It’s with a heavy heart that we report the passing of Rebecca Heineman, who died today, mere months after being diagnosed with cancer. She was 62.
In 1983, “Burger” Becky became a founding member of Interplay Entertainment, the video game studio that developed such Apple II games as The Bard’s Tale, Battle Chess, Dragon Wars, Mindshadow, and Neuromancer, all of which Rebecca worked on. In more recent years, she was the CEO of game studio Olde Sküül, where she was developing a remastered version of Dragon Wars and an Apple IIGS version of Nox Archaist.
Rebecca shared her prognosis on Bluesky, Facebook, X, and Mastodon, where many friends and luminaries paid their respects.
You've been an inspiration to many young trans women, game developers, programmers, and members of the Doom community. Thank you so much for being the person you've been. A lot of people have looked up to you and you'll leave a legacy of gratitude and pride. Love from ATX 💖
— WillowWisp (@N1ntyo) November 16, 2025
Rebecca replied, in one of her final messages: “I never thought I’d get this wish. Odd seeing eulogies before I expire”.
More tributes will be featured next month in Juiced.GS and Computerworld.
Reports of her passing were also shared by PCGamer, Stevivor, Gayming, IGN, GamesRadar+, Ars Technica, and NPR.
Rebecca passed exactly 45 years and one week after she won the National Atari 2600 Space Invaders Championship, which set her on the path to stardom. She was predeceased just last year by her wife, famed Coleco developer and D&D writer and artist Jennell Jaquays, at the age of 67.
Donations for Rebecca’s funeral are being accepted via GoFundMe.