Sad news today as an executive producer, Michael Forgey, who worked at Monolith Productions, has passed away after a year-long battle with cancer. The YouCare organiser, Erika Evans Carlson, posted a statement saying the following “Mike passed away yesterday, March 3 at 3:15 AM. His last few days were peaceful with his family by his side. Mike was so touched by everyone’s support during his fight. His family wants to thank everyone for their kind words and support during the difficult time.”
Mr. Forgey was diagnosed with glioblastoma which is a rare form of cancer. He was diagnosed in May 2015, and he went through several treatments such as chemotherapy, a bone marrow transplant, and a new treatment called an Optune Cap which helps prevents the growth of the tumor, but even with all these treatments his tumor was, sadly, inoperable. In December of last year, a friend of his started a YouCaring crowdfund page for Forgey which gained the attention of a local media news station. Donations are currently accepted through the crowdfunding page if you’d like to leave a donation for Michael’s family.
He had a long and successful career in the gaming industry. He worked as a producer for the first two Gears of War games and Gears of War: Ultimate Edition, Guardians of Middle Earth, Kinect Adventures and many more. He went on to work on the critically acclaimed Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor. Before becoming a producer he worked in Quality Assurance. He tested games like Perfect Dark Zero, Conker: Live and Reloaded and Fable. We wish his family and friends all the best during this difficult time.
Reece contributed 13 articles to ICXM between 2016–2017, covering game reviews, Windows and PC, and Xbox news with a focus on hands-on impressions and verified-source reporting. Their bylines on the site span the Xbox One X launch year and Microsoft’s wider Play Anywhere / UWP gaming initiative.