Veteran game developer Rebecca Heineman, a co-founder of Interplay Productions and trailblazing figure in video games, died on Monday in Rockwall, Texas, at age 62 after battling adenocarcinoma. Her career spanned over four decades, including 67 credited games and advocacy for LGBTQ+ rights in gaming. The news was first shared by Apogee founder Scott Miller on social media and confirmed by her son William.
Rebecca Ann Heineman, born in October 1963 in Whittier, California, first gained fame at age 16 by winning the national Atari 2600 Space Invaders championship in New York in 1980, becoming the first formally recognized US video game champion. This victory launched a storied career that included co-founding Interplay Productions in 1983 alongside Brian Fargo, Jay Patel, and Troy Worrell. The company developed iconic franchises such as Wasteland, Fallout, and Baldur’s Gate. At Interplay, Heineman designed The Bard’s Tale III: Thief of Fate and Dragon Wars, and programmed ports for classics like Wolfenstein 3D and Battle Chess.
After departing Interplay in 1995, she founded Logicware and later Contraband Entertainment in 1999, where she led development on Myth III: The Wolf Age and oversaw ports of Baldur’s Gate II and Heroes of Might and Magic IV. Her work on the 3DO port of Doom, completed in weeks under intense pressure, became a notable tale in gaming lore, as she later shared on GitHub and in interviews. In 2013, Heineman co-founded Olde Sküül with her wife Jennell Jaquays and other veterans, serving as CEO until her death; the studio's 2022 Stadia port of Luxor Evolved was canceled following Google's shutdown of the service.
Heineman came out as transgender in 2003 and became a vocal advocate for LGBTQ+ representation in gaming, serving on GLAAD's board of directors. She received the Gayming Icon Award from Gayming Magazine earlier this year. In the Netflix series High Score, she reflected, “It allowed me to be myself. It allowed me to play as female.” Andrew Borman of The Strong National Museum of Play said, “Her legacy goes beyond her groundbreaking work in video games. She was a fierce advocate for LGBTQ rights and an inspiration to people around the world, including myself.”
Diagnosed with adenocarcinoma in October 2025 after shortness of breath at PAX, Heineman found cancer in her lungs and liver. Her GoFundMe, launched that month with a $75,000 goal, raised over $157,000. In her November 16 update, 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.” Jaquays, a fellow game designer, died in January 2024 from Guillain-Barré syndrome complications. Jason Scott noted, “Rebecca Heineman loved living in a world that had video games to make and code to port, but she hated a world with all that but no Jennell.”
Heineman held on to see her grandson one last time and died surrounded by friends, her niece, son William, and grandson William “Andy” Heineman. She is survived by five children. Borman added, “I think the stories that will continue to come out over the coming weeks, months, and years will show just how much of an impact she had, and how much her friendship meant to so many of us.”