James Light, a producer on the World War II multiplayer shooter Hell Let Loose, has unexpectedly died due to complications arising from cardiac surgery. Max Rea, founder of developer Black Matter, described Light's influence on the team and the project as "indelible".
What do we know about Hell Let Loose producer James Light's death?
This news comes to us via Team17 community manager Greg Medlin, who posted in memoriam of Light on Reddit. In his post, Medlin shared some words written by Black Matter founder Maximilian Rea, who described Light as a "beloved colleague" whose death came as a complete and devastating surprise. According to Rea, Light passed away on June 18th "as a result of complications following cardiac surgery". He was 28 years old. Rea doesn't go into any more detail regarding Light's cause of death.
Light began his career in the games industry with the Team17 QA department in 2018, working on Hell Let Loose, which was still in development at the time. Within the next four years, he would be promoted to production assistant, then producer "several months ago" (although his LinkedIn page suggests he was promoted to associate producer in June). During his time with the company, Light saw Hell Let Loose launch into Early Access in 2019, release in full last year, and get snapped up as an IP by Team17 earlier this year. Light's main responsibility was to oversee the PC version of Hell Let Loose; Rea says he reported and studied "thousands of bugs" and knew every nuance and intricacy across the game. Rea goes on to say the team will miss Light immensely.
What is Hell Let Loose?
Hell Let Loose is a tactical first-person multiplayer shooter created by Australian developer Black Matter. It's set during World War II and sees teams of 50 players face off against one another throughout a series of WWII theaters of war. Authenticity and realism are major focuses for Black Matter; levels combine recreation of street imagery with satellite work and aerial photography. The devs also emphasize communication and teamwork in the game, with units being led by "officers" who have their own voice channels.
You can pick up Hell Let Loose right now on PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X|S. The game seems to have been James Light's pride and joy, given how much time he spent poring over its intricacies and making sure he knew every angle and nuance of it. All of our thoughts here at TechRaptor go out to Light's family and colleagues, as well as anyone else who's been affected by his death.
