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Games industry pioneer Ian Hetherington dies​

Former Psygnosis founder and UK industry veteran dies after short illness

The founder of Imagine Software, Psygnosis and Evolution Studios, Ian Hetherington, has died after a short illness.

Hetherington was part of the team that launched PlayStation: he and the Psygnosis team directly influenced the technology that went into that first console.e. As the head of Psygnosis, he worked on major titles including Lemmings and Wipeout.

Hetherington co-founded the short-lived Imagine Software in 1982, before forming Psygnosis in 1984 alongside David Lawson and Jonathan Ellis. He stayed at the company until 1998, when he left to form Evolution Studios, another outfit based in the Liverpool area that went on to create a series of hit racing games, including WRC and MotorStorm.

He left in 2007 and has since held senior roles at Realtime Worlds, Midoki and Immotion Group. He most recently appeared in a documentary marking 30 years of Lemmings.

The news follows the death of fellow Psygnosis and Imagine Software founder David Lawson earlier this year.

Tributes to Ian are already coming in from across the industry on social media.

Digital Extremes' Richard Browne said on Twitter: "Absolutely shocked and devastated to hear of the passing of Ian Hetherington today. Thirty years ago he gave me the wonderful opportunity to be a part of the games industry legend that is Psygnosis; it is a time I still look back on as some of the best moments of my life."

"So sad to hear Ian Hetherington has passed away," wrote Lucid Games' Martin Linklater. "A proper games industry legend and a lovely bloke. I had the pleasure of working with Ian on a number of occasions... at Psygnosis and then Curly Monsters. RIP Ian. Deepest condolences to his loved ones"

Media personality Jaz Rignall said: "Ian helped bring some incredible games to life, including Shadow of the Beast, Wipeout, Destruction Derby, Colony Wars, and Lemmings. He will be sadly missed."

Trade body UKIE also wrote: "The Ukie team is sad to hear of the passing of Ian Hetherington, co-founder of Psygnosis and a key figure in the development of the UK games industry.

"Our thoughts are with his family, friends and colleagues from across the industry."

Source: Games Industry

 

[Damigos]

Wipeout is one of my favourite franchises. So sad to hear this..
RIP

 

[UnNamed]

Psygnosis was phenomenal back in the day before Sony and the label Studio Liverpool. So many gems with an historical value were born from them.

 

[Max_Po]

WOW...


REST in PEACE Legend !!!

 

[Hawks Eclipse]

While Psygnosis were famous for the franchises mentioned, it's the demo of G-Police that I associate with them most fondly. Aesthetically it's also the closest to their owl logo, which is probably my favourite from the 90s.

RIP.

 

[Clear]

Top bloke. Sadly missed.

RIP

Just to understand his importance within the UK dev scene in the NW Ian was the exact gaming equivalent of Tony Wilson. He was a guy you could get a meeting with, show him your stuff and walk out with a deal.

 

[AV]

RIP, Psygnosis made some great hidden gems.

 

[8BiTw0LF]

Everytime you saw this logo, you knew you were in for a treat..

RIP

 

[Con-Z-epT]

Sad to hear this. R.I.P.

 

[Fredrik]

RIP
Some of my fondest gaming memories starts by looking at the Psygnosis owl. Back in the Commodore days they never missed, everything they released was ahead of the rest in some ways.

 

[blastprocessor]

RIP - their games pushed the Amiga to the limits. Was always looking forward to new stuff from them.

 

[SirTerry-T]

Yeah, Psygnosis, pre-Wipeout era were already something special. Imagine were a huge part of any kids game collection during the 8-bit home computer era too. Their Konami conversions in particular were always worth getting. Hyper Sports on the Spectrum was great.

 

[Kiddo Cabbusses]

Gosh, the amount of legends of the old gaming days passing away seems to be increasing gradually.
This is really concerning...

 

[Augusto Pinochet]

Wipeout games were one of the reasons i became the Playstation fan that im today. So sad to hear this. Rip.

 

[ReBurn]

Gosh, the amount of legends of the old gaming days passing away seems to be increasing gradually.
This is really concerning...

People get older and they die. Why is that concerning? It's what happens to people.

 

[PJX]

Gosh, the amount of legends of the old gaming days passing away seems to be increasing gradually.
This is really concerning...

I agree. It's almost a daily occurrence. Very worrying. He was only 69 years old.

 

[MiguelItUp]

I always thought psygnosis was one of the more interesting studio names, along with logos. Did some really neat games too.

So unfortunate. RIP.

 

[Bigfroth]

I loved this game on PS1

 

[Ammogeddon]

RIP

Some of my best gaming memories as a kid are because of the studios and games he was involved in.

 

[Silvawuff]

RIP! Thank you for the good times.

For me, my fondest memory of a Psygnosis title was Lemmings.

 

[Draugoth]

My condolences to his family and friends

 

[jufonuk]

RIP. You made some excellent games and some great memories

 

[A Most Virtuous Cat]

A lot of people have suddenly died this past year.

 

[StreetsofBeige]

Formula One and Colony Wars on PS1. Among the best games I played.

 

[coffinbirth]

RIP! Thank you for the good times.

For me, my fondest memory of a Psygnosis title was Lemmings.

The first three Lemmings games were actually developed by DMA Design and published by Psygnosis.

 

[Kiddo Cabbusses]

People get older and they die. Why is that concerning? It's what happens to people.

Gee, this post almost sounds like you don't realize this is a forum about videogames.

It's concerning because we may be rapidly entering a period where many new potentail game developers do not have the hands-on guidance of the previous generation's top talent, and we don't necessarily want videogames to end up like the post-Michael Jordan Basketball era.

 

[N1tr0sOx1d3]

Nooooooooooooooooooooooo!
Thank you for the incredible memories

 

[lame gag1990]

Wiz n' Liz and Puggsy are the earliest games I played published by Psygnosis I believe. Good memories as a child. Thanks for your contributions to the gaming industry sir. And I always liked the Psygnosis Owl logo.

 

[Mikado]

 

[abacab driver]

RIP to a legend.

 

[KAOS]

Long Live Psygnosis and the awesome people behind it! May he rest in peace!