Julian LeFay worked for Bethesda Softworks from 1987 to 1998 and played a key role in the creation of The Elder Scrolls.
Over 31 years ago, The Elder Scrolls Arena was released, the first installment in a role-playing game series that continues to thrill millions of players to this day. Julian LeFay was already on board as lead programmer back then.
The Danish-born programmer joined Bethesda Softworks shortly after it was founded in 1987.
After Arena, he worked as lead developer on The Elder Scrolls Daggerfall and Battlespire before leaving the company in 1998.
In 2019, LeFay finally founded the development studio Once Lost Games, together with former Elder Scrolls developers Ted Peterson and Vijay Lakshman.
Together, they worked on the role-playing game The Wayward Realms, which is set to be a spiritual successor to Daggerfall.
In July 2025, the studio announced that LeFay was leaving due to personal reasons.
Together, they worked on the role-playing game The Wayward Realms, which is intended to be a spiritual successor to Daggerfall.
In July 2025, the studio announced that LeFay was unable to continue working on The Wayward Realms due to cancer. On July 22, 2025, LeFay passed away as a result of his illness. He spent his last days with his family. According to Ted Peterson, he had continued to work on his game and share his vision with the development team.
Fans and developers mourn the father of Elder Scrolls
On social media, fellow developers and fans are expressing their sadness at the death of LeFay, who was often referred to as the father of Elder Scrolls.
Der Twitter account of his development studio Once Lost Games writes that LeFay was a visionary
and pioneer
who shaped the gaming industry as we know it today
and influenced numerous developers and games. His vision for The Wayward Realms is already deeply embedded in the game, and the team intends to honor his memory as development continues.
— OnceLost Games (@OnceLostGames) July 23, 2025
Todd Howard from Bethesda Game Studios recalls the life’s work of the former Elder Scrolls developer. He was the driving force behind the creation of The Elder Scrolls and the foundations of Bethesda. Simply put, we wouldn’t be here today without Julian
.
Many voices from the community are also commemorating the late developer:
We are deeply saddened to learn of the passing of Julian LeFay, a senior developer on the earliest Elder Scrolls games. Your energy and determination shaped The Elder Scrolls, and you will be missed.”
Account of the fan project Skywind
We share this news with sincere sadness. Julian LeFay, the father of The Elder Scrolls, has passed away. We wish him peace and want him to know that he will not be forgotten. target=“_blank” data-mrf-link=“https://x.com/UESP_net/status/1947875770736533624” data-icon=“external”>UESP
This hurts, Daggerfall is such a special game to me and I was so excited to see the development of The Wayward Realms under his leadership. Rest in peace, you legend, this really breaks my heart.utm_content=share_button“ target=”_blank” data-mrf-link=”https://www.reddit.com/r/ElderScrolls/comments/1m6zev0/comment/n4no5a8/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web3x&utm_name=web3xcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button“ data-icon=”external”>ripbrnclls on Reddit
Time and again, players have called on Bethesda to commemorate the late developer in The Elder Scrolls 6. But Julian LeFay is actually already in all Elder Scrolls games.
Julianos, the god of wisdom and logic, was actually named after him. The monastic order dedicated to him guards the Elder Scrolls, the scrolls of the ancients that give the series its name, in Tamriel. A truly fitting role for the father of The Elder Scrolls.