Obituary: LucasArts veteran Matt Shell has passed away

LucasArts veteran Matt Shell, known for his work on numerous Star Wars titles, has passed away.

The news was shared on X by The Game Awards organiser Geoff Keighley and others within the industry. Keighley, who also resurfaced an interview he conducted with Shell back in 2007 for television show Game Head, described him as an "incredible person with a huge heart."

"Kind, loyal, hard working and always funny. He brought a smile to every meeting," he continued. "RIP to Matt Shell, one of the truly great people in the gaming industry."

Shell joined LucasArts in 2003, initially serving as an integrated marketing manager. Eventually, he was promoted to senior product marketing manager and tasked with promoting and developing the creative briefs for multiple LucasArts titles.

It was a role that saw him contribute to the success of titles like Star Wars: Empire at War, Lego Star Wars, Star Wars: The Old Republic, Star Wars: Battlefront, and more.

As detailed on Linkedin, after spending a decade in that role he was named director of brand marketing at The Walt Disney Company. He was, however, still charged with crafting and executing marketing strategies for major Star Wars games including Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order, Star Wars: Galaxy of Heroes, Star Wars: Hunters, and Star Wars Jedi: Survivor.

It was a position that also required him to work closely with external licensees and developers including Ubisoft, Electronic Arts, and Quantic Dream.

Friends and colleagues have been paying tribute to Shell on social media. Game design professor Tony Rowe, who worked with Shell at LucasArts, praised his knack for "getting people informed and excited about our games" and said he'll be sorely missed.

Xbox integrated marketing director Josh Munsee described Shell as a "devout father, family man and friend. [He was] kind, funny and an absolute brilliant marketer who had impacted many of the Star Wars games we play."

EA Sports global PR lead Ray Almeda joined the chorus of tributes. "I knew Matt for about a decade as we worked together to bring Star Wars games to everyone as we traveled the world," he wrote. "He had been doing it with LucasArts for 20 years. We will miss his jokes, love for Sticky Toffee Pudding, BBQ expertise, celebrating Warriors championships the night of, and of course his profound fandom for his SF Giants. Rest in Paradise my friend and May the Force be with you, always."