Steve Dee, game designer and community builder, has passed away
He leaves behind a legacy of creating better worlds.
On January 2, 2026, Steve Dee (Darlington), unexpectedly passed away in his home. This was announced via Facebook by his partner. Dee was a game designer who worked on Doctor Who Adventures in Time and Space, Cortex, Vampire: The Requiem, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay (2nd, 3rd, and 4th edition). He was a pillar of the Australian tabletop community, and a constant advocate for others, especially those who were victims of injustice across the world. One of the last things Dee publicly wrote is a blog post titled “Just Do Something.” In it, he describes how he educated himself on the genocide happening in Gaza, and what he did to learn about how genocide works as a system of control. His post wasn’t, to steal one of his words, braggadocious or self-aggrandizing. The point was to encourage people to do things that intimidate you, or scare you, or make you feel sad, upset, or hopeless, because it’s worth it. And often because it’s the right thing to do.
The post ends with a selection of documents; the first draft of NAKBA, a resource management and accrual game where you attempt to stop genocide before it begins, which he had been writing for games4palestine initiative. This contest asked designers to produce games that addressed at least one theme relating to the stages of genocidal conflict. The initiative hopes to use the power of games, play, and empathy to encourage education and community solidarity around the political and humanitarian crises occurring in Gaza at the hands of the Israeli government and the world at large. The ending of the introduction to NAKBA reads “I hope it helps you see that there is much that can be done. Great atrocities leave us feeling helpless: we are not.”
Dee also published games under his imprint, Tin Star Games and according to a page on the site “he has won several awards for his game designs, including five ENNie awards, a Freeplay Award and many more nominations.” One of the games he recently received accolades for is The Score, a quick-playing card-based heist game. His work also includes board games, such as There’s Been A Murder and Betrayal at House on the Hill.
Entertainment journalist Sean Weeks had recently begun a podcast with Dee, titled The Role of Play. Although only five episodes long, the project, originally borne from an interview that Weeks had with Dee, shows the many insights Dee had on games, design, and why the act of play itself is intrinsically important to who we are as human beings.
Many took to social media to offer condolences and warmth to those who knew him and those he left behind. Dee’s kindness and outreach — especially within the Australian design community — was often repeated. Cam Banks, another well-known designer, said on a bluesky post, “many of us knew Steve: his drive to create TTRPGs like Relics, his activism and scathing criticism of bad actors, his many game reviews. The Aussie gaming community and the hobby at large has lost another prolific talent.”
I learnt yesterday that Steve Dee has died. He was my greatest mentor, and, I daresay, the catalyst that set me on my current path. His loss is one that will be felt far and wide across the tabletop community.
— Into the Weird Blue Yonder (@weirdblueyonder.bsky.social) 2026-01-05T14:40:00.000Z
James Kerr, the membership coordinator for Indie Game Developer Network , stated on bluesky that Dee contributed many blogs to the IGDN site, where he spoke primarily about worldbuilding and designing inhabitable games. His last blog post states that the series was ending because it was being turned into a book. Worldbuilding for Game Designers was published on June 1, 2025 by CRC Press.
His life and work are remembered by many, and his partner requested that people donate to a local animal shelter instead of sending flowers. It seems appropriate to encourage people to pet their dogs and imagine what small acts can be done to encourage others and instill hope, even when many things feel hopeless.
Dee is eloquent enough to end his own obituary. On the same patreon post linking to NAKBA, “Just Do Something,” his final published words were, “in times of crisis, heroism often fails; great efforts come to nothing and the casual or cruel can grant salvation. However, the smallest things can still be incredibly powerful and resonate to eternity. You matter, and if you show up, you can change your fate, or someone else’s. And that is everything.”
