Just Add Water CEO and founder Stewart Gilray has died, age 51

The veteran games programmer and producer Stewart Gilray has died as a result of contracting COVID-19 over Christmas.

A much-loved and respected figure in the UK development community, Gilray founded Just Add Water in 2006 and as its CEO worked with some of the UK’s biggest and best known studios, including Codemasters, Bossa and Rebellion – most recently on the award-winningr Sniper Elite VR. Just Add Water was also pivotal in the return of the Oddworld game series.

Gilray is credited with having worked on games for the likes of Psygnosis, Hewson, Core Design, Bullfrog, Revolution Software and Argonaut, in a career that stretches back more than 30 years. He’s also been a keen mentor and talked passionately about revitalising such venerated franchises as Mercenary and Midwinter.

Understandably, memories and tributes have been shared across social media and beyond, not least from Andy Payne, who relayed to GI.biz the moment Stewart said he was being admitted to hospital, just days after they’d lamented the passing of Ian Hetherington, the co-founder of Psygnosis who died last month.

“This morning I lost another friend to Covid.” Tweeted Miles Jacobson of Sports Interactive yesterday. “Someone my age, who also ran a games studio. A life lost far too early leaving a wife without the love of her life and two children losing their Dad.” He added: “Get vaccinated. Wear a mask. Care about your fellow humans. Because life is too short to not.”