Game pioneer Brenda Romero receives special award from U.K.’s Oscars

Brenda Romero has worked on 47 games in a game career that has spanned more than 36 years, and she’s getting recognition for that today with a special award from the British Academy of Film and Television Arts.

BAFTA’s special award is like the equivalent of a lifetime achievement Oscar in the U.S. Brenda Romero, formerly known as Brenda Brathwaite, is getting the award for her creative contribution to the game industry, her advocacy for the art and the creative process behind game making, and her commitment to encouraging the next generation of talent in games. She is known for her work on the Wizardry series and a host of other titles.

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Dean Takahashi

Dean Takahashi is editorial director for GamesBeat. He has been a tech journalist since 1988, and he has covered games as a beat since 1996. He was lead writer for GamesBeat at VentureBeat from 2008 to April 2025. Prior to that, he wrote for the San Jose Mercury News, the Red Herring, the Wall Street Journal, the Los Angeles Times, and the Dallas Times-Herald. He is the author of two books, "Opening the Xbox" and "The Xbox 360 Uncloaked." He organizes the annual GamesBeat Next, GamesBeat Summit and GamesBeat Insider Series: Hollywood and Games conferences and is a frequent speaker at gaming and tech events. He lives in the San Francisco Bay Area.