Rieko Kodama, who spent over 30 years at SEGA, has passed away
It’s with a heavy heart that we report Rieko Kodama, a well-known developer at SEGA, has passed away. The news was confirmed by Yosuke Oskunari – a producer at the company – though details regarding her death are not known at this time.
Kodama spent her entire gaming career at SEGA having worked there for well over thirty years. After joining as a graphic designer in 1984, she served many different roles and was involved with a ton of different titles. Phantasy Star, Sonic the Hedgehog, and Skies of Arcadia are just a few of the many games Kodama had a hand in. It’s also worth noting that she was the lead producer on the SEGA Ages series for Switch.
There’s a lot we don’t know at the moment as we only have Oskunari’s tweet to go on, which was very brief. Oskunari was responding to a question as to whether a memorial in the credits of the SEGA Mega Drive Mini 2 was for Kodama. Oskunari confirmed that to be the case, stating: “We respected her.” If we happen to hear anything else, we’ll be sure to update this post.
Our hearts go out to Kodama’s family and all others impacted by her passing.
