Stewart Kosoy passes away after a long career making and financing games

Stewart Kosoy, a pioneer of the game industry with decades of experience making and financing games, has passed away, according to a Facebook memorial page dedicated to him.

Kosoy held many positions in the game business and touched a lot of people. His page on Wikipedia credits him with work on 26 games from 1999 to 2009. He was 65.

“Stew was an industry icon who helped many game developers, including Epic, find their place in the industry,” said Mark Rein, vice president of Epic Games, in an mail. “He was also a great friend who will be sorely missed by a great many. He was fun to be around. He always had a smile and story and, at the appropriate time, a cigar, a bottle of scotch, and a poker game you could join if you were so inclined. I didn’t know anyone who didn’t like the man because he was kind and nurturing to everyone. We’ll love you always Stew.”

He did design consulting for NovaLogic on the game Wolfpack, and he worked as a producer at Taito. He also was manager of developer relations at Sega. He produced Clutch Hitter, Disney’s Ariel the Little Mermaid, Captain Planet and the Planeteers, and Toxic Crusaders. In 1993, he produced Dinosaurs for Hire and The Amazing Spider-Man vs. The Kingpin. He also worked at NovaLogic, Warner Music Group, and GT Interactive. He was at GT when it published titles such as Doom II, Duke Nukem, Quake, and Unreal.

He left GT Interactive to become an executive producer for MGM Interactive, where he was executive producer on Tiny Tank: Up Your Arsenal.

In his latter career, Kosoy shifted to become an agent, representing game developers. As a senior partner at Interactive Studio Management (ISM) from 2002 until 2011, he played the role of matchmaker. He represented Digital Illusions in its contract to make Battlefield 1942 for publisher Electronic Arts. That franchise has since sold millions of games for EA, and EA eventually acquired Digital Illusions (DICE) for $24.5 million. He represented clients on Die Hard Trilogy 2: Viva Las Vegas and Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare.

In late 2011, he left ISM and cofounded Digital Capital, a company that raised financing for game developers and served as a matchmaker between investors and developers.

Services will be at the Harbor Lawn in Costa Mesa, Calif.

Donations can be made in Kosoy’s name at City of Hope or Cedar Sinai.