Known for his work on seminal franchises such as Half-Life, Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater, and Borderlands, Gearbox Software co-founder Landon Montgomery passed away at the age of 46 according to a March 25 statement made on the studio’s own Twitter account. The cause of death has not been made public by authorities or the family. The social media statement by the studio read:
We are heartbroken after learning today of the passing of one of our co-founders, Landon Montgomery. In our earliest years, Landon played a big role in helping to set our path. We will always be thankful and remember him for being part of our lives. During this trying time, our thoughts, support, are with those who were closest with him.
In Memoriam pic.twitter.com/IYo8hMbpYH
— Gearbox Official (@GearboxOfficial) March 25, 2020
Montgomery served as co-founder, COO, and artist for Gearbox from 1999 to September 2010, with work credits including director of development for 2002’s 007: Nightfire, lead animator on 2006’s Brothers In Arms: D-Day, artist and model editor for 2001’s Half-Life, and scores of other games. The studio exceeding over one billion dollars in net revenues under Montgomery’s tenure.
He left the studio in late 2010 to pursue a new challenge as Director of esports for Dallas/Forth Worth company The Richard Group and later resigned from a General Manager role with San Diego studio Daybreak Games. His last and most recent role was with NVIDIA Lightspeed Studios as a full-time producer and based in Santa Clara, California.
Landon’s work and influence on a studio as vital to the 2000s cannot be stated enough, with Gearbox having its hands in some of the biggest titles of that decade in some form or another. Montgomery also attempted to branch out into the world of fiction with his first novel Promise of Departure in 2012 for which he was nominated for the IPPY Award for Best Fiction and was the 2012 Reader Views Literary award winner.
