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Fallout 76 & Bethesda lead designer Ferret Baudoin passes away

Friends and family close to Baudoin shared a tribute announcing he 'passed suddenly' on October 15.

TJ Denzer

October 18, 2022 1:40 PM

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Tragedy has hit the Bethesda Softworks dev team. One of the leading designers on Fallout 76 has suddenly passed away. Ferret Baudoin was a long time senior designer for Bethesda Softworks who had lead design on Fallout 76 throughout its post-launch content. Baudoin reportedly passed away on October 15. No cause of death was cited, but Baudoin reportedly “passed suddenly,” and was “surrounded by friends and family.”

Ferret Baudoin’s death was reported via a tribute page to the Bethesda senior designer posted on Facebook. Baudoin’s official death was said to have happened on October 15.
“On October 15, 2022, legendary game designer Ferret Baudoin passed,” the tribute page reads. “He is surrounded by his family and friends. He loved real life as much as games. He was a devoted husband, father, brother, and son.”

The tribute page goes on to list a Buy Me A Coffee donation page where well-wishers can donate to assist Baudoin’s family with various costs and expenses in this trying time.

Baudoin had a career at Bethesda that spanned around a decade. During his time, he worked as a senior designer on Fallout 4, picked up the lead designer role on Fallout 76 following its launch, including leading the Wastelanders expansion, and was even working as a senior designer on Starfield. Before Bethesda, Baudoin had also worked at BioWare as a lead designer, lending his talents to Dragon Age: Origins - Awakening and Dragon Age 2. He also worked on Neverwinter Nights 2 with Obsidian Entertainment.

Baudoin’s efforts were far and wide-reaching across a long line of impressive games. Even so, it sounds as though his passing was sudden and unexpected. Regardless, Shacknews respects the privacy of Ferret Baudoin’s family and friends in this trying time and wishes them the best.

TJ Denzer

Senior News Editor

TJ Denzer is a player and writer with a passion for games that has dominated a lifetime. He found his way to the Shacknews roster in late 2019 and has worked his way to Senior News Editor since. Between news coverage, he also aides notably in livestream projects like the indie game-focused Indie-licious, the Shacknews Stimulus Games, and the Shacknews Dump. You can reach him at tj.denzer@shacknews.com and also find him on Twitter @JohnnyChugs.