Cherie Lutz, a longtime business development executive at Microsoft, Unity, and Wizards of the Coast, has passed away.
Word of Lutz’s passing has been making the rounds on social media, with several of her former colleagues at Microsoft and beyond singing her praises. Team17 CEO Debbie Bestwick described her as “the driving force” behind helping developers go digital on Xbox 360.
Bestwick also said that Team17 benefitted greatly from Lutz’s work, and praised her as “an inspirational lady.”
In 2011, the developers at Twisted Pixel praised Lutz for rolling with their impromptu pitch for Kinect title The Gunstringer. Lutz’s former colleagues also credited her as being an integral part of the indie games boom of the early 2010’s.
One of them described her as “a kind, fun, steady force,” and “easy to get along and hang out with.”