Crowdfunding pioneer and gaming legend Andrew Reisse was killed in his hometown of Irvine, California last night.
Reisse was crossing the street when he was struck by a car that was involved in a police pursuit. Reisse was 33 years old. Mashable reported the following statement from Oculus VR following the tragedy:
Andrew was a brilliant computer graphics engineer, an avid photographer and hiker who loved nature, a true loyal friend, and a founding member of our close-knit Oculus family.
Some of us have known Andrew since college, and have worked with him at multiple companies beginning with Scaleform in Maryland which he helped start at age 19, then at Gaikai in Aliso Viejo which brought him out to California, and finally at Oculus where he was a co-founder and lead engineer.
Andrew’s contributions span far and wide in the video game industry. His code is embedded in thousands of games played by millions of people around the world.
Words can not express how sorely he will be missed or how deeply our sympathy runs for his family
Andrew will always be in our thoughts and will never be forgotten. We love you Reisse.
Oculus VR Team
Reisse was a co-founder of Oculus VR, the company behind the Oculus Rift VR headset. The project raised over $2.4 million on Kickstarter. It still stands as one of the most successful crowdfunding campaigns ever in the gaming category.
Developers and fans of Oculus VR’s tech have taken to their forums to grieve and express condolences. Our thoughts are with Reisse’s family and colleagues as they navigate this difficult time.
More coverage in CNET, Mashable and TechCrunch