Julian Lefay

Julian Lefay, former chief engineer of Bethesda, is known among fans as the “Father of the Elder Scrolls” series at the age of 59.

Last week announced that Lefay, now co-founder and tech producer of Oncelost Games, has been announced. Take a step back from game development after a long battle with cancerto spend time with family and loved ones.

one statement From the Onelost game published today, the death of Lefey has now been confirmed – “full of sadness and heavy heart”.

“Julian Lefay is not only a colleague, but also a visionary man who fundamentally shapes the gaming industry we know today,” said Oncelost Games' statement. Julian “known as the 'Father of the Elder Scrolls,' who directed the legendary champions, including Elder Scrolls 1 and 2: Arena, Daggers, Daggers and Fighters.

“His pioneering work set the foundation for open-world RPGs and influenced countless developers and games that followed.”

Born in Denmark in 1965, Lefay began his career at the early Amiga and NES games and became one of Bethesda's earliest employees in 1987.

After creating a string of Elder Scrolls titles, his career next brought him to Sega and then eventually Found in 2019 in Racing In order to develop a new open world RPG, Willful realmwhich was successfully served as the spiritual successor of the dagger on Kickstarter.

“In his brave battle with cancer, Julian has never wavered by his passion for the willful realm,” the statement from Oncelost Games continued. “Even during his ill period, he continued to share his vision with our team, coach our developers, and ensure that every aspect of the game reflects his commitment to creating something truly extraordinary. His strength, determination and unwavering focus inspired us all.”

The studio concluded that the willful field will continue under the guidance of former Bethesda veteran and Oncelost game co-founder Ted Peterson, whose team is “more committed than ever to bringing the willful field completely into Julian’s life.”

Image source: Shae Jensen/Julian Lefay

Tom Phillips is the news editor for IGN. You can reach Tom at [email protected] or find him on the Blues @tomphillipseg.bsky.social