A gaming legend is no more

You may not recognize the name Paul Steed, but odds are if you’re a gamer, you’ll certainly be familiar with Steed’s impressive portfolio.

Steed – who passed away of unknown causes over the weekend –  was perhaps best known for working with the Wing Commander franchise to bring the wildly popular property into the 3D world.

Steed also helped launch Microsoft’s original Xbox game console which hit store shelves way back in November of 2001.

Additional project involvement includes time spent on Wings of Glory and Bioforge. Steed also worked on Quake at id Software for a few years, where he ultimately designed the infamous Crackwhore player model.

In addition to helping design games and hype the original Xbox, Steed was a respected author, publishing a number of books on modeling and animation. During the last few years, Steed was working on founding and building his own game company which he dubbed “Exigent.”

Steed leaves behind a wife, children, and one impressive career.