Bethesda veteran Julian LeFay, 'father of The Elder Scrolls', departs game development due to cancer

Julian LeFay – who oversaw multiple Elder Scrolls games as chief engineer at Bethesda, and is often referred to as the ‘father’ of the series – is stepping back from game development to spend his “remaining time with his family and loved ones” following his cancer diagnosis.

LeFay joined Bethesda shortly after its founding in 1987, and worked on the likes of The Elder Scrolls: Arena in 1994 and its 1996 sequel Daggerfall, before departing the company in 1998. LeFay briefly returned for The Elder Scrolls 3: Morrowind, and pursued various other ventures before setting up independent studio OnceLost Games with fellow Elder Scrolls alumni Ted Peterson and Vijay Lakshman in 2019. Since then, the studio has been working on The Wayward Realms, an open-world RPG announced in 2021.

News of LeFay’s departure from the project, and from game development as a whole, was announced in an emotional video addressed to The Wayward Realms community on YouTube. “Our technical producer Julian LeFay, who I’m sure needs no introduction, has been fighting a battle with cancer for the last several years,” creative producer Victor Villarreal explained. “He’s fought bravely and strongly but it seems he doesn’t have very much time left. He has stepped away from the project to spend that remaining time with his family and loved ones.”

Villarreal also invited fans to “share any words, thoughts, or memories you might have of Julian, as well as any well-wishes you might have for his family.” He noted the studio would discuss how the news impacts The Wayward Realms at a later date, adding: “It is something we’ve been preparing for. Julian has made his vision of the game very clear to the team and we will work tirelessly to bring that vision to life.”