Julian LeFay, celebrated as the ‘Father of The Elder Scrolls,’ has died at age 59 following a battle with cancer. IGN reports that LeFay, now co-founder and technical producer at OnceLost Games, had stepped back from game development last week to focus on family and loved ones. A statement from OnceLost Games, published today, has now confirmed his passing, expressing profound sadness and heavy hearts.
Born in Denmark in 1965, LeFay began his career working on early Amiga and NES games, before joining Bethesda in 1987. After working on a string of Elder Scrolls titles, his career took him to Sega and eventually led him to found OnceLost Games in 2019 to develop a new open-world RPG, Wayward Realms, which was successfully pitched on Kickstarter as a Daggerfall spiritual successor. “Julian LeFay was not just a colleague — he was a visionary who fundamentally shaped the gaming industry as we know it today,” OnceLost Games’ statement reads. “Known as the ‘Father of The Elder Scrolls’, Julian directed the creation of legendary titles including Elder Scrolls 1 and 2: Arena, Daggerfall, and Battlespire. His pioneering work established the foundation for open-world RPGs and influenced countless developers and games that followed.”
Bethesda also issued a statement, writing: “Without Julian, we would not be here today. If you had the opportunity to work with Julian, you were blessed to know a one-of-a-kind force of nature, who pushed everyone to create something special. His work and spirit will live on both in our memories and in our games.”
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