Bethesda Softworks announced today that Robert A. Altman, founder, president and CEO of Bethesda parent company ZeniMax Media, has died.
“We are deeply saddened to tell you about the passing of Robert A. Altman, our founder and CEO,” the company announced on Twitter. “He was a true visionary, friend and believer in the spirit of people and the power of what they could achieve together. He was an extraordinary leader and an even better human being.”
The company’s website contains a notice of Altman’s death, which reads “CEO. Visionary. Friend. 1947-2021.” No cause of death was reported.
Altman started ZeniMax with Christopher Weaver in 1999, as a parent company of Bethesda Softworks, which Weaver had started in the mid-1980s. The two had a fall and Weaver was out of the company in a few years, but Altman continued to run ZeniMax for decades.
During this period, ZeniMax grew the business beyond Bethesda, acquiring studios such as ID Software, Arkane Studios, Tango Gameworks, MachineGames and Alpha Dog Studios.
In addition, it branched out with the creation of ZeniMax Online Studios and Roundhouse Studios (formed by former Human Head developers).
Recently, ZeniMax was on the other side of an acquisition deal, accepting a $ 7.5 billion offer from Microsoft to join the Xbox studio system.