Obituary: Team17 co-founder Martyn Brown has passed away

Team17 co-founder Martyn Brown has passed away.

Brown helped establish the UK studio in 1990 and spent 20 years at the company. He worked on over 50 titles during that time, including the ever-popular Worms franchise.

After departing Team17 in 2010, Brown was tapped by Activision to build frontline mobile game development studio The Blast Furnace. He also supported other studios including Double Eleven, New Start Games, Exient, and Bithead through independent consultancy firm Insight For Hire.

His son Jack Brown confirmed the news of his passing in a statement published on GamesIndustry.biz.

“Martyn passed away peacefully in his sleep at 8:17am, 28th of December, 2024 surrounded by family, following a prolonged battle with a series of strokes,” he wrote. “Know that he went out on his own terms listening to his favourite music and surrounded by loved ones.”

Colleagues and industry peers have also posted tributes on social media.

“RIP Martyn Brown, Team17 founder. The man brought the world so much Worms. I am saddened by this, during the years I’ve known him, he’s been a kind and generous man, funny and caring. He will be missed,” wrote game consultant Henrik Jonnson on Bluesky.

“We are so saddened to hear of the loss of Martyn Brown. He was such a good friend to us and supporter of the games industry in Yorkshire and far beyond,” reads a Bluesky post from Game Republic, the regional game business network co-founded by Brown in 2003. “Rest In Peace Martyn. You were hugely loved, so appreciated and will be greatly missed.”

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