Julian LeFay, one of the original creators of The Elder Scrolls, has died at 59. His death was confirmed by OnceLost Games, the studio he co-founded and worked with until recently.

LeFay’s passing comes just days after news that he had left the industry due to a terminal illness. He died on Tuesday evening.

LeFay joined Bethesda at 22 and played a major role in shaping the early Elder Scrolls games. He was a programmer on Arena, director and designer on Daggerfall, and worked on Battlespire and Morrowind before leaving the studio in 1998.

In 2019, he returned with OnceLost Games, alongside Ted Peterson and Vijay Lakshman. Their goal was to build The Wayward Realms, a massive RPG inspired by Daggerfall. The project raised over $800,000 on Kickstarter and was first teased in 2021.

Team stays on course to finish The Wayward Realms

In a statement, the team said LeFay worked on The Wayward Realms until shortly before his death. Despite his illness, he continued mentoring the team and shaping the game’s systems and design.

“Julian’s vision is embedded in everything,” they said. “His work, notes, and ideas are all documented. We’re not just continuing, this is about finishing what he started.”

The studio says development will move forward as planned. Ted Peterson, Eric Heberling, and the rest of the team remain on board.

“Every feature, every system, every design choice will follow Julian’s vision.”

The Wayward Realms is still in development. You can wishlist the game on Steam now.

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