Pioneering SEGA developer Rieko Kodama has died

Rieko Kodama, SEGA video game producer, director and artist best known for her work on Skies of Arcadia and the Phantasy Star series, has died at the age of 58, IGN reports. Creative producer for SEGA, Yosuke Okunari, confirmed the news on Twitter after rumours began to circulate due to a tribute being spotted in the Mega Drive Mini 2 credits.

“As you understand it,” Okunari wrote in response to a fan questioning the memorial message. “We respected her.”

It was later added that Kodama passed away in May, but further details are not being shared so to respect her family’s privacy. “We pray that the deceased will rest in peace, and we offer our gratitude for her enormous contributions to SEGA,” SEGA of Japan said (translated by IGN Japan).

Kodama, who was also known as Phoenix Rie, was an employee at SEGA from 1984, and in her time at the company she worked on Sonic the Hedgehog and its sequel, and was one of the creative leads for the RPG series Phantasy Star - she was the director of IV. Phantasy Star (1987) featured a female protagonist - something which was more of a rarity at the time.

“As I'm a woman myself, when I make games, I try not to just have them be male fantasy figures, as people needing to be rescued,” she said in a 2004 interview (spotted by IGN). “I like to make female characters people of both genders can relate to. But we are seeing more strong-willed women in games geared towards female audiences.”

At the 2018 Game Developers Choice Awards, Kodama was awarded the Pioneer Award, but IGN writes that she passed the credit to her teammates at the time.

Our thoughts go out to Kodama’s family and friends at this time - may she rest in peace.