Rebecca Heineman, known best for co-founding original Fallout developer Interplay alongside Brain Fargo, Jay Patel, and Troy Worrell in the early 1980s, has died aged 62.
The news was shared by her friend Heidi McDonald, who wrote on BlueSky that "my trailblazing game industry bad-ass friend Rebecca Heineman has passed away. F**k cancer. Friends, let's not forget her."
On a GoFundMe page set up by Heineman shortly after her diagnosis, she described herself as "the very first video game champion, creator of Bard’s Tale 3, Dragon Wars, and one of the founders of Interplay Productions and MacPlay. Creator of Sailor Ranko the webcomic and software archivist." The fund remains open to support Heineman's family.
In her final message, penned yesterday, November 17, she wrote: "It’s time. According to my doctors. All further treatments are pointless. So, please donate so my kids can create a funeral worthy of my keyboard, Pixelbreaker! So I can make a worthy entrance for reuniting with my one true love, Jennell Jaquays. My daughter Cynthia Elizabeth heineman, will be making the arrangements."
Heineman rose to fame when she won a national Space Invaders tournament in 1980 aged 14, then carved out an impressive gamedev career, having taught herself to code by reverse engineering. Her development and publishing credits include Wasteland, Fallout, Baldur's Gate, and The Bard's Tale 3: Thief of Fate. She most recently served as CEO of Olde Sküül.
Bard’s Tale 3 stands out as one of her defining moments at Interplay and of her entire career, Heineman told Women in Gaming: 100 Professionals of Play in 2024. "Being able to head the project and be the decision maker was what started me on the path to being a studio head,” she said. Heineman left Interplay in 1995, seeking a return to small teams.
She was honored as the 2025 Gayming Icon Award for "her advocacy for LGBTQ+ inclusion, accessibility, and diversity in tech has inspired countless developers and players," (thanks, PC Gamer).
Interplay co-founder Brian Fargo called her "one of the most brilliant programmers around," and said news of her death was "a real gut punch." "Rebecca Heineman sadly passed away. Known her since the 80s when I'd drive her to work, one of the most brilliant programmers around. A real gut punch earlier today when she messaged me: 'We have gone on so many adventures together! But, into the great unknown! I go first!!!'"
Rebecca Heineman sadly passed away. Known her since the 80s when I'd drive her to work, one of the most brilliant programmers around. A real gut punch earlier today when she messaged me: "We have gone on so many adventures together! But, into the great unknown! I go first!!!" :( pic.twitter.com/lu3i0fyt5C
— Brian Fargo (@BrianFargo) November 17, 2025
Other game developers have also shared their memories, including Rami Ismail and Josh Sawyer, with many others sharing stories of Rebecca's mentorship, kindness and support.
A game industry legend died a few mins ago, Rebecca Heineman (@burgerbecky), taken away by aggressive lung cancer. She oversaw the porting of Wizordum to the Mac OS most recently for Apogee. My local friends would often have dinner with her and I loved her industry stories and…
— Scott Miller - Apogee/3D Realms Founder ☢️ (@ScottApogee) November 17, 2025
Image credit: GoFundMe.
Vikki Blake is a reporter for IGN, as well as a critic, columnist, and consultant with 15+ years experience working with some of the world's biggest gaming sites and publications. She's also a Guardian, Spartan, Silent Hillian, Legend, and perpetually High Chaos. Find her at BlueSky.
