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. I've worked on every generation of video game consoles.

Those of us who helped build the games industry from its infancy to adulthood 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 or job, or to correct errors or links, please email ddaglow via gmail dot com. I work to corroborate reports. People with maiden/married names, name changes etc. are listed under both names alphabetically. (More notes below.)

My deep thanks to Devin Monnens & Andrew Armstrong; Ethan Johnson, Frédéric Neilz & Alex Smith; The Strong National Museum of Play, the IGDA & The Internet Archive Memorial, for your long-term research.

* * *

The most recently added games industry names and year they passed away: Andy Brammall (2025), Lalo Schifrin (2025), Yukiko Goto (2019), François Marcela-Froideval (2025), Bill Atkinson (2025), Kirk Winterrowd (2025), Gary Kinnsch (2019), Tim LeTourneau (2025), Jonathan Joss (2025), Dave James (2025), Manfred Kleimann (2025), Butch Guice (2025), Vitus Hoffmann (2025), Bill Petras (2025), Gordon Mah Ung (2024), Jerry Andersson (2025), Thomas Lee (2025),  Jim Curry (2025), Carter Lipscomb (2025)

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

Wayne Allwine, 2009, did VO as Mickey Mouse on Kingdom Hearts, other Disney games

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

Jerry Andersson, 2025, supported Payday and other games

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

Viktor Antonov, 2025, AD/designer on Half Life 2, Dishonored. Fallout 4, Heroes of Shyrim

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

Bill Atkinson, 2025, Apple engineer who wrote many seminal Mac apps, supported game devs

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

B

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

Pete Billington (2025) film director, supported game team on Disney's A Christmas Carol

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

Ken Block, 2023, technical advisor on Dirt, Need for Speed, Forza Motorsport franchises

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

Shawn Bowen, 2025, Chief Information Security Officer for games at Microsoft

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

Andy Brammall, 2025, senior client partner with game developers at Unity in UK

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

Sam Burt, 2018, early playtester on Black Mesa

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

C

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

Eric Church, 2025, Lead Designer, Medal of Honor: Frontline, educational game The Fiscal Ship

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

Jim Curry, 2025, Marketer at Namco Bandai, Crystal Dynamics, Eidos and for many years at Intel

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)

Charles Darrow, 1967, appropriated Lizzie Magie's Landlords Game into Monopoly board game

Paul Darrow, 2019, did VO on MediEvil, Star Wars: Empire at War, Star Wars: The Old Republic

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

Steve Ditko, 2018, co-creator of Spider-man, was consulted on multiple Spidey games

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

Roberto Draghetti, 2020, did VO in Italian on Unreal Tournament III, Madagascar, Overwatch 2

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

 

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.

 

E

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

Rabin Ezra, 2005, developed PS2 version of the Renderware engine for the Burnout games

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 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

George Foreman, 2025, boxer and entrepreneur who did VO on George Foreman's KO Boxing

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

François Marcela-Froideval, 2025, RPG designer, worked on Drakkhen, Dragon Lore, Deo Gratias

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

G

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

Yukiko Goto, 2019, producer with Eidos Interactive and Sony Interactive Entertainment

Irv Gotti, 2025, record industry exec who did the intro for Def Jam: Vendetta game

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

Butch Guice, 2025, did package design for Skyfox, longtime Marvel & DC comics artist

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 

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

Rutger Hauer, 2019, did VO on Observer, Kingdom Hearts III, Blair Witch

Dennis Hawelka, 2017, early esports star

Greg Heath, 2021, Designer & Programmer on Alter Ego, Evil Dead, Dark Void, Gigantic

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

Vitus Hoffmann, 2025, founded Web Media Publishing, parent of Gameswelt (GamesWorld)

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

Mako Iwamatsu ("Mako"), 2006, did VO on Medal of Honor, True Crime, Avatar, Samurai Jack

Satoru Iwata, 2015, Influential President and CEO of Nintendo

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Dave James, 2025, Artist at Mattel, designed Intellivision "running man," graphics for early games

Jennell Jaquays, 2024, pioneering designer & artist at Coleco, id, Ensemble: Quake, Age of Empires

Jam Master Jay, 2002, with Run-D.M.C. on NBA Live, SSX, WWE 2K16, MLB The Show 21, Saints Row

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 

Dan Johnson, 2006, animator & modeler at Insomniac on Treasures of the Deep, Ratchet & Clank

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

Jonathan Joss, 2025, VO on King of the Hill, Red Dead Redemption, Walking Dead, Cyberpunk 2077

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

 

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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

DeForest Kelley, 1999, reprised his role as Dr. McCoy on multiple Star Trek games 

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

Val Kilmer (2025), actor who did VO on Spider Man: Edge of Time, Disney Planes

Lemmy (Ian Fraser Kilmister), 2015, Motorhead leader, did VO on Brütal Legend and Scarface

Tae-Min Kim, 1995, did VO on Way of the Warrior, playing the Dragon

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

Gary Kinnsch, 2019, sales exec at 505 Games, Zoo Games, Xbox, Eidos over long games career

John Kirby, 2019, Nintendo attorney, namesake of Kirby games, voting rights activist

Steven Kirk, 2019, director on The Last of Us, Little Big Planet, MLB: The Show, Uncharted

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

Manfred Kleimann, 2025, pioneering 80s games journalist, did German translation for Fable

George Klose, 1996, co-created first handheld game, Mattel's Adid Geruto 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

Michel Koiter (Twincruiser), 2004, artist at Blizzard (Anyone have more information?)

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

Ed Krynski, 2004, pinball game designer at Gottlieb, invented many kinds of configurable targets

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

Peter Kwong, 2025, actor who did VO on GoldenEye: Rogue Agent, Jet Li: Rise to Honor

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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

Robert Lamoureux, 2003, worked on Scooby Doo: Mystery Mayhem

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

Thomas Lee, 2025, Sr. Executive Producer on Mato Anomalies

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

Tim LeTourneau, 2025, producer on SimCity Creator and on many versions of The Sims

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

Carter Lipscomb, 2025, beloved publisher-dev studio liaison exec at Sony, AOL, Microprose et al

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

David Lynch, 2025, Director, worked on Twin Peaks VR, inspired many other video games

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

Brett Madden, 2020, voice actress on multiple Alan Wake games, Homefront

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

Dave Mallow, 2025, did VO on Street Fighter, Diablo, Resident Evil, WoW, Call of Duty games

Michael (Mick) Mancuso (2025), worked on Falcon, Top Gun, MechWarrior, Command & Conquer

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

François Marcela-Froideval, 2025, RPG designer, worked on Drakkhen, Dragon Lore, Deo Gratias

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

Colin McRae, 2007, consulted on technical vehicle performance issues in Colin McRae Rally 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

Izchak Miller, 1994, programmer on NetHack

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

Raymond Moloney, 1958, founder of Bally Corp. and pioneering manufacturer of pinball games

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"

Jesse Morales, 20??, Blizzard team member (Anyone have more information?)

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

Felix Mullins, 2017, creator of indie game Home

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

Jake Nicholson, 2016, animator & level designer: Half-Life 2, Left 4 Dead, Portal, Counter-Strike

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.

 

P

Scott Palter, 2020, founded West End Games, designed extended Star Wars universe back story

Marc Pankin, 2023, worked in Tech Support at Broderbund in the 1990s

Roy Parker, 1965, lead artist for Gottlieb pinball machines, worked from 1930s into 1960s

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

Miguel Parra, 2016, programmer on Mortal Kombat, Batman: Arkham, Injustice franchises

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

Bill Petras, 2025, Art/AD on Starcraft, Diablo, Warcraft, Firefall, Overwatch, WoW franchises

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

Stéphane Picq, 2025, composer on Dune, Atlantis, MegaRace, RiverWorld franchises

Tomi Pierce (Carlston), 2010, Broderbund game designer and writer on The Last Express

Mike Pilotti, 1995, artist on Earthworm Jim games

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.

Q

Lin Qi, 2020, Yoozoo Games Founder and CEO

R

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

Harold Ramis, 2014, did VO on multiple Ghostbusters games

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

Phil Robertson, 2025, Duck Dynasty reality star who also did VO on the eponymous game

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

S

Dominique Sablons, 2015, designer and artist on Call of Cthulhu: Shadow of the Comet 

Robin Sachs, 2013, VO on Mass Effect, Kane & Lynch, Dragon Age: Origins, Star Wars: KOTOR

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

Lalo Schifrin, 2025, TV, film and games composer: Mission Impossible, MLB 11: The Show

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 at original Nintendo warehouse, after whom Mario was named

Tetsuhisa Seko, 2025, President of game developer and publisher Nippon Ichi

Doris Self, 2006, coin-op game score record-holder (no emulation) 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, Epic Mickey & Star Wars

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 retro Atari 7800 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, developed Dark Sceptre, War in Middle Earth, Lords of Midnight, Starlord 

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, mentor & artist on Warhammer 40,000: Rites of War, Werewolf: Apocalypse

Bob Smith, 2023, Atari programmer on Video Pinball, Star Wars: The Arcade Game

Brian G. Smith, 2007, artist at Origin on Ultima, Wing Commander, Privateer, Jane's Combat

Claire Smith, 2015, programmer at Bioware Austin on Dragon Age, Star Wars: The Old Republic 

Doug Smith, 2014, creator of the major 1983 Broderbund hit Lode Runner

Gene Smith, 2002, designer & programmer at Intellivision (Bomb Squad), Activision 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

Patrick Staar, 2025, exec launched Sega and then EA into Western European markets in the 1990s

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, Quake 

Stefán Karl Stefánsson, 2018, Icelandic actor who did VO on For Honor

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, NBA Jam 2001

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: Aztarac, Flash Attack

Matt Stubbington, 2011, art director at Iguana Entertainment: South Park, Turok

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

T

Akira Tago, 2016, puzzle designer on the Professor Layton games

Hiroki Takagi, 2018, anime and game animator

Kazuki Takahasi, 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

Kazunari Tanaka, (2016), did VO on Nobunaga's Ambition, Yakuza, Xenobkade, Persona 5 series

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

Victoria Teunissen, 2020, did VO on Black Mesa

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

Scott Tijerina, 2022, Project Lead on The Legend of Heroes series of games

John Tiller, 2021, veteran wargame designer & founder of John Tiller Software

Cathie A. Bartz-Todd, 1993, producer at Virgin Interactive on Deluxe Scrabble, Terminator

Tony Todd, 2024, actor who did VO on Star Trek, Half-Life 2, Call of Duty, Dota, Spider-Man

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

Eiji Tsuda, 2025, VO actor on King of Fighters franchise

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

U

Bob Uecker, 2025, baseball player, announcer & actor who did VO on Baseball Blast for the Wii

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

Gordon Mah Ung, 2024, journalist for Official Xbox Magazine, PC Gamer, other HW magazines

V

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

Renee Victor, 2025, film actress who also did VO on Elder Scrolls Skyrim & Oblivion

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

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

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

Joe Wells, 2021, did QA on Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon, Saint's Row, Red Faction, Homefront

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

Jesse Wingert, 2018, did original development on Black Mesa

Mel Winkler, 2020, actor who did VO on Crash Bandicoot games

Kirk Winterrowd, 2025, producer, composer, audio on Wing Commander, Ultima, Ultima Online

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

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

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

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

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.

* * * * *

 

 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'm gradually adding links to names in alphabetical order (now working on S!), and for all new listings.

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.

 

Extended Crafts

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, Scott Walter, Charles S. Roberts, Klaus Tauber, Stewart Wieck, 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, Ed Krynski, Mike Kubin, Raymond Moloney, Wayne Neyens, Barry Oursler, Roy Parker, 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!