. I'm gradually adding links to names in alphabetical order, and for all new listings. People with maiden/married names, name changes etc. are listed under both variants if known. (More notes at end.)
My deep thanks to Devin Monnens and Andrew Armstrong; Ethan Johnson, Frédéric Neilz and Alex Smith; The Strong National Museum of Play, the IGDA and The Internet Archive Memorial, for your extensive long-term research.
* * *
The most recently added names and year they passed away: Mark Robinson (2025), Laura Nikolich (2024), Dolores Carney (2025), Alan Emrich (2025), David Galvan (2025), Tucker Hatfield (2017), Martyn Brown (2024), Dan Van Elderen (2024), Masayuki Kato (2024), Matthew White (2023), Alex Cabal (2024), Joe Banks (2024), Thomas Kurtz (2024), Christophe Vivet (2024), Manny Granillo (2024), Erin Fusco (2024)
Anne Abbott, 1908, pioneering best-selling 19th century card game designer of Dr. Busby
Tom Abramson, 2020, Sega Marketing exec on Sonic, Taz & Sega Sports franchises
Adam Adamowicz, 2015, concept artist: Fallout 3, Elder Scrolls IV, Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
Aliess Adams, 2014, programmer on Backyard Basketball, Backyard Football.
Douglas Adams, 2001, author and collaborator on Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy game
Claudia Adams-Esgrow, 2016, community manager for multiple major franchises
Mabel Addis, 2004, teacher, wrote influential pioneering 1964 text game The Sumerian Game
John Ahlquist, 2023, lead programmer on C&C: Generals and Battle for Middle Earth
Martin Alessi, 2022, editor at Electronic Gaming Monthly magazine in 1990s.
Nick Alfieri, 2022, founder of indie publishers Digerati and Big Sugar
Christopher Allen, 2008, multiplayer designer on Saints Row 2.
Ethan Allen, 1993, designed All Star Baseball board game that influenced early video game sims
Frances Allen, 2020, first woman to receive the Turing Award in CS (for work on compilers)
Mel Allen, 1996, Hall of Fame Baseball announcer who did play by play on Old Time Baseball
Paul Allen, 2018, Microsoft co-founder and philanthropist
Susan Allen, 2009, programmer on Freddi Fish, Blue's Clues, Backyard Sports franchises
Aaron Allston, 2014, designer and writer on Ultima and Wing Commander franchises
Martin Alper, 2015, Mastertronic co-founder and former CEO of Virgin Interactive
Ebbe Altberg, 2021, CEO of Linden Lab, creators of Second Life
Robert Altman, 2021, co-founder of ZeniMax, the corporate parent of Bethesda, id et al
Amechi Amanugi, 2024, IT & QA team member at Absolute Entertainment, Paradigm
Robert Anderson, 2020, Mattel president during era of Intellivision and Mattel Electronics
Nobuaki Andou, 2018, NES emulator developer
Python Anghelo, 2014, designer on Joust and other pinball and coin-op titles
Noah Anglin, 2017, early Atari engineering exec
Bryan Ansell, 2023, co-creator of Warhammer and Warhammer 40K, Games Workshop MD
Kay McNulty Antonelli, 2006, 1 of 6 women system programmers on seminal ENIAC computer
Hidehito Aoki, 2002, creator of music and sound effects for many major Japanese games
Peter Archer, 2021, veteran TSR/WOTC writer, was advisor & liaison on major D&D games
Takanori Arisawa, 2005, composer for Sailor Moon and Digimon shows and games
Dave Arneson, 2009, co-creator of Dungeons and Dragons
Muhammad Uzair Arshad, 2024, founder of game & app studio Emblem Technologies
Steve Ash, 2019, programmer on modern versions of Doom, Quake and Double Fine games
Andy Astor, 2000, designer and programmer at Shiny Entertainment
Jim Atkiss, 2022, editor & marketing for WotC, Sony, Bandai Namco, 2K, Sierra
Ed Auer, 2010, CBS and Broderbund executive
David Avram, 2018, QA engineer on Everquest franchise, Free Realms, Wizardry Online, H1Z1
Brian Ayers, 2022, Sega Europe, Capcom, Konami marketer; Street Fighter, Castlevania series
Chris Ayres, 2021, voiced characters in Dragon Ball games, Smite, The Gunstringer
Alfonso Azpiri, 2017, Spanish game box & comics artist whose work was adapted into games
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Charles Babbage, 1871, designed the Difference Engine, the first proto-computer
Jeremías Babini, 2024, Argentine artist and co-designer on Storyteller, Fidel Dungeon Rescue
John Backus, 2007, led team that developed FORTRAN, first high-level computer language
Ralph Baer, 2014, designer of the first video game console for Magnavox
John Bain, 2018, writer on SPAZ: Space Pirates and Zombies, VO on Awesomenauts
Steve Bak, 2019, programmer who pioneered effects on the Atari ST
Richard Baker, 2011, AMD European sales exec who supported the games industry
Rani Baker, 2023, indie game maker, writer and musician.
Dan Ballard, 2018, animator on Putt Putt, Let's Explore, Freddi Fish and Guitar Hero franchises.
Alesandra Ballinghoff, 2011, served as Director of Online Business Development at Accolade.
Ken Balthaser Jr., 2018, producer & designer, worked on Battlefield, EA Sports titles
Joe Banks, 2024, Marketing exec at Private Division, Koch Media, Square Enix, Warner Bros.
Don Barnes, 2011, artist who worked on Madden NFL and Call of Duty: Black Ops
Hugh Barnes, 2019, Sr. VP of Mattel Electronics over handheld games and Intellivision console
Lee Barnes, 2019, programmer for Intellivision at Mattel and pioneering disabled game dev
Doug Barnett, 2017, designer & artist on X-Wing Alliance, Return to Zork, Pool of Radiance
Bret Barrett, 1996, designer/programmer on Monkey Island, Spy Fox, Freddi Fish, Putt-Putt series
Kevin Barrett, 2022, Design Director on Mass Effect, Dragon Age: Origins at Bioware.
Jean Jennings Bartik, 2011, 1 of 6 women system programmers on seminal ENIAC computer
Cathie A. Bartz-Todd, 1993, producer at Virgin Interactive on Deluxe Scrabble, Terminator
Melissa Batten, 2008, worked on Halo 3 and Gears of War at Xbox.
Eric "Ferret" Baudoin, 2022, designer on Fallout, Dragon Age & MechWarrior franchises
Erik Bauersfeld, 2016, voice of Admiral Ackbar in films and in Star Wars: X-Wing game
Michael Baur, 2024, designer on Spellforce, No Man's Land, Might & Magic: Heroes Online
Mark Beaumont, 2010, executive at Atari, Activision, Midway and Capcom
Gordon Bell, 2024, pioneering engineer: DEC mainframes, parallel computing, microprocessors
Charles Bellfield, 2013, Sega exec who led the launch of the Dreamcast
John Makepeace Bennett, 2010, led development of Nimrod game-playing computer in 1951
Scott Bennie, 2022, writer on the original Fallout, Interplay's Star Trek titles and other games
Richard Berg, 2019, legendary paper wargame designer, also worked on Europe in Flames
Mary Kay Bergman, 1999, did VO for 5 characters in Star Wars Ep. I: The Phantom Menace
Michael Berlyn, 2023, pioneering author of Infocom Suspended, co-author on Infidel & Cutthroats
Alex Bernstein, 1999, led team that developed first fully functional computer chess game in 1957
Byron “Reckful” Bernstein, 2020, WoW player and streamer who led the creation of Everland
Dani Bunten (Berry), 1998, pioneering designer of M.U.L.E. and early co-op network games
Kenn Berry, 2021, pioneering African American artist, La Russa Baseball & Eagle Eye Mysteries
Nick Berry, 2022, Program Manager for MSN Games and Microsoft Casual Games for many years
Tim Best, 2008, designer on the Last Ninja series and the NES Lethal Weapon
Patrick Béthune, 2017, voice actor on a long list of games in both English and French
Greg Bick, 2008, led Grand Theft Auto: London, artist on Quarantine and Dark Colony
Frances Bilas Spence, 2012, 1 of 6 women system programmers on seminal ENIAC computer
Shawn Bird, 2011, artist on Incredible Machine, Front Page Sports games at Dynamix.
Bob Bishop, 2014, early Apple game designer Apple Star Trek, Space Maze, Star Wars, Bomber
Mike Bispeck, 2015, artist on Air Warrior, production on The Sims, Pitfall: Lost Expedition.
Jeremy Blake, 2007, artist who worked on GTA 2, GTA 4, GTA London, Chop Suey
Maddie Blaustein, 2008, voice actor on cartoons and games
"CCP Blaze", 2017, Eve Online Audio & Graphics team member
Brian Blume, 2020, executive at TSR in the very early days of D&D
Earl Boen, 2023, actor who did VO on World of Warcraft, MGS 2, Monkey Island & Psychonauts
Keith Boesky, 2019, former Eidos President, advisor to Riot & other major teams
Corrado Böhm, 2017, created one of the first high-level programming language compilers
Kathleen Booth, 2022, created first assembly language, co-designed ARC, SEC & APE(X)C
Colin Boswell, 2023, studio CTO on Dead Space, Simpsons, Tiger Woods franchises
Richard Bottet, 2013, programmer at Infogrames on Asterix, Alone in the Dark 3
Guy Boucher, 2023, pioneer founder of game studios in Quebec: Megatoon, Sarbakan.
Tony Bourne, 2014, leader of SCEE QA department in the UK
Pete Bouvier, 2017, former owner of Twin Galaxies
David Bowie, 2016, did VO, songs & design input for Omikron: The Nomad Soul
Evelyn Boyd Granville, 2023, Black engineer, pioneered high-precision complex math apps
Skye Boyes, 2015, founder of XGen Studios, also worked on Mass Effect
Andrew Bradfield, 2001, Atari programmer and creator of Laser Hawk
Mark Bradlee, 2017, Atari, Imagic, and Worlds of Wonder executive
Hans-Jürgen Brändle, 2005, co-founder of Attic Entertainment in Germany
Marlon Brando, 2004, did VO on EA's Godfather game
Rob Brannon, 2015, programmer on Harpoon, Turok 2, Area 51 and Star Wars: The Old Republic.
Ryan Brant, 2019, founder and first CEO of Take Two
Karl Ferdinand Braun, 1918, inventor of Cathode Ray Tube (TV, monitors), first semiconductor
Mike Brennan, 2024, artist on Dark Sector, Darkness II, Bioshock 2; Art Director on Warframe
Jesse Bright, 2015, programmer on Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, Age of Empires II sequels
Cathy Carlston (Brisbois), 1995, Broderbund co-founder
Steve Bristow, 2015, Atari Coin-op engineer, worked on Computer Space, Pong, Tank, Breakout
Peter Bromley, 2016, co-founder of Mayfair Games
Jason Brookes, 2019, long-time games journalist at Edge and Super Play
Fred Brooks, 2022, managed dev of IBM 360 computers, author of The Mythical Man Month
Jeff Brown, 2022, content designer on Age of Empires, Age of Mythology, Age III, Halo Wars
Martyn Brown, 2024, co-founder of Team 17, worked on Worms, Football Manager, Alien Breed
Tim Browse, 2010, worked on Starship Titanic (with Douglas Adams) and Stolen
Alexander Brüggemann, 2013, game designer on The Settlers series and other titles
Kobe Bryant, 2020, performed for motion capture in NBA Courtside 2002
Rachel Bryk, 2015, Dolphin Emulator developer
Kevin Bulmer, 2011, co-founder of Synthetic Dimensions, Gauntlet, MASK, Perfect Assassin
David Bunch, 2019, programmer on early EA Sports titles who also worked at Bandai Namco
David Bunnett, 2013, art director for films (Dragonslayer) and games (Neverwinter Nights)
Dani Bunten (Berry), 1998, pioneering designer of M.U.L.E. and early co-op network games
Ken Burd, 2018, co-creator of Master of Orion, engineer on D&D Online, more D&D games
Brigitte Burdine, 2010, voice casting director on God of War II and World of Warcraft
John Burgeson, 2016, IBM engineer who wrote the first punch-card baseball simulation game
Hans Werner Bussinger, 2009, famous German film VO, games Kingdom Hearts 2, Divinity II.
Jim Butterfield, 2007, pioneering 1970s and 80s programmer and master of 6502
Ada Byron King, Countess of Lovelace, 1852, first programmer on the Difference Engine
Byuu (aka Near), 2021, renowned Japanese SNES emulator dev who created bsnes and higan
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James Caan, 2022, did VO on EA's Godfather games
Alex Cabal, 2024, QA & producer on Test Drive, Hardball, Godzilla, Power Strike franchises
Steven Cain, 2006, British designer and graphic artist at Denton Designs
Allan Calhamer, 2013, designer of the classic board game Diplomacy
Charles Callet, 1995, French computer game composer
Martin "Bucky" Cameron, 2018, artist on Monkey Island, Indiana Jones & Last Crusade
Tina Delzer Cameron, 2019, Community leader on Everquest franchise
Keith Campbell, 2006, pioneering UK games journalist, adventure games expert
Kevin Campbell, 2022, Vice President, Client Engineering at PlayStation
Cathy Carlston (Brisbois), 1995, Broderbund co-founder
Tomi Pierce (Carlston), 2010, Broderbund game designer and writer on The Last Express
Dolores Carney, 2025, Programmer on Freddi Fish, Putt Putt, Big Thinkers franchises
Joel Carroll, 2024, artist: Rugrats, Die Hard, Duke Nukem, Mary-Kate & Ashley franchises
David "Sarge" Carter, 2018, animator on H1Z1
Scott Carter, 2007, EA engineer on Medal of Honor: Airborne
Bruce Carver, 2005, founder of Access Software, created Raid Over Moscow, Leader Board
Jackie Cassada, 2021, veteran classic paper RPG designer on D&D and other settings
Erik Cassel, 2013, member of the founding team and engineering VP at Roblox
David Chandler, 2011, Mattel engineering exec and "father of the Intellivision"
Richard Chang, 2010, led handheld games at Mattel Electronics
Jack Charlton, 2020, English footballer who did VO commentary for Sega's 1998 soccer game
Leyton Chew, 2012, QA at LucasArts on Star Wars titles, Monkey Island, Full Throttle.
Anthony Chiang, 2023, artist on Falcon, Star Wars, Vampire: The Masquerade games.
Jan Chodak, 2018, Mattel game engineer, designer of first consumer electronic drums, Synsonics
Tom Clancy, 2013, author who collaborated with Ubisoft on many game titles
Alan B. Clark, 1999, created Mask of the Sun, Serpent's Star, Shadowkeep, War in Middle Earth
Edith Clarke, 1959, first woman to be an electrical engineer in US, first female Professor of EE
J. Brian Clarke, 2006, COO of Coleco during introduction and success of Colecovision
Ron Cobb, 2020, artist & film production designer, worked on Lodestar and The Space Bar
Margot Comstock (Tommervik), 2022, co-founder of Softalk, 1st Apple SW/games magazine
Edward Condon, 1974, led development on 1940 Nim-playing computer at 1940 World's Fair
Roy Conrad, 2002, actor, did VO on Police Quest: SWAT, Star Wars games & Full Throttle
Kevin Conroy, 2022, actor who did VO on Batman: Arkham City, Injustice & other franchises
John Conway, 2020, creator of pioneering cellular automata-based The Game of Life
Leland Cook, 2009, co-founder of coin-op distributor Tradewest
Ralph Coppola, 2018, coin-op games innovator, CEO of ICE (makers of Chexx)
Normand Corbeil, 2013, composer on Heavy Rain and Indigo Prophecy
Troy Correia, 2022, pioneering iOS and online game designer at Electrified, GREE, Sega, WB
Les Crane, 2008, Mindscape executive (and AM radio talk show pioneer)
Wes Craven, 2015, director, worked on the never-completed game Wes Craven's Principles of Fear
Bill Cravens, 2007, executive at Cinematronics, Universal, Nintendo, Capcom
Maria "Remilia" Creveling, 2019, first woman to play in League of Legends Championship Series
Michael Crichton, 2008, Jurassic Park creator, also wrote the text for the 1984 game Amazon
Nancy Morris Crowe, 2021, Artist and package designer at Broderbund in late 80s - early 90s
Matthew Crump, 2014, designer on Ultima and Spyro franchises, ran the SXSW Gaming Exp
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Ted Dabney, 2018, co-founder of Atari
Ben Daglish, 2018, composer on titles for C64, Amiga, ZX Spectrum & Amstrad CPC
Manabu Daishima, 2016, artist on Final Fantasy XII, Chrono Trigger, Parasite Eve
Joanne Dal Porto Nerli, 2018, early team member at EA
Dario D’Ambra, 2020, game designer on Don't Make Love at Maggese Games
Jérôme Darnaudet, 2018, French game journalist (link is in French)
Charles Darrow, 1967, appropriated Lizzie Magie's Landlords Game into Monopoly board game
Derek Davis, 2024, longtime editor of PC Pilot Magazine for flight sim fans
Ryan Davis, 2013, Giant Bomb co-founder
Jim Davison, 2020, did compatibility on Star Wars games, Grim Fandango, Indiana Jones.
Travis Day, 2022, designer on Diablo III and World of Warcraft
Bernie DeKoven, 2018, game designer on Alien Garden, Timebound, Flip Side, Grobot
Kamar de los Reyes, 2023, actor, voice of Raul Menendez in Call of Duty titles
Tina Delzer Cameron, 2019, Community leader on Everquest franchise
David DeMartini, 2016, EA producer and executive
Paul De Meo, 2018, game and film writer & producer, often teamed with Danny Bilson
Barry Dennen, 2017, voice actor on multiple major franchises
Justin Der Gregorian, 2022, Sr. Producer at Sony's London Studio & at THQ, Bandai Namco
Paul de Senneville, 2023, founder of Delphine Software
Dale DeSharone (Disharoon), 2008, created early C64 titles, worked on Zelda projects
Joe Dever, 2016, Lone Wolf game books author who helped adapt them for mobile
Michael Diamond, 2020, Sr. Director Strategic Partnerships, NVIDIA
Rick Dickinson, 2018, pioneering UK games hardware designer at Sinclair Research
Edsger Dijkstra, 2002, pioneer in developing structured programming languages, virtual memory
Thomas M. Disch, 2008, award-winning novelist/screenwriter, wrote 1987 game Amnesia
Dale DeSharone (Disharoon), 2008, created early C64 titles, worked on Zelda projects
Priyesh Dixit, 2016, Programmer on Aliens: Colonial Marines, Section 8
Mark Dodson, 2024, did VO on Star Trek Online, LEGO Star Wars, Ghostrunner, other games
Doug Dorweiler, 2022, Sr. Director of Global Azure Network (with many games) at Microsoft
Alexander Douglas, 2010, wrote 1st non-text game, Noughts & Crosses, on 1952 mainframe
Bernie Drummond, 2021, designer on ZX Spectrum games Head Over Heels, Match Day II
Rolf Duhnke, 2015, Managing Director of Eidos offices in Germany
Adam Duncan, 2024, co-founder of Australian studio League of Geeks, worked on Armello
Michael Clarke Duncan, 2012, actor who did VO on many games, including God of War II
Theresa Duncan, 2007, co-creator of Chop Suey and other early CD-based games for girls
Erik Durfey, 2019, electronic technician at Atari coin-op: Centipede, Hard Drivin', many others
Eric Dybsand, 2004, leading AI programmer: NHRA Drag Racing 2, War in Heaven, Enemy Nations
Greg Dyer, 2020, artist on Star Trek: The Next Generation, Star Trek: Generations, Vigilance.
Erick Dyke, 2008, n-Space CEO, worked in Duke Nukem, Goldeneye, COD, Marvel franchises
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Rupert Easterbrook, 2024, veteran Producer on Soulcalibur, Vietcong, House of the Dead 2
John Eberhardt, 2023, Production VP at Level Ex, Lead Producer on MTG Arena.
John Presper Eckert, 1995, co-designer of ENIAC, first general use computer. (See "ENIAC 6")
Ronnie “Oni” Edwards, 2018, Game Theorists YouTube video editor
Terri Lynn Eggebraten-Walters-Howell, 2024, early team member at Atari
Philippe Egret, 2010, French computer game composer
Tim Eifert, 2002, VP of sales at Electronic Arts from the late 1980s through the 90s
Clarence Ellis, 2014, African American computer scientist on team that developed GUIs
Harlan Ellison, 2018, sf writer, worked on game I Have No Mouth and I Must Scream
Alan Emrich, 2025, board & computer game designer: Master of Orion, Warlords II, Empire
Wayne England, 2016, prominent board and card-based game artist
Eric Engstrom, 2020, co-creator of the original DirectX gaming APIs in 1994
Carolyn Enlow, 2018, first female programmer at Sierra Online in early 80s
Kenji Eno, 2013, Japanese musician and game designer
Steve Epstein, 2020, published pinball mag The Flipside, co-created Barracora, design consultant
Christopher Erhardt, 2012, game designer and teacher who worked on Pool of Radiance
Ross Erickson, 2021, Worldwide Games Portfolio Manager for XBLA
R. Lee Ermey, 2018, actor, recorded Drill Instructor Voice Pack for Call of Duty: Ghosts
Carlos Escobar, 2011, programmer at Sierra on many Quest games, Leisure Suit Larry
Claudia Adams-Esgrow, 2016, community manager for multiple major franchises
Dean Essig, 2024, longtime award-winning combat board game designer
Jenny Esson, 2020, mental health advisor on Hellblade
Michael Estigoy, 2024, did business development for Broderbund in the 1990s
Scott Etherton, 2001, programmer on MechWarrior, Battlezone franchises.
Harald Evers, 2006, German interactive fiction writer
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Mike Fahey, 2022, games journalist and senior editor at Kotaku
Mohammad Fahmi, 2022, designer on indie games including Coffee Talk, What Comes After
Neil Falconer, 2012, 1980s and 90s coinop game designer, created music for Spy Hunter
Jonathan Fargher, 2021, longtime PR leader for Sony, plus Psygnosis, Activision & Ubisoft
Philo Farnsworth, 1971, inventor of key components that enabled the development of television.
Nick Ferguson, 2023, exec at Amazon & Microsoft, worked on Gears of War, Tomb Raider.
Benjamin Ferrer, 2007, graphic illustrator and concept artist, Technopop.
Hal Finney, 2014, early programmer at APh on Intellivision Armor Battle and Atari 2600 games
Carrie Fisher, 2016, actress, did VO on Dishonored and Lego Star Wars: The Force Awakens
Andrew Fitch, 2018, veteran game journalist at EGM, 1up
Frank Fitzner, 2016, co-founder of Nuclearvision Entertainment in Germany
Kelly Flock, 2021, veteran games exec and President of Sony Online Entertainment
Geoff Follin, 2024, composer and SFX: Wolverine, Incredible Crash Dummies, Batman Forever
Zach Ford, 2022, Gearbox & PUBG game designer who worked on Borderlands
Michael Forgey, 2016, exec producer on Shadow of War
Jay Forrester, 2016, pioneer of real-time computing
Miika Forsell, 2003, developer on the Max Payne team
Mike Foulger, 2011, Broderbund programmer on Riven (Myst II) & Dr. Seuss games
Simon Franco, 2014, developer at Creative Assembly in the UK
Anita Hamil Frazier, 2019, long-time NPD and Vivendi Marketing exec
David Freeman, 2014, sales executive at Activision Blizzard
Jeff Freeman, 2008, game designer who worked on Ultima Online and Star Wars Galaxies
Jim French, 2017, Did VO on Left 4 Dead (as Bill), Half-Life 2 and DOTA 2
Oliver Frey, 2022, magazine cover artist on Amtix, Crash, Retro Gamer and Zzap!64
Barry Friedman, 2016, games agent from 1980s through 2000s
Tsutomu Fujisawa, 1998, designer/artist on Penguin-kun Wars, Atomic Robo-Kid, Gomola Speed
Keiji Fujiwara, 2020, voice actor in Final Fantasy, many Japanese games and shows
Brad Fuller, 2016, composer for Marble Madness, Tetris and other games
Erin Fusco, 2024, artist & producer on Diablo 2, Overwatch 2, Diablo IV, Warcraft Rumble
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Stu Galley, 2018, Infocom systems engineer and writer for The Witness
John Galt, 2022, voice actor on Shadow Warrior and Prey
David Galvan, 2025, accessibility testing on Earl Weaver Baseball, Tony La Russa Baseball
Corey Gaspur, 2017, Game Designer on Mass Effect 2, Mass Effect 3, ME: Andromeda
Daryl Gates, 2010, police chief and author, worked on Police Quest: SWAT
Rémy Gazel, 2019, French video game composer on Rayman
Holger Gehrmann, 2008, co-founded reLINE, Hollywood Poker, Western Games, Black Gold
Laura "Taera" Genender, 2008, Community Manager on MMORPG.com, Eve Online
Manny Gerard, 2023, Warner exec who led 1976 Atari acquisition & 1984 Atari sale
Bill Gersh, 1997, founded Cashbox jukebox business mag, covered early days of coin-op games
Michael Gershman, 2000, talent agent & historical advisor on Old Time Baseball
Armin Gessert, 2009, programmer and co-founder of Spellbound Entertainment
John Gibson, 2023, co-founded Denton Design, worked at Imagine, Psygnosis, Warthog, Sony
H. R. Giger, 2014, artist on Alien series and the Dark Seed games
Stewart Gilray, 2022, Psygnosis and Bullfrog programmer who later founded Just Add Water
Alick Glennie, 2003, created Autocode, first (or one of the 1st) compiled programming languages
Brian Goldner, 2021, Hasbro Chairman and CEO, supported Transformers video games
Thomas Goldsmith, 2009, CRT & color TV inventor, patented 1st coin-op video game in 1947
Morey Goldstein, 2008, sound & composer on Strife, Spectre VR and JetFighter
Ross Goodley, 2023, 80s designer/programmer, Web Runner, Dam Busters, Super Bowl.
Craig Goodman, 2019, long-time Insomniac artist on Ratchet and Clank, Spider-Man
Philipp Gosch, 2023, Austrian game dev, co-founder of Game Development Graz
Leo Goshgarian, 2019, sales exec at Spectrum Holobyte and Mattel
David Gottlieb, 1974, founder of Gottlieb pinball, designer of early pinball games
Edd Gould, 2012, creator of Eddsworld videos and flash games
Daisuke Gouri, 2010, voice actor on Dragon Ball Z: Revival Fusion, Dead or Alive 2 Ultimate
Curt Gowdy, 2006, Hall of Fame Baseball announcer who did play by play on Old Time Baseball
Manny Granillo, 2024, producer on Die Hard Arcade, Jazz Jackrabbit 2, StreetKix: Freestyle
Richard Grantham, 2023, sales exec with Gametek UK, Take-Two Interactve and JoWooD.
Evelyn Boyd Granville, 2023, Black engineer, pioneered high-precision complex math apps
Brian Green, 2020, Online games veteran who worked on early MUDs, Meridian 59: Evolution
Allen L. Greenberg, 1999, computer game journalist at Computer Gaming World, other outlets
Andrew C. Greenberg, 2024, co-creator of the original Wizardry in the long-running franchise
Doug Greene, c. 2004, Broderbund programmer who ported Lode Runner to PC
Sterling Greene, 2011, worked at EA in early 1990s
Hank Greenwald, 2018, baseball announcer on Tony La Russa Baseball
Kim Gregson, 2014, professor at Ithaca College, built their games program
Sheila Greytak, 2001, executive assistant at Humongous Entertainment
Kevin Kanai Griffith, 2015, long-time Blizzard artist
Peter Groeger, 2018, German voice of Quark, VO for games Far Cry 5, The Dwarves, The Raven.
Bill Gross, 2007, producer on Dora the Explorer, Charlie & the Chocolate Factory, Motocross Mania
Jeff Groteboer, 2004, programmer and designer at Origin and SSI
Robert Guillaume, 2017, actor who did VO for scientist Eli Vance in Half Life 2
Gary Gygax, 2008, co-creator of Dungeons & Dragons
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Paul Haddad, 2020, voice actor on Resident Evil 2
Mark Haigh-Hutchinson, 2008, engineer on Metroid Prime and Shadows of the Empire
Joyce Hakansson, 2016, designer of early educational games in the 1980s and 1990s
Ashif Hakik, 2021, composer on Sly Cooper, FantaVision, CTR: Crash Team Racing Nitro-Fueled
Rob Hale, 2022, developer behind Squid in a Box who created Waves and Waves 2
Gordon Hall, 2021, founder of Möbius Entertainment (later Rockstar Leeds)
Richard Halliwell, 2021, co-author of the first edition of Warhammer Fantasy Battle
Danny Hammett, 2020, founder of Head Games, creators of hit Cabelas Big Game Hunter
Sébastien Hamon, 2005, French computer game journalist
Hugh Hancock, 2017, Machinima founder
Kentarō Haneda, 2007, composer of music for early 1980s NES games
Avril Harrison, 2019, EA & Lucas artist; did famous 80s Tut & Botticelli Deluxe Paint images
Phil Hartman, 1998, did VO on Blasto, The Simpsons: Virtual Springfield
Goro Hasegawa, 2016, creator of Othello board game
Kazuhisa Hashimoto, 2020, Konami programmer who created the "Konami Code"
Tucker Hatfield, 2017, production on Red Baron 3-D, Microsoft Flight Sim & Combat FS
Jens Hauch, 2020, lead technical artist on Halo Infinite and Guild Wars 2
Dennis Hawelka, 2017, early esports star
Scott Heckenlively, 2009, artist on Barkley: Shut Up and Jam!, Bubsy: Claws Encounters.
Fred Held, 2023, IT and marketing executive with Mattel Electronics in late 70s, early 80s
Simon Hellwig, 2022, founder of game publisher Kalypso Media
Matt Helsom, 2019, senior artist and animator on Spider-Man 3, Skylanders, Destiny 2
Bob Henderson, 2016, Technical Director on Chuck Yeager Flight Sim, Earl Weaver Baseball
Arnold Hendrick, 2020, created Darklands, worked on Silent Service II, Pirates! Gold, Gunship
Steve Henifin, 2019, composer on Metal Gear Solid titles, Too Human and other games
Keith Herber, 2009, writer on Call of Cthulhu (paper RPG), Star Reach, Blackthorne, Dark Seed II.
Frank Herman, 2009, exec who co-founded Mastertronic, Sega Europe, GT Interactive Europe
Terry Hess, 2024, Environment artist: Spider-Man 3, COD: Black Ops, Medal of Honor: Warfighter
Ian Hetherington, 2021, founding Managing Director of PlayStation Europe, Psygnosis founder
William Higinbotham, 1994, creator of seminal 1958 computer game Tennis for Two
Greg Hildebrandt, 2024, Star Wars artist, did covers for Ultima Online, J.R.R. Tolkien's LOTR
Tim Hildebrandt, 2006, Half of "Brothers Hildebrandt" with Greg, collaborated on their projects
John Hiles, 2016, educational sim creator who partnered with Maxis on SimHealth
Chris Hill, 2014, Lead Artist / Artist on Syndicate, Magic Carpet, Populous, F1 franchises
John Hill, 2015, designer of influential board game Squad Leader
Doron Hirsch, 2022, creator of the experimental collaborative mobile game Mish Mash
Joel Hochberg, 2023, co-founder and business director at Rare
Stewart Hogarth, 2015, Scottish game developer: I Am Level, Super Dungeon Run
Betty Holberton, 2001, one of 6 women system programmers on seminal ENIAC computer
Robert Holdstock, 2009, novelist, wrote the companion novella to David Braben's Elite.
Alec Holowka, 2019, co-designer on Night in the Woods
Rue Hon, 1999, did production & QA on MechWarrior 2, 007: Tomorrow Never Dies.
Sim Wong Hoo, 2022, creator of Sound Blaster sound cards that changed computer game audio
Grace Hopper, 1992, pioneer of compilers and high-level programming languages
Ingo Horn, 2023, Dir. of PR, Wargaming Europe & Founder of Letsplay4charity non-profit
Sean Horne, 2023, artist/video on Medal of Honor, Mortal Kombat X, Gears of War 4, Star Wars.
Stephen Hornback, 2016, artist on Duke Nukem, Rise of the Triad, Shadow Warrior, Zombasite
Troy Horton, 2021, producer on early versions of Tomb Raider at Eidos in mid-90s
Arthur Houtman, 2022, co-founder of Vanguard Games & Force Field, MD at Vertigo Games
Joseph J.M. Howell, 2007, did QA and research on GTA III, many other Rockstar games
Terri Lynn Eggebraten-Walters-Howell, 2024, early team member at Atari
Walter Huang, 2018, Visceral Games engineer on Dead Space 2 & 3, Battlefront: Hardline
Hervé Hubert, 1994, French programmer at Infomédia on Chrono Quest, Biathlon 2008
Thomas Huffman, 2022, creator of Up Golf, also worked on Manifold Garden
Simon Humber, 2021, designer and/or producer on many years of FIFA Soccer
Michael Humes, 2016, writer and designer on Harry Potter games, other major franchises
Dave Hunt (Dav0r), 2023, created the Tool Gun for Garry's Mod
Devin Hurd, 2021, Engineer/Audio Dir. on Twisted Edge, Age of Empires III, 2K NHL/NBA/MLB.
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Aleksandar Ilic, 2004, artist on Bang! Gunship Elite, Malice.
Mutsumi Inomata, 2024, character designer on Tales series, Tekken franchise
Candace Irving 2021, Longtime PR manager at Mattel Toys who also did Intellivision PR
Shukuo Ishikawa, 2024, Bandai Namco President, Exec Producer on Soulcalibur franchise
Hiro Isono, 2013, artist on Seiken Densetsu 3, Dawn of Mana, Secret of Mana, Trials of Mana
Ida Rhodes (Hadassah Itzkowitz), 1986, pioneer of computer and programming language design
Sergei Ivanov, 2020, writer on S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Shadow of Chernobyl
Takashi Iwade, 2019, designer and artist on Panzer Dragoon and Yakuza franchises
Satoru Iwata, 2015, Influential President and CEO of Nintendo
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Jennell Jaquays, 2024, pioneering designer & artist at Coleco, id, Ensemble: Quake, Age of Empires
Tony Jay, 2006, VO on Return to Castle Wolfenstein, Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance, X-Men: Legends.
Wes Jenkins, 2017, artist & producer, Mario is Missing, Mario's Time Machine, LEGO: My Style
Jean Jennings Bartik, 2011, 1 of 6 women system programmers on seminal ENIAC computer
Steve Jobs, 2011, Apple co-founder, credited as a designer on Steve Wozniak's Breakout for Atari
Clarence Johnson, 2016, LucasArts artist on Star Wars: Starfighter, Ghostbusters: The Video Game
Katherine Johnson, 2020, pioneering African American NASA mathematician & programmer
Peter Johnson, 1994, Art Director at Sega
Scott Johnson, 2022, producer on Heavy Rain and Beyond, designer of G-Police
Brett Jones, 2024, artist and costume designer on Goldeneye 007, Perfect Dark
Karen Spärck Jones, 2007, pioneer in natural language processing (chatbots), search engine tech
Richard Joseph, 2007, Long-time Audio Dir. -- Defender of the Crown, Elder Scrolls IV
Sebastien Juanico, 202?, programmer on Star Wars: Battlefront, GoldenEye/007 games.
Ted Judson, 2022, Marketing and Sales exec with EA on early EA Sports & other titles
Ron Judy, 2024, co-founder, Nintendo of America distribution, sold in Donkey Kong
Kim Jung-ju, 2022, Nexon founder
Please click here to donate to The Strong Museum to preserve these stories and video games history while we still can. Donations can be made in memory of a loved one or colleague.
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Hiroshi Kajiyama, 2018, character designer on Dragon Force Silk, illustrator and manga artist
Antti Kallioinen, 2016, veteran game artist and studio founder: Space Haste, Resogun, Alienation
Billy Kametz, 2022, VO actor on Pokémon, Mario, Wasteland, Final Fantasy franchises
Harry Kane, 2016, former Sega of America President
Yoshinori Kaneda, 2009, anime animator who also worked on Final Fantasy games
Ryan Karazija, 2022, musician whose music was featured in Death Stranding, Arknights
Pat Karns, 2010, sales executive at Atari, Fun Games, and Sega
Saki Kaskas, 2016, composer on Need for Speed titles, Sim City 4, Mass Effect 2
Jasmin Kassner, 2018, German game programmer, producer and musician; worked on ParaWorld
Ray Kassar, 2017, late 1970s CEO of Atari, inspired game designers to leave & form Activision
Josef Kates, 2018, designed Bertie the Brain in 1950, Canadian computer that played Tic Tac Toe
Masayuki Kato, 2024, founder of Nihon Falcom: Ys, Legend of Heroes, Legend of Nayuta
Joyce Worley (Katz), 2016, pioneering video game magazine founder and editor
Pete Kauffman, 2015, founder of coin-op company Exidy
Eri Kawai, 2008, recording artist; she also appeared on game soundtracks
Saga Kazami, 2007, games and anime composer
Roger Kean, 2023, created influential UK computer magazines Zzap!64 and SMASH
Brett N. Keeton, 2002, 1980s game programmer on Lunar Rover Patrol, Galagon, Star Legions
Mary Kenneth Keller, 1985, 1st woman to earn PhD in CS in U.S., modern language developer
Norm Kelln, 2018, early Nintendo manufacturing and display support technical coordinator
John Kemeny, 1992, co-creator of BASIC computer language (with Thomas Kurtz)
Graeme Kidd, 2009, British computer game journalist, served as editor of Crash magazine
Hedy Lamarr (Hedy Kiesler), 2000, inventor (& actress), co-developed basis of Wi-Fi, Bluetooth
Lemmy (Ian Fraser Kilmister), 2015, Motorhead leader, did VO on Brütal Legend and Scarface
Jim Kimsey, 2016, founding CEO of AOL
Angela Kimzey, 2021, community manager at WB Games Boston, EA and WildWorks
Ada Byron King, Countess of Lovelace, 1852, first programmer on the Difference Engine
John Kirby, 2019, Nintendo attorney, namesake of Kirby games, voting rights activist
Kouki Kita, 2017, SunSoft game artist on Waku Waku 7, Galaxy Fight
Jim Kitchen, 2015, indie dev who produced accessible games for blind gamers
Reuben Klamer, 2021, created The Game of Life board game, oversaw the PC version
George Klose, 1996, co-created first handheld game, Mattel's Auto Race, in 1976
Michael Knox, 2009, pioneering African American producer, cofounded Park Place Prod.
Osamu Kobayashi, 2021, visual designer for Grandia, Evolution, Gungrave, Tube Slider
Rieko Kodama, 2022, Sega artist on Sonic the Hedgehog, director on Phantasy IV & MKR
Robert Alan Koeneke, 2022, wrote The Dungeons of Moria, inspired some Diablo features
Michael Kogan, 1984, founder of Taito Corporation: Space Invaders, Bubble Bobble, Arkanoid
Scott Koller, 2015, did Blizzard customer support on WoW, Starcraft, Diablo, Hearthstone
Steve Kordek, 2012, pinball game designer, invented bottom flippers; Space Mission, Grand Prix
Andrii Korzinkin, 2022, Ukrainian animator who worked on Metro: Exodus, lost in Ukraine war
Stewart Kosoy, 2015, designer / producer on Spiderman, Full Spectrum Warrior
Shiro Kotobuki, 2016, pioneering disabled Japanese game artist: Rumble Roses
Alan Kotok, 2006, designed 1st-ever joystick (used on Spacewar), co-wrote early Chess game
Kevin Kraff, 2022, marketing exec at Square Enix, 505 Games, THQ, Activision, NBC
Robert Krakoff, 2022, co-founder at hardware maker Razer
Colin Kroll, 2018, co-founder of HQ Trivia
Mike Kubin, 2013, pinball designer at Stern in the 1970s and 1980s
Kim Okkerstrøm (Kimberly Kubus), 2014, Norwegian artist and game developer
Józef Kucia, 2019, Vkd3d founder and contributor to Wine, Mesa and Debian
Michael Kuehl, 2012, programmer at Insomniac, Infinity Ward and Electronic Arts
Bill Kunkel, 2011, co-founder of Electronic Games Magazine and pioneering journalist
Thomas Kurtz, 2024, co-creator of BASIC, which launched home computer games industry
Andrey Kuzmin, 2022, creator of Vangers & Perimeter, founder of K-D Lab & KranX Productions
Ti-Ning Kwa, 2024, artist on Star Wars franchise at LucasArts, longtime Sims artist at Maxis
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Greg LaBrec, 2008, Developer Marketing Exec at NVIDIA, Sony and Atari
Steve Lacey, 2011, programmer on Microsoft Flight Sim, Crimson Skies, Oddworld.
Peter LaDeau, 2023, longtime team member at Broderbund in the 1980s & 90s
Thomas Lagemann, 2023, community management exec on LOTR Online, KOTOR
Len Lakofka, 2020, early editor and author on D&D and part of 1st-ever Gen Con
Ken Lally, 2023, actor on Mortal Kombat 9, remakes of Resident Evil 2 and RE 3, COD
Hedy Lamarr (Hedy Kiesler), 2000, inventor (& actress), co-developed basis of Wi-Fi, Bluetooth
Andrew Lamp, 2015, QA Mgr. on Everquest, Everquest II, Star Wars: Clone Wars Adventures.
Adam Lancman, 2005, Australian developer, executive and Australian Game Devs Assoc. President
Greg Land, 2019, game designer at LucasArts (Star Wars), Telltale (Wallace & Gromit)
Jon Landau, 2024, film producer, extensively involved on James Cameron's Avatar: The Game
Daniel Langlois, 2023, founded Softimage, game & movie graphics tools publisher
Justin Lassen, 2021, Composer and musician who also did game soundtrack work
Greg Lastowka, 2015, Rutgers law professor focused on legal issues of online games
Michael Latham, 2021, game designer & producer on Eternal Champions, Home Alone
Katherine Lawrence, 2004, writer and designer at Microprose and other companies
David Lawson, 2021, co-founder of Imagine SW & Psygnosis, created 80s UK hit Arcadia
Jerry Lawson, 2011, African American games pioneer, invented cartridge-based consoles
Charles Lazarus, 2018, Founder of Toys R Us
Robert Leach, 2022, producer on NBA 2K franchise as well as NHL, NFL and Baseball.
Undrea Leach, 2022, streamer and voice actor on Last Line of Retreat & Starcrossed
Peter Ledger, 1994, graphic artist at Sierra and Tsunami; Conquests of Camelot
Stan Lee, 2018, Marvel comics creator whose characters appeared in many games
Anthony Lees, 2016, co-composer of the music on the Last Ninja series
Russell Lees, 2022, writer on Assassin's Creed and Far Cry games franchises
Dick Lehrberg, 2015, executive at Activision and Interplay
Lemmy (Ian Fraser Kilmister), 2015, Motorhead leader, did VO on Brütal Legend and Scarface
Jason Lentz, 2024, artist and graphic designer on Potions: A Curious Tale
Stan LePard, 2021, composer on Guild Wars 2, Destiny, Halo Reach, Fable 2, PGR et al
Lance Lewis, 2018, veteran of Atari and 3DO: Rocket Jockey, Army Men: Air Attack
Daniel Licht, 2017, game composer on Dishonored and Silent Hill
Ruth Lichterman Teitelbaum, 1986, 1 of 6 women system programmers on ENIAC computer
Paul Arden Lidberg, 2022, board game designer at TSR, worked on Ultima VI, Wing Commander.
Russell Lieblich, 2005, programmer and composer for Intellivision, Activision and LucasArts
James Light, 2022, producer on Hell Let Loose at Team17
Rachael Lillis, 2024, did English VO on Super Smash Bros., Pokémon, Pac-Man franchises
Michael Lindsay, 2019, voice actor on anime films and games, including Final Fantasy XIII
Gene Lipkin, 2021, President at Atari coin-op division
Rick Loomis, 2019, co-founder of pioneering play-by-mail game company Flying Buffalo
Marian Lorenz, 1992, co-author of Atari Assembly Language Programmer's Guide
Ada Byron King, Countess of Lovelace, 1852, first programmer on the Difference Engine
Michael Lubuguin, 2023, original Madden NFL team member & many more games at EA
Bud Luckey, 2018, legendary Pixar animator who did VO for Disney Infinity
Darek Lukaszuk, 1995, programmer at Dynamix on Aces of the Pacific, Aces Over Europe
Piotr Lukaszuk, 2024, programmer on Front Page Sports Baseball/Football, 3D Ultra Pinball
Søren Lund, 2018, veteran Danish developer who worked on Hitman, Watchmen & more
Jerry Luttrell, 2023, writer and marketer on Red Baron, Betrayal at Krondor, Descent
Cherie Lutz, 2021, Business Development leader at Sierra, Xbox and Wizards of the Coast
Mickey Lynch, 2017, early team member at Atari Games coinop divisiion
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Jim Mackonochie, 2015, co-founder of Mirrorsoft, flight sim pioneer
Archer Maclean, 2022, created Dropzone on C64/Atari, International Karate
John Madden, 2021, Madden NFL advisor & namesake, key to initial growth of EA Sports
Lizzie Magie, 1948, designed The Landlord's Game, later adapted (uncredited) as Monopoly
Jennifer Majalca, 2014, Nintendo and Sega PR veteran
Mark Maling, 2006, worked in IT at Humongous Entertainment, Total Annihilation.
Kyle Mannerberg, 2007, designer on Pac-Man at Namco, Tomb Raider at Crystal Dynamics
Ned Mansour, 2024, exec at Mattel in hand-held electronic games era, later President
Christian Marche, 2009, French pinball machine artist on Op Pop Pop, Klondike, Double Up
Mark Margolis, 2023, actor who did VO on Rockstar's Manhunt
Biz Markie, 2021, rapper who supported dev teams' music for Saints Row and GTA games
Dave Marofske, 2014, president Midway Manufacturing
Greg Martin, 2014, cover designer for the original Sonic and other titles
Marian Martini, 2018, programmer on Cold Comfort at Gamma Minus game studio
Alain Massoumipour, 2019, French computer game journalist
Masato Masuda, 2014, creator of Fire Pro Wrestling
James Mathe, 2019, indie board game & RPG publisher who mentored many indies of all kinds
Andy Mathews, 2008, art director at Hero Games
Uwe Mathon, 2024, producer on Anno franchise, Dawn of Discovery, Skull and Bones
Miyu Matsuki, 2015, actress on many games, including the voice of Lailah in Tales of Zestiria
John Mauchly, 1980, co-designer of ENIAC, first general use computer. (See "ENIAC 6")
Gene Mauro, 2018, international games exec who worked on a diverse range of titles
Jeanette Maus, 2021, actress who performed in Resident Evil Village
George Mawle, 2021, engineer on iconic God of War weaponry
Rick May, 2020, voice actor in Star Fox, Team Fortress 2 and other titles
James McCaffrey, 2023, actor who was voice of Max Payne, also did Alan Wake 2.
Amelia “Millie” McCarthy, 2014, pioneering coin-op distributor & industry spokesperson
Helen McCrory, 2021, Harry Potter actress who did VO on Peaky Blinders: Mastermind
Gabriel McDonald, 2015, did VO on Beyond Zero Tolerance, operations at LucasArts
Matt McDonald, 2019, indie team leader. Art Director and Technical Art Director
Dwayne McDuffie, 2011, pioneering African American comics, TV and video games writer
Charles McEwan, 2006, co-founder of Ramtek, early arcade game maker & Atari rival
Mick McGinty, 2021, cover artist for Street Fighter II, Streets of Rage 2, many 90s game titles
Fergus McGovern, 2016, early UK games entrepreneur and founder of Probe and Hotgen
Martin McKenna, 2020, illustrator & game artist on Fighting Fantasy & Deathtrap Dungeon games
Paul McLaughlin, 2022, artist on Fable, Black & White, Godus and other titles
Peter McMurry, 2019, Lead Engineer for Rainbow Six, worked on Dominant Species, Force 21
Seumas McNally, 2000, 3D graphics on Scorched Tanks, DX-Ball, Tread Marks
Alan McNeil, 2017, creator of Berzerk, Frenzy; worked on Nova, Boot Hill, Maze Wars+
Kay McNulty Antonelli, 2006, 1 of 6 women system programmers on seminal ENIAC computer
Brad McQuaid, 2019, Lead Designer on Everquest and other titles
Ralph McQuarrie, 2012, designed Darth Vader and much of Star Wars, influenced many games
Laralyn McWilliams, 2024, designer on Free Realms MMO, Full Spectrum Warrior, Gears of War 4
Syd Mead, 2019, designer on Blade Runner movie & game, Wing Commander: Prophecy
Ben Mears, 2023, games community evangelist for Houdini at SideFX
Dylan Mecham, 2024, lead artist on Trail of the Undead at Fun Waffle Game Studio
Eric Medalle, 2016, graphic design director at The Pokémon Company
Marlyn Wescoff Meltzer, 2008, 1 of 6 women system programmers on seminal ENIAC computer
Ken Melville, 2014, co-founder of Digital Pictures
James Mestemaker, 2023, SFX artist on Tabula Rasa, Starhawk, God of War: Ragnarök.
John Metzler, 1982, co-founder & game designer at Ramtek: Hockey/Tennis, Sting, TV Pinball
Dietrich "Didi" Meutsch, 2007, EU exec at Rushware, Microprose, Hasbro Interactive & THQ
Joe Miller, 2014, long-time Sega games producer and exec
Jay Miner, 1994, engineer, co-creator of Atari VCS, Atari 400/800 and the Amiga
Marvin Minsky, 2016, co-founder of MIT Media Lab, AI pioneer who worked with games
Dave Mirra, 2016, BMX star who collaborated on Dave Mirra Freestyle BMX
Takeo Miratsu, 2002, composer for both video games (Legend of Dragoon) and anime
Fukio Mitsuji, 2008, creator of Bubble Bobble and other Taito coin-op games
Jack Mittel, 2016, former Williams, Gottlieb and Taito of America executive
Ben Mittman, 2018, pioneer of AI vs. AI computer chess championships
Kentaro Miura, 2021, Berserk Manga creator who worked on Sword of the Berserk: Guts' Rage
Hiroshi Miyagawa, 2006, film and game composer
Takeshi Miyaji, 2011, co-founder of Game Arts and G-Mode
Shoji Mizuno, 2018, character designer for the Bomberman franchise
Landon Montgomery, 2020, Gearbox co-founder, worked on Half-Life, 007: Nightfire, Halo
Jay Moon, 2018, co-founder of Iguana Ent., worked on Turok, NBA Jam. Batman Forever
Gordon Moore, 2023, Intel co-founder, microprocessor co-inventor and author of "Moore's Law"
Roger Hanna Morash, 2018, game programmer at Harmonix on Amplitude, Shard
Emile Morel, 2023, creative director of Beyond Good & Evil 2
Steve Morgenstern, 2013, pioneering journalist and founding editor of Atari Age magazine
Akihiko Mori, 1996, sound designer on many Japanese video games
Paul Moriarty, 2016, former Taito of America executive
Nancy Morris Crowe, 2021, package designer on Carmen Sandiego, Last Express, Chessmaster
David Morse, 2007, exec at Amiga, Epyx, Crystal Dynamics
Barry Morstain, 1996, designer of Microleague Baseball
Iain Morton, 2020, TD and CG on Oddworld, Transformers, Marvel Ultimate Alliance
Sam Mowry, 2024, actor who did VO on Dota 2, Legends of Runeterra, Infamous, Torchlight
Kerri Moynihan, 2017, finance manager at Activision Blizzard
Martin Mull, 2024, did VO on Nicktunes Unite! game
Patrick Munnik, 2019, Horizon Zero Dawn lead producer
Yoshitaka Murayama, 2024, created Suikoden franchise, Eiyuden Chronicle: Hundred Heroes
Dan Mycka, 2023, AD on Star Trek TNG & DS9, Da Vinci Code, Command & Conquer 3.
Doug Myres, 2001, programmer on Railroad Tycoon II, Blair Witch, Age of Wonders
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Ron Nakada, 2014, programmer on World of Warcraft, Diablo III, NASCAR 06/07.
Hideyuki Nakajima, 1994, executive at Namco, Atari Games
Masaya Nakamura, 2017, founder of Namco (Pac-Man, Galaga, Pole Position, Dig Dug, Xevious)
Akira Nakao, 2024, voice actor on Judgment, Last Judgment for Sega
Michael Nash, 2021, lead concept designer on Horizon Zero Dawn
Near (aka Byuu), 2021, renowned Japanese SNES emulator dev who created bsnes and higan
François Nédelec, 2009, board & computer game designer on Empire Galactique
Dave Needle, 2016, co-creator of Amiga 1000, Atari Lynx and 3DO system
Nels Nelson, 2017, games and systems designer at Certain Affinity
Prince (Prince Rogers Nelson), 2016, worked on 1994 PC/Mac game Prince Interactive
Roger Nelson, 2022, founder of motion capture studio MotionWerx
Joanne Dal Porto Nerli, 2018, early team member at EA
Mikael Nermark, 2021, former Starbreeze CEO, backed games including Psychonauts 2
Liz Neville, 2024, worked in Marketing at Broderbund Software for many years.
Wayne Neyens, 2022, prolific pinball game designer from 1940s to 1970s at Gottlieb
Reynalda Lynn Nguyen, 2021, co-creator of the Multi Arcade System joystick
Thao Nguyen, 2021, co-creator of the Multi Arcade System joystick
Russ Nicholson, 2023, D&D artist, worked on game versions of Warlock of Firetop Mountain
Laura Nikolich, 2024, early designer, created Spider-Man on Atari 2600 for Parker Bros. in 1981
Leonard Nimoy, 2015, did VO on many Star Trek Games, Seaman, Civ IV & Kingdom Hearts
Yasushi Nirasawa, 2016, character designer on SoulCalibur, many other games & movies.
Shinya Nishigaki, 2004, creator of Dreamcast titles Blue Stinger and Illbleed
Jim Nitchals, 1998, pioneering Apple programmer and game developer
David Nolte, 2014, Producer/designer on Yoshi's Cookie, Tetris Worlds & more Tetris games
John Nordlinger, 2017, Microsoft games researcher, co-founded Foundations of Digital Games.
Matthew Nowacki, 2022, designer on Disney Epic Mickey, Disney Epic Mickey 2, ReCore.
Eli Noyes, 2024, Oscar-nominated animator, worked on Ruff's Bone, Top Gun: Fire at Will
Ingo Nugel, 2007, German game music composer
Bill Nutting, 2008, founder of Nutting Associates, released first arcade video game
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Jon Oakes, 2024, San Jose State Tech Labs leader, SVVR organizer, supported many VR/XR games
Markus Oberrauter, 2019, programmer on the Söldner and Settlers series among other games
Chris Oberth, 2012, created 70s Apple ][ games, later programmer for Stern, Epyx, Mindscape
Brendan O'Brien, 2023, did original VO for Crash Bandicoot & Neo Cortex on Crash Bandicoot
William O’Connor, 2018, White Wolf artist whose work appeared in Vampire: The Masquerade
Dean O'Donnell, 2022, writer on Titan Quest franchise and other titles, educator at WPI
Shinobu Ogawa, 2008, game director/composer on Psycho Dream, Suikoden, many more
Norio Ohga, 2011, founder of Sony Computer Entertainment, creator of the Walkman
Rich Okabe, 2023, respected operations leader in the early days of EA as a startup
Tohru Okada, 2023, developed the PlayStation audio logo tone
Isao Okawa, 2001, founder of CSK Corp., chairman and CEO of Sega Enterprises
Kim Okkerstrøm (Kimberly Kubus), 2014, Norwegian artist and game developer
Peter Oliphant, 2023, programmer on Mr. Cool, Rocket Ranger, 80s Mattel handheld games
Bill Olliges, 2018, pioneering coin-op engineer, drove transition to color screens in arcade games
Mike Olsen, 2021, GM at Glu, former Exec Producer at EA on Godfather, Tiger Woods Golf
Ren Olsen, 2012, artist on Dune II, Blase Runner, Command & Conquer
Wesley Warren Olson, 2017, tester at Ember, Bungie and Snowblind on LOTR, Destiny
Frank O'Malley, 2019, sales exec at Atari, EA, Mattel and for many years at Sony PlayStation
Andy O'Neil, 2019, Metroid Prime, Titanfall and Turok tech lead, Bluepoint Games co-founder
John O'Neill, 2021, artist and designer on E.T., Paradice and Dolphin's Rune
Hiroshi Ono, 2021, famed Namco visual designer on Pac-Man, Galaga, Dig Dug and more
John Opel, 2011, president of IBM during the birth of the personal computer
George Opperman, 1985, Atari art director who designed Atari logo and early coin-op cabinets
Henry Orenstein, 2021, creator of the original Transformers toys and franchise
Don Osborne, 1983, VP of Marketing at Atari coin-op division
Monty Oum, 2015, game designer and animator for machinima series Red vs. Blue
Barry Oursler, 2022, designer on a long list of pinball games.
Norman Ovando, 2017, QA/production on Spider-Man and Call of Duty franchises
Christin Overton, 2023, Director of Production at Big Fish Games, taught at DigiPen
Please click here to donate to The Strong Museum to preserve these stories and video games history while we still can. Donations can be made in memory of a loved one or colleague.
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Marc Pankin, 2023, worked in Tech Support at Broderbund in the 1990s
Tony Parkhurst, 2024, actor whose face was The Curator in the Dark Pictures Anthology
Rob Parkin, 2023, Managing Director of Sony Cambridge in the UK for many years
Bridgette Patrovsky, 2020, co-author of Developing Online Games: An Insider's Guide
Randy Pausch, 2008, Carnegie Mellon games program professor and author of "The Last Lecture"
Bill Paxton, 2017, prominent actor who did VO on Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare
Steve Pearsall, 2018, led teams on Thief: Gold and Thief II: The Metal Age at Looking Glass.
Chuck Peddle, 2019, Designed the 6502 Microprocessor, KIM-1 & Commodore PET computers
Paul Pepera, 2017, video game artist and System Era co-founder
George Pérez, 2022, DC & Marvel designer & artist, worked on early Atari fantasy games
Steve Perrin, 2021, designer on many board & video games: Spellcraft, Starfleet Academy.
Rochon Perry, 2024, leader in the Blacks in Gaming Foundation, owned Cedar Grove Books
Eric Peterson, 2015, programmer on MechWarrior 2, The Manhole, NFL Blitz
Scott 'Hjalmer' Peterson, 1989, author of Amiga GravAttack, Dr. Plummet's House of Flux
William Peterson, 2001, author of 1971 mainframe text game Star Trek (which I modded)
Tom Petit, 2017, sales exec at Sega, Data East and Nintendo
Barrington Pheloung, 2019, video game composer on Broken Sword
Binu Philip, 2024, exec at Gathering of Developers, Edge of Reality, WolfEye Studios
Jarrod Phillips, 2021, filmmaker & motion control producer on DDR & many other games
Tomi Pierce (Carlston), 2010, Broderbund game designer and writer on The Last Express
Peter Pirner, 1996, Marketing VP for Mattel Electronics in the early 1980s
Vladimir Pokhilko, 1998, co-founder of Animatek
Sam Poole, 2006, marketing exec and later CEO at Maxis, supported Tony La Russa Baseball 4
Gene Portwood, 2000, AD and character designer on the Carmen Sandiego series at Broderbund
John Prados, 2023, board game designer (Third Reich) whose work was adapted to video games.
Terry Pratchett, 2015, author of the hit Discworld novels, which were also adapted as games
Edward Pressman, 2023, credited as executive producer on The Crow: City of Angels
Dave Pridie, 2001, programmer on Tetrisphere, Army Men Air Attack, Unreal Tournament DC.
Micael Priest, 2018, renowned poster artist who did original art for Ultima Online
Prince (Prince Rogers Nelson), 2016, worked on 1994 PC/Mac game Prince Interactive
Dietrich Prinz, 1989, developed first-ever "limited" chess game in 1951
Jory Prum, 2016, audio design on Game of Thrones, Grim Fandango, Sam & Max
Don Ivan Punchatz, 2009, artist who designed the box art for Doom.
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Lin Qi, 2020, Yoozoo Games Founder and CEO
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Joe Rabbitt, 2017, artist on Ultima, Wing Commander titles at Origin, Tabula Rasa at NCSoft.
Jan Rabson, 2022, actor who did VO as Larry in the Leisure Suit Larry games
Julian Paul Raines, 2018, former GameStop CEO
Bob Rakosky, 2007, programmer on Perfect General, Empire / Empire II, Heroes of Might & Magic.
Tassilo Rau, 2019, long-time artist, founder at Bumblebee Games, directed GhostControl Inc.
Miłogost Reczek, 2021, Polish voice actor on Witcher 3: Wild Hunt and Cyberpunk 2077
Lance Reddick, 2023, actor, did VO on Destiny 1 & 2, Horizon I & II, Quantum Break, John Wick
Montague Redgrave, 1934, designer of first pinball game with spring-powered ball-launcher
Raymond Redheffer, 2005, designed Nim, early electronic game played at 1939 NY World's Fair
Richard Reed, 2019, programmer on Theme Hospital, Syndicate Wars, Sim City 4
Jo Ellen Reiss, 1996, LucasArts Indiana Jones & the Fate of Atlantis, Electronic Arts, Technopop.
Andrew Scott Reisse, 2013, co-founder of Oculus
Peter Renaday, 2024, did VO on Assassin's Creed, Avatar, Fallout, Gears of War, Star Wars games
Stan Resnicoff, 2023, led dev on GeoSafari Animals on PC, TACTX on iOS
Peter Rezon, 2018, UK games exec for Leisuresoft, Sierra and Vivendi
Lee Reherman, 2016, appeared on games network G4 TV
Bob Rice, 2023, produced Journey Escape for Atari, became agent for game composers
Brian Rice, 2022, programmer on Turbo Out Run, Home Alone, Shanghai II: Dragon's Eye.
Ian Richardson, 2021, Business Dev. at Sumo Digital: Forza franchise, Team Sonic Racing
Steve Riding, 2023, exec at Psygnosis, Formula 1, Destruction Derby, Crash Twinsanity.
Dennis Ritchie, 2011, creator of C programming language (among others)
Stan Roach, 2023, 1st product manager at EA; worked at Activision, Accolade, Infogrames
Charles S. Roberts, 2010, founder of Avalon Hill board game company
Joe Robbins, 2006, executive at Bally, Atari, Kitcorp, and Sunsoft America
Christian Robert, 2010, graphic artist at Delphine Software and Amazing Studio
Ed Roberts, 2010, created first home computer, the Altair 8800, inspired Bill Gates & Paul Allen
Keith Robinson, 2017, Intellivision game developer and co-founder of Intellivision Lives
Mark Robinson, 2025, programmer on Midnight Club, Red Dead Redemption, Star Wars TESB
Paul Robinson, 2017, game designer and writer on Duke Nukem: Zero Hour, 007 franchise
Jeff Rochlis, 2016, Mattel electronics exec in the early 1980s, launched dev of Intellivision
Jörg Rohrer, 2018, EA exec in Germany, led team on Total Club Manager 2003
Tony Rosato, 2017, the voice of Mario on Super Mario Bros. 3
David Rosenbaum, 2017, Video Game Bar Assoc. co-founder, attorney for (only) developers
Dave Ross, 2018, programmer at Bally/Sente, Acclaim, Avalanche Software on many titles.
Sarah Ross, 2021, VP of global communications at Zynga and at Jam City
John Roy, 2014, Sony Online Entertainment art director on Everquest franchise
Mikael Rudberg, 2021, led teams on versions of Battlefield, Mass Effect, Need for Speed
Christopher Rush, 2016, Magic: The Gathering artist who also worked at Nintendo
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Dominique Sablons, 2015, designer and artist on Call of Cthulhu: Shadow of the Comet
Chloe Sagal, 2018, Portland indie game developer: Homesick
Akira Saitō, 2016, arcade games designer at M2 Co.: Rambo III, Galactic Storm, Densha de Go!
Manabu Saito, 1992, pioneering young game composer on 380000 Kilo no Kokū, other games
Tomoharu Saito, 2006, character designer on Streets of Rage 2, Astro Boy, Culdcept franchise
Tohru Sakurai, 2017, Arcana Heart writer and developer, worked on Samurai Showdown franchise
Jean Sammet, 2017, first female president of ACM, pioneer of high-level programming languages
Arthur Samuel, 1990, wrote 1st machine-learning game in 1959, Samuel Checkers
Jeff Sanders, 2008, International Lead Tester at LEC, worked on Star Wars franchise
Norman Sas, 2012, inventor of the hit Tudor Electric Football tabletop game in the late 1940s
Robert Saunders, 2024, Spacewar! dev team member, designed first-ever game controllers
William Scarboro, 2002, programmer on Rise of the Triad franchise, Prey.
Louis Scarborough, 2013, animator on Freddi Fish, also for TV: Sonic, TMNT, Muppet Babies.
Stan Schembri, 2009, Late 80s C64 programmer on Barbarian, Rad Warrior, Cauldron II
Joy Schneer, 2010, pioneering 3rd Party exec at Activision, Sega and Atari, starting in 1983
Brett Schnepf, 2020, worked on Flight Simulator, member of original Xbox team
Andrew Scholnick, 2020, AOL systems engineer during development of early 90s online games
Jay Schweitzer, 2008, tech support lead: MX Superfly Featuring Ricky Carmichael, Freddi Fish 3
Bill 'Phosphorous' Sears, 2012, engineer at Realtime Associates, KnowWonder and GameHouse
SeeD, 2009, art director for the Pangya golf game series
Mario Segale, 2018, landlord for Nintendo's old warehouse, after whom Mario was named
Doris Self, 2006, coin-op game score record holder and pioneering female gamer
Mike Sellers, 2022, lead designer on Meridian 59, The Sims 2, Ultima Online 7; teacher and author
Claude Shannon, 2001, defined Boolean gates, key to digital circuits in games, computers
Lyman Sheats, 2022, programmer on NFL Blitz, RedCard, also pinball game Medieval Madness.
Matt Shell, 2024, games marketing exec with Sega, LucasArts' Star Wars games, and Disney
Peter Shelus, 2015, programmer on Wing Commander, Deus X, Thief and Epic Mickey
Mike Sherlock, 2018, Square Enix COO for Europe and America
Hidenori Shibao, 2018 artist/writer/director for Paladin’s Quest & Legend of Legaia
Wayne Shirk, 2010, early employee at Nintendo of America
Ken Siders, 2017, programmer on several Atari games
Lon Simmons, 2015, Hall of Fame Baseball announcer who did play by play on Old Time Baseball
Rick Sinatra, 200?, programmer on Melody Blaster for the Mattel ECS keyboard system
Sir Clive Sinclair, 2021, inventor of ZX80 & ZX Spectrum, launched the UK PC & games industry
Mike Singleton, 2012, prominent UK game designer
Frederick Sirotek, 2024, founding President of Sir-tech Software (Wizardry, Jagged Alliance)
Tim Skelly, 2020, Coin-op designer of Armor Attack, Reactor, Star Castle and more
Joe Skivolocke, 2012, veteran Austin game artist
Bob Smith, 2023, Atari programmer on Video Pinball, Star Wars: The Arcade Game
Brian G. Smith, 2007, graphic artist at Origin
Claire Smith, 2015, programmer at Bioware Austin
Doug Smith, 2014, creator of Lode Runner
Gene Smith, 2002, game programmer at Intellivision, Atari and Accolade
Jonathan "Joffa" Smith, 2010, prolific game programmer at Ocean Software
Rob Smith, 2022, Editor in Chief of PC Gamer, Official Xbox Mag. & Official PlayStation Mag.
Stephen Wrenn Smith, 2019, created Atari 2600 Road Duel; pioneering disabled game dev
Mary Snow, 2005, Director of Creative Services for Electronic Arts
Benoit Sokal, 2021, Microids Art Director & creator of Syberia
Randy Solem, 2012, machinima animator and creator of Video Game Director's Cuts
Jim Southworth, 2023, cinematics lead on Baldur's Gate 3
Tracy Spaight, 2023, historian, game designer, created digital media for Wargaming, Koch Media
Art Spear, 1996, chairman of Mattel during the invention of handheld games and Intellivision
Frances Bilas Spence, 2012, 1 of 6 women system programmers on seminal ENIAC computer
Mark Spenner, 2024, EA exec and CEO / Co-Founder at Rumble Games
Greg Stafford, 2018, founder of Chaosium, co-designer of King of Dragon Pass
Paul Steed, 2012, veteran game artist, author and teacher (Wing Commander, Doom 2 and more)
Sam Stern, 1984, partner in Williams Manufacturing who later founded Stern Pinball
Jay Stevens, 2022, early 80s programmer and producer on FaceMaker & four Accolade titles
Lance Stites, 2024, producer on Jane's Combat Simulations, Guild Wars, City of Villains, Aion
Tony Stockton, 2013, lead programmer on Call of Duty 2
Bernie Stolar, 2022, former exec for Atari, Sega, Sony & Mattel in North America
Alan Stone, 2017, co-founder, Nintendo of America distribution, sold in Donkey Kong
James Storey, 2015, artist on Duke Nukem, Rise of the Triad, Mat Hoffman's Pro BMX
Christopher Strachey, 1975, wrote first computer draughts (checkers) game in 1951
Tim Stryker, 1996, pioneering 1970s game developer
Matt Stubbington, 2011, art director at Iguana Entertainment
Koichi Sugiyama, 2021, composer on Dragon Quest series for Square Enix
Jonathan Sullivan, 2017, game developer on Madden NFL and other titles
Andrey Supryaga, 2022, artist & exec on franchises Last of Us, Call Of Duty, Metal Gear
Donald Sutherland, 2024, appeared in KGB as Rukov's father
Brian Sutton-Smith, 2015, scholar on games and play; library at Strong Museum named for him
Martin Szinger, 2024, engineer on Hot Wheels: Rift Rally
Dave Szulborski, 2009, alternate reality game designer, author of book This is Not a Game
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Akira Tago, 2016, puzzle designer on the Professor Layton games
Hiroki Takagi, 2018, anime and game animator
Kazuki Takahashi, 2022, creator of Yu-Gi-Oh Manga franchise, spawned hit card & video games
Yoshitaka Tamaki, 2023, character artist on Shining in the Darkness, Shining Force EXA
Atsuko Tanaka, 2024, actress who voiced Japanese lead roles of Bayonetta and Lara Croft
Jukka Tapanimaki, 2000, 1980s programmer on Moonfall, Zamzara and other games
Klaus Tauber, 2023, creator of Catan (originally Settlers of Catan) & many expansions
Chris Taylor, 2016, young UK designer at Traveller's Tales who worked on LEGO titles
Mark Taylor, 2021, creator of the Masters of the Universe toys and franchise at Mattel
Mike Taylor, 2019, lead designer on LEGO City: Undercover, LEGO Star Wars: The Force Awakens
Robert Taylor, 2017, creator of ARPANET, base for growth of the Internet
Technoblade, 2022, Minecraft player and streamer who built a large YouTube following
Ruth Lichterman Teitelbaum, 1986, 1 of 6 women system programmers on ENIAC computer
Nate Temple, 2015, artist on Everquest II franchise and expansions, Star Wars: Galaxies.
John Tessin, 2017, long-time programmer on Everquest II and other titles
Andrew Thomas, 2022, indie game dev who worked on Roll Control and Shillelagh
Stan Thomas, 1995, president of the Sega Channel online game service
Heather Thompson, 2011, veteran game producer and product manager
John Tiller, 2021, veteran wargame designer & founder of John Tiller Software
Cathie A. Bartz-Todd, 1993, producer at Virgin Interactive on Deluxe Scrabble, Terminator
Margot Comstock (Tommervik), 2022, co-founder of Softalk, 1st Apple SW/games magazine
Akira Toriyama, 2024, created Dragon Ball, worked on Chrono Trigger, Dragon Quest series
Stephen Toulouse, 2017, Xbox Live community exec, worked on FIFA 18, Need for Speed: Payback
Will Townsend, 2011, producer on DJ Hero
Jack Tramiel, 2012, Founder of Commodore, Chairman of Atari
William R. Trotter, 2018, historian, game journalist and wargames expert
Ian Trout, 2011, Australian computer wargame designer and programmer
Douglas Trumbull, 2022, film VFX pioneer (2001, Blade Runner) who inspired game SFX
Robert Trump, 2020, board member at Zenimax Media
Francis Tsai, 2015, artist on the Myst and Tomb Raider franchises
David Tse, 2017, VR game developer in San Antonio
Rich Tsukiji, 2021, organizer of the World of Atari retro games events
Hiromi Tsuru, 2017, voice actress in Metal Gear Solid
Richard Tucholka, 2017, RPG designer whose titles were adapted for PC
Alan Turing, 1954, mathematician, designed first computer, laid foundation for CS and AI
Kelly Turner, 2005, producer on Might & Magic VII, Army Men franchise, Dragon Rage
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Masayuki Uemura, 2021, led dev team for Nintendo Entertainment System & SNES
Mick Uhl, 2019, Avalon Hill board game designer who also worked on multiple versions of Civ II
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Don Valentine, 2019, VC who guided the launch of Atari, Electronic Arts, Apple & Google
Mark Valentine, 2013, artist, live ops and video editor on Champions Online, Star Trek Online.
Mark 'Chip' VanDeVelde, 2006, sales exec at Crave Entertainment
Dan Van Elderen (2024), former President of Atari Games coin-op division
Sami Vanhatalo, 2020, co-founder of Remedy Entertainment and Finnish games pioneer
Jan Paul van Waveren, 2017, engineer on many id titles
Erik van Wees, 2023, game designer and co-founder of indie studio Arcane Circus.
Fernando Velez, 2016, VD-Dev Games co-founder
Brad Venable, 2021, voice actor on Devil May Cry 5, Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War
Curt Vendel, 2020, Atari engineer, historian and preservationist
Edgar Vigdal, 2015, programmed Deluxe PacMan, Deluxe Galaga on Amiga
Mark Vitello, 2019, Sony Account Director: Guitar Hero, Unreal Tournament, BioShock
Christophe Vivet, 2024, programmer on Fade to Silence, multiple Destroy All Humans! games
John Von Neumann, 1957, developed fields of game theory, cellular automata
Max von Sydow, 2020, veteran actor who voiced Esbern in The Elder Scrolls 5: Skyrim
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Carl Wade, 2011, veteran engineer at Acclaim and CD Projekt Red
Ray Wagner, 1985, president of Mattel Toys at the time of the birth of handheld games there
John Wakefield, 2009, early president pf Atari
Bob Wakelin, 2018, British video game cover artist
Arnold Waldstein, 2020, original General Counsel at Maxis during time when Sim City launched
Hugh Walker, 2016, wrote Warlock, 1984 type-in game in ZX Computing magazine
Mark Wallace, 2021, exec producer, 30+ years at Accolade, Crystal Dynamics, EA, HopeLab, Hearo
Maegan Walling, 2018, Sr. Character Artist on EA LOTR games, FEAR 2, Matrix Online
Terri Lynn Eggebraten-Walters-Howell, 2024, early team member at Atari
David Ward, 2022, cofounder in 1983 of pioneering UK publisher Ocean Software
James Ward, 2024, pioneer of early D&D design & novels, worked on SSI Gold Box games
David Warner, 2022, did VO on Descent, Fallout, Star Trek & Baldur's Gate game franchises
Silas Warner, 2004, pioneering programmer, creator of Castle Wolfenstein and Robot Wars
Ronald Wartow, 2001, strategy guides writer
Joe Waters, 2015, veteran programmer at Monolith, Hidden Path and other studios
John Watson, 2007, graphic artist, programmer and scenarist at Origin
Mike Watson, 2021, Community Developer on Saints Row at Volition
Carl Weathers, 2024, NFL star/actor who did VO/direction on Rocky, Transformers, Mortal Kombat
Earl Weaver, 2013, baseball manager who collaborated with game devs on Earl Weaver Baseball
Joseph Weizenbaum, 2008, AI researcher who led 1960s development on Eliza, first chatbot.
Annie Wersching, 2023, actress who portrayed Tess in the game The Last of Us
Paul Wesberry, 2019, artist on Command & Conquer, Total Annihilation, Backyard Sports games.
Adam West, 2017, 1960s Batman actor who did VO on Lego Batman 3: Beyond Gotham
Joel West, 2018, early-1980s coin-op champion featured in Life magazine in 1981
Marlyn Wescoff Meltzer, 2008, 1 of 6 women system programmers on seminal ENIAC computer
David Wheeler, 2004, developed first subroutines and first assembler in computer science
James White, 2020, data analyst at Rare
Matthew White, 2023, programmer: Need for Speed, Battlefield, Star Wars, Suicide Squad: KTJL
Stewart Wieck, 2017, co-founder of White Wolf Games
Carsten Wieland, 2024, artist & designer on Terra Inc., Chartbuster, Ardennes Offensive
Mark Wilden, 2014, programmer at Sierra Online on many Quest titles, Phantasmagoria
Lizzie Wilding, 2022, VP of operations at Dovetail Games, worked at Jagex, EA, Codemasters
Maurice Wilkes, 2010, pioneering computer designer who developed concept of microcode
Kevin Wilkinson, 2023, Exec Producer on PS2/PC versions of NBA Live and Madden NFL
Tom Wilkinson, 2023, British actor, did games VO on Batman Begins, Sleeping Dogs
Seth Willenson, 2022, exec in film & games, advisor on The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers
Bill Williams, 1998, early 1980s designer on Mind Walker, Alley Cat, Necromancer
Harry Williams, 1983, founder of Williams Pinball, pioneering engineer and designer
John Wilson, 2021, founder of early UK text adventure publisher Zenobi Software
Tim Wilson, 2019, CTO at EA and at Glu Mobile, also worked with Gaikai, Daybreak, Atari
Dan Winters, 2018, long-time producer and exec with EA, Disney, Activision & Amazon
Niklaus Wirth, 2024, invented Pascal programming language, helped commercialize the mouse
Loren Wiseman, 2017, co-founder of Game Designers Workshop
Paul Woakes, 2017, late 1980s programmer on Mercenary series and other titles
Marcine "Iggy" Wolverton, 1997, co-founder of Midway Manufacturing
Brian Wood, 2010, Company of Heroes Lead Game Designer
Joyce Worley (Katz), 2016, pioneering video game magazine founder and editor
David Wu, 2022, CTO at 343 Industries on Halo 4, led dev on Full Auto and Full Auto 2
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Hiroshi Yamauchi, 2013, former President of Nintendo and architect of its video game success
Chuck Yeager, 2020, Test pilot who advised on Chuck Yeager's Advanced Flight Trainer
Volodymyr Yezhov, 2022, Ukrainian dev on S.T.A.L.K.E.R., Frogwares' Sherlock Holmes games
Gregory Yob, 2005, pioneering mainframe game designer, creator of Hunt the Wumpus
Gunpei Yokoi, 1997, creator of Game Boy
Andrew Yoon, 2015, Joystiq and Shacknews editor
Mitsuhiro Yoshida, 2022, Director/Producer on River City Ransom, Double Dragon.
Hidekazu Yukawa, 2021, managing director at Sega during Dreamcast era
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Jose Zambrano, 2019, co-founder of VR game maker Stuido Studios
Roger Zelazny, 1995, fantasy and SF author who worked on Chronomaster
Rita Zimmerer, 2020, former EVP at Sunsoft and AIAS founding Board Member
Lila Zinter, 2016, sales exec with major coin-op manufacturer Exidy and with Meadows Games
Tod Zipnick, 1991, founder of Icom Simulations (Sherlock Holmes: Consulting Detective)
Larry Zwick, <2015, early programmer at APh on Intellivision Auto Racing and Atari 2600 games
Please click here to donate to The Strong Museum to preserve these stories and video games history while we still can. Donations can be made in memory of a loved one or colleague.
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NOTES
Anyone who worked professionally at a game publisher or developer or as a games journalist is included if I know of their passing, regardless of their job title or department. Updates can be sent to ddaglow via gmail dot com.
Some of the people on this list were teammates, mentors and close friends of mine over my long career, in some cases for many years. I have elected not to mention those relationships in the one-line summaries out of a commitment to the principle of "everyone in our community should be remembered here in the same way, not just well-known people or members of a particular circle, network, group etc."
If you are a family member or friend of one of those individuals, please know that this lack of commentary in no way compromises my respect, appreciation or caring for them, nor does it heal the loneliness I carry from their loss.
I especially welcome input from game communities outside North America, the UK, continental Europe and Japan, since my personal networks and English language industry media are more likely to honor people we've lost in those regions. My goal is to serve the global games community and all job categories in the industry, not just a subset of game makers.
I've included voice actors, motion capture performers etc. whose performances are embodied in our games.
Writers of adapted works (e.g. Douglas Adams, Michael Crichton, Thomas M. Disch, Harlan Ellison, Roger Zelazny) and sports figures (e.g. Kobe Bryant, John Madden, Dave Mirra, Earl Weaver) who worked directly on original or licensed games with the dev team are included, but celebrities and creators of licensed works who never worked on the related game are not listed (e.g. Alfredo Castelli, Pete Rose, J.R.R. Tolkien).
Although this list is intended to include video games industry people, I have also included some additional highly influential individuals in recognition of their influence on the birth and evolution of our craft. In doing so I've researched female, minority and other underrepresented individuals whose names may be less well known than established major-company leaders.
- Tabletop game designers and entrepreneurs, e.g. Anne Abbott, Ethan Allen, Bryan Ansell, Dave Arneson, Peter Bromley, Dean Essig, Gary Gygax, John Hill, Rick Loomis, Lizzie Magie, Charles S. Roberts, Klaus Tauber, Loren Wiseman
- Computer scientists in both hardware and software, without whom we couldn't work in electronic games, e.g. Frances Allen, Charles Babbage, Gordon Bell, Kathleen Booth, Fred Brooks, Edsger Dijkstra, Clarence Ellis, Evelyn Boyd Granville, Ada Byron King [Ada Lovelace], the "ENIAC 6" operating system programmers of the first commercial mainframe, Grace Hopper, Katherine Johnson, Karen Spärck Jones, John Kemeny, Thomas Kurtz, Hedy Lamarr, Gordon Moore, Chuck Peddle, Dennis Ritchie, Jean Sammet, Alan Turing, David Wheeler, Niklaus Wirth
- Electronic Pinball game designers and innovators, e.g. Steve Epstein, David Gottlieb, Steve Kordek, Mike Kubin, Wayne Neyens, Barry Oursler, Montague Redgrave, Sam Stern, Harry Williams
If you use this research in any published format: please link to and credit this page so we can help everyone whom we've lost be remembered, not just the more famous people who have worked in games. Thanks!