Half-Life 2 art director Viktor Antonov has died aged 52.
The news was confirmed Sunday by former Valve lead writer Marc Laidlaw, who shared his thoughts in a now deleted post on social media.
“I didn’t want to say much till I felt it was confirmed, but I learned today that Viktor Antonov, our visionary art lead on Half-Life 2, has died,” Laidlaw wrote. “I don’t have details, just sadness. Brilliant and original. Made everything better.”
Former colleagues shared their condolences, including Arkane and WolfEye Studios founder Raphaël Colantonio on BlueSky.
“I wish I told you how much admiration I had for you but we get caught in our lives until a surprise like this hits us,” wrote Colantonio.
“You were instrumental to the success of Arkane Studios and an inspiration to many of us, and also a friend with whom I have very fond memories.”
Antonov started his career in games as a map painter for Redneck Rampage in 1997. He joined Valve in 2004 where he provided his artistic vision for Half-Life 2.
Antonov went on to work for Arkane Studios as a visual designer on Dishonored in 2012. He was also a consultant on a few ZeniMax titles including Fallout 4, the 2016 Doom reboot, and Prey.
He also worked on cancelled games including Arkane’s first-person shooter The Crossing and Bethesda Game Studios Austin’s free-to-play multiplayer BattleCry.
In 2022, Antonov co-founded Eschatology Entertainment with Fuad Kuliev, Dmytro Kostiukevych, and Boris Nikolaev.