







Occupation
GAME DESIGNERS
With 77 biographies, Game Designers are the 78th most common occupation in Pantheon, behind Geologists, Geographers, and Sociologists.
People
Pantheon has 90 people classified as game designers born between 1866 and 2000. Of these 90, 81 (90.00%) of them are still alive today. The most famous living game designers include Shigeru Miyamoto, Markus Persson, and Hideo Kojima. The most famous deceased game designers include Gary Gygax, Lizzie Magie, and Ralph H. Baer. As of April 2024, 13 new game designers have been added to Pantheon including Toshihiro Nagoshi, Keiichiro Toyama, and Tetsuya Takahashi.
Living Game Designers
Go to all RankingsShigeru Miyamoto
1952 - Present
HPI: 69.47
Markus Persson
1979 - Present
HPI: 67.57
Hideo Kojima
1963 - Present
HPI: 66.39
Jeff Kinney
1971 - Present
HPI: 64.46
Alexey Pajitnov
1956 - Present
HPI: 64.38
Gabe Newell
1962 - Present
HPI: 63.16
Toru Iwatani
1955 - Present
HPI: 62.91
John Carmack
1970 - Present
HPI: 62.89
Satoshi Tajiri
1965 - Present
HPI: 62.51
Sid Meier
1954 - Present
HPI: 61.62
Todd Howard
1971 - Present
HPI: 60.30
Steve Jackson
1953 - Present
HPI: 59.69
Deceased Game Designers
Go to all RankingsGary Gygax
1938 - 2008
HPI: 70.11
Lizzie Magie
1866 - 1948
HPI: 68.97
Ralph H. Baer
1922 - 2014
HPI: 64.67
Satoru Iwata
1959 - 2015
HPI: 64.03
Gunpei Yokoi
1941 - 1997
HPI: 63.64
Masayuki Uemura
1943 - 2021
HPI: 58.94
Klaus Teuber
1952 - 2023
HPI: 58.45
Dave Arneson
1947 - 2009
HPI: 52.85
Rebecca Heineman
1963 - 2025
HPI: 44.66
Newly Added Game Designers (2025)
Go to all RankingsToshihiro Nagoshi
1965 - Present
HPI: 50.77
Keiichiro Toyama
1970 - Present
HPI: 48.65
Tetsuya Takahashi
1966 - Present
HPI: 47.71
Uwe Rosenberg
1970 - Present
HPI: 46.06
Hajime Tabata
1971 - Present
HPI: 44.78
Rebecca Heineman
1963 - 2025
HPI: 44.66
Chris Avellone
1971 - Present
HPI: 43.91
Kensuke Tanabe
1963 - Present
HPI: 42.95
Cory Barlog
1975 - Present
HPI: 41.49
Jane Jensen
1963 - Present
HPI: 41.03
Jeff Minter
1962 - Present
HPI: 40.16
Robyn Miller
1966 - Present
HPI: 35.03
Places
Most game designers were born in United States (35), Japan (31), and United Kingdom (4). By city, the most common birth places were Chicago (3), United States (3), and Stockholm (2).
Places Over Time
The earliest biographies classified as game designers in Pantheon are Gary Gygax, Ralph H. Baer, and Lizzie Magie. The concentration of game designers was largest during the Television Era, which lasted from 1950 to 1989. Some birth or death locations for earlier game designers are unknown, which may account for timeline differences below.
Lifespans
Which Game Designers were alive at the same time? This visualization shows the lifespans of the 8 most globally memorable Game Designers since 1700.
























