Often recognized as the "father of computer gaming", legendary designer Sid Meier (pictured left) will be recognized for lifetime achievement at this year's Game Developers Choice Awards.

Meier, creator of standout and genre-defining PC titles like Civilization and Pirates!, has already received just about every award the industry has to offer for his achievements in development and design. Meier was a co-founder of MicroProse and currently works as creative director at Firaxis Games.

Said Game Developers Conference's Jamil Moledina, "Now that the rest of the industry is actively targeting the broader audience, itÂ’s fitting to honor him with our highest award and thank him for his continuing example of inspiration for the video game community."

The honor was awarded by the editors of Gamasutra in association with an advisory committee that included Clint Hocking of Ubisoft, Raph Koster of Areae, Ray Muzyka of Bioware, Ryan Lesser of Harmonix and Brian Reynolds of Big Huge Games.

The announcement comes hot on the heels of news that Magnavox Odyssey inventor Ralph Baer will be receiving the GDC Pioneer Award.

Meier is currently working on Civilization Revolution (PS3, X360, Wii, DS), which marks the first Civilization title developed directly under Sid Meier since 1996's Civilization II.