French composer and multi-instrumentalist Stéphane Picq has passed away aged 59, we're sad to report. He had been suffering from a long illness.
The news was broken on Facebook by The Vahinée and spotted by VGDensetsu.
"It is with great sadness that we learned of Stéphane's departure," reads the post. "A regular, a friend, a family member. He was one of those people who leave a mark, by their authenticity, their frankness and all those shared moments that will remain etched in our hearts. It hurts my heart to know we won't see him here anymore, it won't be the same without him."
Picq's musical career began in 1987, and he worked with French studios ERE Informatique/Exxos and Cryo Interactive on several notable games. His most famous work is probably Dune, Cryo's interactive adaptation of David Lynch's classic 1984 movie, based on Frank Herbert's seminal sci-fi novel.
Other games include Purple Saturn Day, MegaRace, KGB, Lost Eden, Dragon Lore, Extase, Commander Blood and Atlantis: The Lost Tales. In 2023, Picq released the soundtrack to Dune as Dune Spice Opera after waiting 30 years to regain the rights.
In 1998, he announced he was retiring from the industry and moved to Madagascar, where he would eventually establish his own recording studio. Speaking in 2020, Picq explained why he turned his back on video games:
We were free, well paid, we were able to work miracles with machines 10,000 times less powerful than a smartphone today. We were enthusiastic and motivated, until the suits and ties that sang the praises of maximum profit at all costs arrived in our daily lives, and put almost everyone in the position of a good “worker” with very attractive salaries, but no more profit on sales, and above all much less creative freedom.
Our thoughts are with Picq's family and friends at this difficult time.