Ian Hetherington, founder of UK-based developer Psygnosis and best known for the Wipeout and Lemmings video game series, has died. Hetherington was a prominent member of the UK video game development scene during the mid-80s to early 2000s and helped create several iconic titles for the original PlayStation. Wipeout series creator Nick Burcombe and composer Tim Wright announced his passing via Twitter.
Ian Hetherington… the man who kickstarted my career in games, and always had faith in my abilities, has sadly passed away. I’ll always be hugely grateful. My sincere and heartfelt condolences to his family. ?? pic.twitter.com/YD2KT0oqCR
— CoLD SToRAGE ™ ( Tim Wright ) (@CoLDSToRAGE) December 15, 2021
Hetherington was a businessman that initially started his video game career as the Financial Director of Liverpool-based Imagine Software. After Imagine’s closure, Hetherington co-founded Psygnosis with Jonathan Ellis and David Lawson, who was one of Imagine’s founders. Developers at Psygnosis would go on to produce various hits for the Amiga and Atari ST during the late 1980s and early 1990s.
In 1993, Sony acquired Psygnosis in preparation for the western launch of the PlayStation in 1995. Psygnosis became an important part of Sony’s game development for the western market, releasing some of the most popular PSX-era games of the time. This includes the original Wipeout, as well as the Colony Wars series, G-Police, and Overboard! Notably, the studio also helped develop the first PlayStation dev kits.
Sad news today about the passing of UK Development legend, Ian Hetherington. He steered so many of my Psygnosis friends and colleagues through the 16 and 32 bit eras and into the arms of Playstation. #wipeout fans, it was Ian's leadership that made it happen. #respect pic.twitter.com/m9yA7ogbnM
— Nick Burcombe (@nburcombe) December 15, 2021
Hetherington left the company in 1998, founding other video game companies such as Realtime Worlds and Evolution Studios. Afterward, in 1999 Sony consolidated its studios into Sony Computer Entertainment. In the process, Psygnosis was rebranded to SCE Studio Liverpool. And while the studio went on to create some big hits for the PS2 and PS3, Sony made the decision to close down the company in 2012.
[Source: ResetEra]
