Organisers for the Game Developers Choice Awards, part of the annual Game Developers Conference (GDC), have announced the recipients of this year’s Lifetime Achievement and Ambassador Awards, industry veterans Don Daglow and Rebecca Ann Heineman.
Both have contributed much to the growth of the games industry worldwide, working on hundreds of games across award-winning studios, and passing that knowledge on. Their influence and contributions will be honoured during the annual GDC Awards, alongside the work of other talented developers.
GDC Awards 2026 honourees announced – quick links
What to know about the careers of Don Daglow and Rebecca Ann Heineman
As announced, Don Daglow will receive the Lifetime Achievement Award, in celebration of a 55-year career that encompassed more than 100 games. He was one of five original programmers working on the Intellivision console at Mattel, and began developing early games in the 1970s.
His list of accolades includes being amongst the first developers to create a baseball game, the first to develop a non-classroom computer RPG, the first to develop a god game, and more.
For those who grew up on ‘edutainment’ titles of the 1980s and 1990s, Daglow also had a major impact on childhood play. As well as many other titles he developed, he also served as an executive producer on Carmen Sandiego.
Rebecca Ann Heineman, who sadly passed away in 2025, receives the Ambassador Award at this year’s GDC Awards. Heineman began her career as one of the first professional video game players, winning the US National Space Invaders Championship in 1980, before going on to become a professional game developer.
She contributed to around 250 games in her lifetime, including many award-winning titles, like Wolfenstein 3D, Baldur’s Gate 2, Icewind Dale, The Bard’s Tale 3, Dragon Wars, and Doom for 3DO.
Notably, Heineman also established an array of studios which have had a staggering impact on the modern games industry. She co-founded Interplay Productions, which is most known for creating the Fallout and Baldur’s Gate franchises. She also founded Contraband Entertainment and Logicware.
Later, Heineman contributed programming and development to a raft of major companies, including EA, Ubisoft, Microsoft, Sony, and others.
As a transgender woman working in the games industry, Heineman also served as an inspiration for others. She contributed her advice and expertise to LGBTQIA+ advocacy group GLAAD, and led Amazon’s ‘Glamazon’ group as its ‘Transgender Chair’ while working at the company.
GDC on honouring Heineman and Daglow
‘Honouring the creators who shaped this industry is one of the great privileges of hosting the Game Developers Choice Awards,’ Nina Brown, President of GDC said in a press release.
‘Don Daglow and Rebecca Heineman helped define what games could become, and their innovations continue to influence how developers create today. As GDC Festival of Gaming transforms alongside a rapidly changing industry, their legacy reminds us that creativity, conviction, and bold experimentation are what move this medium forward.’
This year’s GDC Awards will take place on 12 March, to round out the annual GDC conference.
Also on ScreenHub: World Video Game Hall of Fame: 2026 finalists announced
The Strong National Museum of Play, one of the largest institutions dedicated to preserving the history of play, has announced the 12 video games currently being considered as finalists for induction into the renowned World Video Game Hall of Fame.
Each year, The Strong selects an array of historically-significant video games for consideration, with each judged on its merit, cultural cache, and impact. While not every finalists makes it in, all nominations are recognition of a game’s standing, and their importance to the history of play.
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