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
To add games industry people who have died to this list -- from any country, discipline or development/publishing/journalism role -- please email suggestions to ddaglow via gmail dot com. If you see any errors here please do the same. I do my best to corroborate information, but errors can occur. (More notes at end.)
Many thanks to Ethan Johnson, Frédéric Neilz and Alex Smith for their work to preserve these legacies, and for generously sharing information with me.
* * * * *
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 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 practitioners of our art form. The list of those we've lost includes:
(Note that I'm slowly starting to add links to names as time allows (alphabetically, and on an ongoing basis for recent losses), with game-specific links for those who are well known from other media. People with name changes, maiden/married names etc. are listed under both variants, if known)
A
Tom Abramson, 2020, Sega Marketing Promotion VP who helped launch Sonic the Hedgehog
Adam Adamowicz, 2015, Fallout concept artist
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, classroom teacher and writer on 1964 text game The Sumerian Game
Nick Alfieri, 2022, founder of indie publishers Digerati and Big Sugar
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
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
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
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
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
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
B
Charles Babbage, 1871, designed the Difference Engine, the first proto-computer
Ralph Baer, 2014, designer of the first video game console for Magnavox
John "TotalBiscuit" 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
Ken Balthaser Jr., 2018, producer & designer, worked on Battlefield, EA Sports titles
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 and graphic artist at LucasArts, Activision. SSI
Bret Barrett, 1996, programmer at LucasArts and Humongous Entertainment
Jean Jennings Bartik, 2011, 1 of 6 women system programmers on seminal ENIAC computer
Cathie A. Bartz-Todd, 1993, producer at Virgin Interactive
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
Mark Beaumont, 2010, executive at Atari, Activision, Midway and Capcom
Charles Bellfield, 2013, Sega exec who led the launch of the Dreamcast
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
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
Bob Bishop, 2014, early Apple II game programmer
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
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
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
Ryan Brant, 2019, founder and first CEO of Take Two
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
Tim Browse, 2010, worked on Starship Titanic (with Douglas Adams) and Stolen
Alexander Brüggemann, 2013, game designer on The Settlers series and other titles
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 punchcard baseball simulation game
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
C
James Caan, 2022, did VO on EA's Godfather games
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
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
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
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
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
D
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)
Ryan Davis, 2013, Giant Bomb co-founder
Travis Day, 2022, designer on Diablo III and World of Warcraft
Bernie DeKoven, 2018, veteran game designer
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
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
Doug Dorweiler, 2022, Sr. Director of Global Azure Network (with many games) at Microsoft
Bernie Drummond, 2021, designer on ZX Spectrum games Head Over Heels, Match Day II
Rolf Duhnke, 2015, Managing Director of Eidos offices in Germany
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
Eric Dybsand, 2004, leading AI programmer: NHRA Drag Racing 2, War in Heaven, Enemy Nations
Erick Dyke, 2008, n-Space CEO, worked in Duke Nukem, Goldeneye, COD, Marvel franchises
E
Ronnie “Oni” Edwards, 2018, Game Theorists YouTube video editor
Philippe Egret, 2010, French computer game composer
Harlan Ellison, 2018, sf writer, worked on game I Have No Mouth and I Must Scream
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 (or close to it) female programmer at Sierra Online in early 80s
Kenji Eno, 2013, Japanese musician and game designer
Christopher Erhardt, 2012, game designer and teacher who worked on Pool of Radiance
Scott 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
Jenny Esson, 2020, mental health advisor on Hellblade
Harald Evers, 2006, German interactive fiction writer
F
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 pinball game designer
Jonathan Fargher, 2021, longtime PR leader for Sony, plus Psygnosis, Activision & Ubisoft
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
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
Michael Foulger, 2011, Broderbund programmer who worked on Riven (Myst II)
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 Wards Galaxies
Jim French, 2017, voice actor who played Bill on Left 4 Dead
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
G
Stu Galley, 2018, Infocom systems engineer and writer for The Witness
John Galt, 2022, voice actor on Shadow Warrior and Prey
Corey Gaspur, 2017, Bioware Lead Game Designer
Daryl Gates, 2010, police chief and author, worked on Police Quest: SWAT
Rémy Gazel, 2019, French video game composer
Holger Gehrmann, 2008, German programmer at reLINE
Laura "Taera" Genender, 2008, Associate Community Manager on Eve Online
Michael Gershman, 2000, 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 other films that became games
Stewart Gilray, 2022, Psygnosis and Bullfrog programmer who later founded Just Add Water
Brian Goldner, 2021, Hasbro Chairman and CEO, supported Transformers video games
Morey Goldstein, 2008, computer game composer
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
Edd Gould, 2012, creator of Eddsworld videos and flash games
Daisuke Gouri, 2010, voice actor on many Japanese games
Curt Gowdy, 2006, Hall of Fame Baseball announcer who did play by play on Old Time Baseball
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
Sterling Greene, 2020, 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
Kevin Kanai Griffith, 2015, long-time Blizzard artist
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
H
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
Goro Hasegawa, 2016, creator of Othello board game
Kazuhisa Hashimoto, 2020, Konami programmer who created the "Konami Code"
Jens Hauch, 2020, lead technical artist on Halo Infinite
Dennis Hawelka, 2017, early esports star
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 Destiny 2
Bob Henderson, 2016, Technical Director on Chuck Yeager Flight Sim, Earl Weaver Baseball
Arnold Hendrick, 2020, creator of the Darklands RPG at MicroProse.
Steve Henifin, 2019, composer on Metal Gear Solid titles, Too Human and other gams
Ian Hetherington, 2021, founding Managing Director of PlayStation Europe, Psygnosis founder
William Higinbotham, 1994, creator of seminal 1958 computer game Tennis for Two
John Hiles, 2016, educational sim creator who partnered with Maxis
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
Betty Holberton, 2001, one of 6 women system programmers on seminal ENIAC computer
Alec Holowka, 2019, co-designer on Night in the Woods
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
Stephen Hornback, 2016, game artist on Duke Nukem and other franchises
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
Walter Huang, 2018, long-time Visceral Games engineer at EA
Hervé Hubert, 1994, French programmer at Infomédia
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
I
Candace Irving 2021, Longtime PR manager at Mattel Toys who also did Intellivision PR
Hiro Isono, 2013, artist on Secret of Mana and other Square Enix games
Sergei Ivanov, 2020, writer on S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Shadow of Chernobyl
Takashi Iwade, 2019, designer and artist on Panzer Dragoon
Satoru Iwata, 2015, Influential President and CEO of Nintendo
J
Wes Jenkins, 2017, writer and producer on several LEGO games & other projects
Jean Jennings Bartik, 2011, 1 of 6 women system programmers on seminal ENIAC computer
Steve Jobs, 2011, Apple co-founder
Clarence Johnson, 2016, LucasArts artist on Star Wars: Starfighter, Ghostbusters: The Video Game
Peter Johnson, 1994, Art Director at Sega
Scott Johnson, 2022, producer on Heavy Rain and Beyond, designer of G-Police
Richard Joseph, 2007, Long-time Audio Dir. -- Defender of the Crown, Elder Scrolls IV
Ted Judson, 2022, Marketing and Sales exec with EA on early EA Sports & other titles
Kim Jung-ju, 2022, Nexon founder
K
Hiroshi Kajiyama, 2018, game designer, illustrator and manga artist
Antti Kallioinen, 2016, veteran game artist and studio founder
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, executive at Atari, Fun Games, and Sega
Saki Kaskas, 2016, composer on Need for Speed titles, Sim City 4, Mass Effect 2
Jasmin Kass, 2018, German game producer and musician
Ray Kassar, 2017, late 1970s CEO of Atari
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
Mary Kenneth Keller, 1985, 1st woman to earn PhD in CS in U.S., modern language developer
Norm Kelln, 2018, early Nintendo team member
John Kemeny, 1992, co-creator of BASIC computer language (with Thomas Kurtz)
Graeme Kidd, 2009, British computer game journalist
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, attorney for Nintendo and namesake of the Kirby games
Kouki Kita, 2017, former SunSoft game artist
Jim Kitchen, 2015, indie dev who produced accessible games for blind gamers
Osamu Kobayashi, 2021, world designer for Grandia
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
Scott Koller, 2015, did Blizzard customer support on WoW, Starcraft, Diablo, Hearthstone
Steve Kordek, 2012, pinball game designer who popularized bottom flippers
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, Japanese game artist
Alan Kotok, 2006, member of the original dev team on Spacewar
Kevin Kraff, 2022, marketing exec at Square Enix, 505 Games, THQ, Activision, NBC
Robert Krakoff, 2022, co-founder at hardware maker Razer
Reuben Kramer, 2021, created The Game of Life board game, oversaw the PC version
Colin Kroll, 2018, co-founder of HQ Trivia
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
Andrey Kuzmin, 2022, creator of Vangers & Perimeter, founder of K-D Lab & KranX Productions
L
Greg LaBrec, 2008, Developer Marketing Exec at NVIDIA, Sony and Atari
Steve Lacey, 2011, British programmer who worked at Oddworld and Microsoft
Len Lakofka, 2020, early editor and author on D&D and part of 1st-ever Gen Con
Hedy Lamarr, 2000, engineer who co-developed foundations of wi-fi and bluetooth
Adam Lancman, 2005, Australian developer, executive and GDAA President
Greg Land, 2019, game designer at LucasArts (Star Wars), Telltale (Wallace & Gromit)
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, early game designer and producer at Activision and Sega
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
Undrea Leach, 2022, streamer and voice actor on Last Line of Retreat & Starcrossed
Peter Ledger, 1994, graphic artist at Sierra and Tsunami
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
Stan Lepard, 2021, composer on Guild Wars 2, Destiny, Halo Reach, Fable 2, PGR et al
Lance Lewis, 2018, veteran of Atari and 3DO
Daniel Licht, 2017, game composer on Dishonored and Silent Hill
Ruth Lichterman Teitelbaum, 1986, 1 of 6 women system programmers on ENIAC computer
Russell Lieblich, 2005, programmer and composer for Intellivision, Activision and LucasArts
James Light, 2022, producer on Hell Let Loose at Team17
Michael Lindsay, 2019, voice actor on anime films and games, including Final Fantasy XIII
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
Bud Luckey, 2018, legendary Pixar animator who did VO for Disney Infinity
Dariusz Lukaszuk, 1995, programmer at Dynamix
Søren Lund, 2018, veteran Danish developer who worked on Hitman, Watchmen & more
Cherie Lutz, 2021, Business Development leader at Sierra, Xbox and WOTC
Mickey Lynch, 2017, early team member at Atari
M
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
Jennifer Majalca, 2014, Nintendo and Sega PR veteran
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
Miyu Matsuki, 2015, actress on many games, including the voice of Lailah in Tales of Zestiria
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
Helen McCrory, 2021, Harry Potter actress who did VO on Peaky Blinders: Mastermind
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
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 the original Rainbow Six
Seumas McNally, 2000, 3D graphics designer
Alan McNeil, 2017, creator of Berzerk
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
Syd Mead, 2019, designer on Blade Runner movie, worked on multiple video games
Eric Medalle, 2016, 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
John Metzler, 1982, game designer at Ramtek
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, co-creator of Atari VCS, Atari 400/800, Amiga
Dave Mirra, 2016, BMX star who collaborated on Dave Mirra Freestyle BMX
Takeo Miratsu, 2002, composer for both video games and anime
Fukio Mitsuji, 2008, creator of Bubble Bobble and other Taito coin-op games
Jack Mittel, 2016, former 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, co-founder of Gearbox Software
Jay Moon, 2018, co-founder of Iguana Entertainment
Gordon Moore, 2023, Intel co-founder, microprocessor co-inventor and author of "Moore's Law"
Roger Hanna Morash, 2018, game programmer at Harmonix
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, Artist and package designer at Broderbund in late 80s - early 90s
David Morse, 2007, exec at Amiga, Epyx, Crystal Dynamics
Iain Morton, 2020, TD and CG on Oddworld, Transformers, Marvel Ultimate Alliance
Kerri Moynihan, 2017, finance manager at Activision Blizzard
Patrick Munnik, 2019, Horizon Zero Dawn lead producer
Doug Myres, 2001, programmer on Railroad Tycoon II and other titles
N
Hideyuki Nakajima, 1994, executive at Namco, Atari Games
Masaya Nakamura, 2017, founder of coin-op pioneer Namco
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
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
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
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
Ingo Nugel, 2007, German game music composer
Bill Nutting, 2008, founder of Nutting Assoc., released first arcade video game
O
Markus Oberrauter, 2019, programmer on the Söldner and Settlers series among other games
Chris Oberth, 2012, programmer for Stern Electronics, Epyx, Mindscape, Incredible Technologies
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
Shinobu Ogawa, 2008, video game composer
Norio Ohga, 2011, Founder of Sony Computer Entertainment
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, co-founder of coin-op developer Universal Research Laboratory (URL)
Mike Olsen, 2021, GM at Glu, former Exec Producer at EA on Godfather, Tiger Woods Golf
Ren Olsen, 2012, graphic artist at Westwood Studios
Wesley Warren Olson, 2017, tester at Ember, Bungie and Snowblind
Andy O'Neil, 2019, Metroid Prime tech lead and 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
Monty Oum, 2015, game designer and animator for machinima series Red vs. Blue
Norman Ovando, 2017, former Treyarch dev team member
Christin Overton, 2023, Director of Production at Big Fish Games, taught at DigiPen
P
Marc Pankin, 2023, worked in Tech Support at Broderbund in the 1990s.
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
Chuck Peddle, 2019, Principal Designer of the 6502 Microprocessor
Paul Pepera, 2017, video game artist and System Era co-founder
George Pérez, 2022, DC & Marvel designer & artist, worked on early Atari fantasy games
Eric Peterson, 2015, lead programmer on MechWarrior 2 and other major games
Scott 'Hjalmer' Peterson, 1989, author of the Amiga shareware game GravAttack
William Peterson, 2001, author of early 1970s mainframe text games
Tom Petit, 2017, sales exec at Sega, Data East and Nintendo
Barrington Pheloung, 2019, video game composer on Broken Sword
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 at Maxis who also supported Tony La Russa Baseball 4
Gene Portwood, 2000, AD and character designer on the Carmen Sandiego series at Broderbund
Terry Pratchett, 2015, author of the hit Discworld novels, which were also adapted as games
Micael Priest, 2018, renowned poster artist who did original art for Ultima Online
Prince, 2016, collaborated on the 1994 PC & Mac adventure game, Prince Interactive
Jory Prum, 2016, Norwegian audio designer
Q
Lin Qi, 2020, Yoozoo Games Founder and CEO
R
Jan Rabson, 2022, actor who did VO as Larry in the Leisure Suit Larry games
Julian Paul Raines, 2018, former GameStop CEO
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
Andrew Scott Reisse, 2013, co-founder of Oculus
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
Ian Richardson, 2021, Business Dev. at Sumo Digital & fundraiser for SpecialEffect
Dennis Ritchie, 2011, creator of C programming language (among others)
Stan Roach, 2023, 1st product manager at EA; worked at Activision, Accolade, Infogrames
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, creator of the first home computer, the Altair 8800
Keith Robinson, 2017, Intellivision game developer and co-founder of Intellivision Lives
Paul Robinson, 2017, game designer and writer
Jeff Rochlis, 2016, Mattel electronics exec in the early 1980s
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 developers
Sarah Ross, 2021, VP of global communications at Zynga and at Jam City
John Roy, 2014, Sony Online Entertainment art director
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
S
Dominique Sablons, 2015, designer and artist on Call of Cthulhu: Shadow of the Comet
Chloe Sagal, 2018, Portland indie game developer
Akira Saitō, 2016, games programmer at M2 Co. in Japan
Manabu Saito, 1992, game composer who passed away shortly after starting his career
Tomoharu Saito, 2006, Japanese game character designer
Tohru Sakurai, 2017, Arcana Heart writer and developer
Jean Sammet. 2017, first female president of ACM, pioneer of high-level programming languages
Norman Sas, 2012, inventor of Electric Football motorized tabletop game in the late 1940s
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 and other titles at Microsoft
Andrew Scholnick, 2020, AOL systems engineer during development of early 90s online games
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
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
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
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
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)
Jay Stevens, 2022, early 80s programmer and producer on FaceMaker & four Accolade titles
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 of Nintendo of America
James Storey, 2015, artist on Duke Nukem and other titles
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
Brian Sutton-Smith, 2015, scholar on games and play; library at Strong Museum named for him
Dave Szulborski, 2009, alternate reality game designer, author of book This is Not a Game
T
Hiroki Takagi, 2018, anime and game animator
Kazuki Takahashi, 2022, creator of Yu-Gi-Oh Manga franchise, spawned hit card & video games
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
Ruth Lichterman Teitelbaum, 1986, 1 of 6 women system programmers on ENIAC computer
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
Margot Comstock (Tommervik), 2022, co-founder of Softalk, 1st Apple SW/games magazine
Stephen Toulouse, 2017, Xbox Live community exec
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 & innovator, helped lay foundation for Computer Science and AI
Kelly Turner, 2005, long-time game producer
U
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
V
Don Valentine, 2019, VC who guided the launch of Atari, Electronic Arts, Apple & Google
Mark 'Chip' VanDeVelde, 2006, sales exec at Crave Entertainment
Sami Vanhatalo, 2020, co-founder of Remedy Entertainment and Finnish games pioneer
Jan Paul van Waveren, 2017, engineer on many id titles
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 Vendell, 2020, Atari engineer, historian and preservationist
Mark Vitello, 2019, long-time Sony PlayStation manager and 3rd party liaison
Max von Sydow, 2020, veteran actor who voiced Esbern in The Elder Scrolls 5: Skyrim
W
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
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
David Ward, 2022, cofounder in 1983 of pioneering UK publisher Ocean Software
David Warner, 2022, did VO on Descent, Fallout, Star Trek & Baldur's Gate game franchises
Silas Warner, 2004, PLATO 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
Earl Weaver, 2013, baseball manager who collaborated on Earl Weaver Baseball
Annie Wersching, 2023, actress who portrayed Tess in the game The Last of Us
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
Stewart Wieck, 2017, co-founder of White Wolf Games
Mark Wilden, 2014, programmer at Sierra Online on many Quest titles, Phantasmagoria
Lizzie Wilding, 2022, VP of operations at Dovetail Games. also worked at Jagex, EA, Codemasters
Kevin Wilkinson, 2023, Exec Producer on PS2/PC versions of NBA Live and Madden NFL
Seth Willenson, 2022, exec in film & games, advisor on The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers
Bill Williams, 1998, early 1980s game designer
John Wilson, 2021, founder of early UK text adventure publisher Zenobi Software
Dan Winters, 2018, long-time producer and exec with EA, Disney, Activision & Amazon
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
Y
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
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
Hidekazu Yukawa, 2021, managing director at Sega during Dreamcast era
Z
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
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
* * * * *
Although this list is intended to include video game industry team members I have included some highly influential board game designers and entrepreneurs (e.g. Dave Arneson, Peter Bromley, Gary Gygax, John Hill, Rick Loomis, Klaus Tauber, Loren Wiseman) and computer scientists (e.g. Charles Babbage, Kathleen Booth, Fred Brooks, Evelyn Boyd Granville, Ada Byron King (Ada Lovelace), the "ENIAC 6" system programmers of the first commercial mainframe, Grace Hopper, Dennis Ritchie, Jean Sammet, Alan Turing, David Wheeler) in recognition of their influence on our field.
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. I've also included voice actors, motion capture performers etc. Writers of adapted works who worked directly on the game with the team (e.g. Michael Crichton, Thomas M. Disch, Harlan Ellison) are likewise included, but creators of licensed works who never worked on the related game are not listed.
If you use this research in any published format please link to and credit this page so we can help everyone be remembered, not just the more famous people who have worked in games.