Keith Boesky, the former president of Tomb Raider and Deus Ex publisher Eidos, has passed away after struggling with cancer.
Family, friends, and colleagues have taken to social media to pay tribute to Boesky, who also worked as an advisor for a number of games companies including Riot Games, Scopely, and Improbable.
Boesky began his journey in the games industry back in 1993 working for legal firm Cooley, Godward, Castro, Huddelson and Tatum, which by 1996 had turned into the largest game practice in the United States.
During his stint at Cooley, Boesky was tasked with helping Eidos with its initial public offering, prompting him to write a prospectus theorizing that games could be used as platforms for intellectual property.
It was a notion that convinced the higher-ups at Eidos to appoint Boesky as company president, and one of his first tasks in the role was to move the newly launched Tomb Raider across all media.
Boesky would eventually leave the publisher to set up shop on his own, and sought to realize a series of game projects for “A List” talent. By 2002 had joined the talent agency ICM, but left the company after two years to establish Boesky & Company so he could work directly with game developers and IP holders as an advisor.