Rebecca Heineman died this week after a swift battle with cancer that began with a diagnosis in October. The veteran game developer and industry pioneer was informed earlier this week that further treatment would be ineffective and had only days to live.
Industry figures including Apogee founder Scott Miller confirmed her death through public posts. A GoFundMe campaign originally created to fund her treatment was updated to cover funeral expenses following the terminal prognosis.
Heineman made history at age 16 by winning the 1980 National Space Invaders Championship. The tournament is widely recognized as the first national video game competition in the United States. That victory launched a career that would span four decades and shape the landscape of computer and console gaming.
She co-founded Interplay Productions with Brian Fargo and served as lead programmer on some of the studio’s most influential titles. Her design and programming work defined the golden age of computer RPGs through The Bard’s Tale III: Thief of Fate and Dragon Wars. She also contributed to Wasteland and numerous other adventure and hybrid titles including Tass Times in Tonetown and Mindshadow.
Beyond original development, Heineman became known for technically demanding ports. Her work brought games like Out of This World, Battle Chess, and Wolfenstein 3D to multiple platforms. The 3DO port of Doom stands as a particularly notable achievement. Despite severe hardware limitations and tight deadlines, she delivered a playable version that became a case study in problem-solving under pressure.
After Interplay, she founded Logicware as CTO and later established Contraband Entertainment as CEO. There she led development on Myth III: The Wolf Age and handled high-profile Mac ports including Baldur’s Gate II, Heroes of Might and Magic IV, and Aliens vs. Predator.
Her engineering work extended beyond games. She consulted for Electronic Arts, Ubisoft, Microsoft, and Sony. Her contributions to PSP and PS4 kernel development demonstrated her technical range. At Amazon, she served as Transgender Chair for the company’s LGBTQ+ employee group while working on engineering projects.
A difficult year
The loss comes months after the death of her wife, Jennell Jaquays, in 2024. Jaquays was herself an influential game designer and artist whose work left a lasting mark on tabletop and video game design.
Colleagues and peers have shared tributes across social platforms. Bruce Schlickbernd, who worked with her on Bard’s Tale III and Dragon Wars, described her as “a nerd’s nerd, friendly, stubborn, creative.” Brian Fargo and other industry veterans have posted reflections acknowledging her technical brilliance and her role in shaping modern game development.
Known in developer circles as “Burger Becky,” Heineman remained active in the gaming community and visible as a trans woman in tech. Her career bridged the earliest days of commercial video games through modern platform development.
