U.S. — Bobby Prince, a video game music composer, died on June 16, 2026, at the age of 81. His family confirmed his death, but no cause of death was provided.

Prince composed music for several video games including Doom, Doom II, Wolfenstein 3D, Rise of the Triad, Duke Nukem 3D, Duke Nukem II, and the 2014 game Wrack. He received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Video Game Industry in 2005. His family stated, "While many throughout the world will remember Bobby for the music and soundscapes that helped define a generation of gaming, those who knew and loved him personally will remember something even greater: a man of talent, integrity, humility, faith, laughter, and love whose greatest joy was sharing his wit and wisdom with family and friends."

id Software posted a tribute to Prince on social media on June 19, 2026. The company wrote, "Rest in peace to the video game music pioneer Bobby Prince. Your music lives on forever."

The Library of Congress announced in May 2026 that the Doom soundtrack would be preserved in the National Recording Registry. The institution wrote, "The video game Doom brought a heavy metal energy to MS-DOS systems across the globe, while at the same time pioneering the ever-popular first-person shooter genre." It added, "Key to Doom's popularity was the adrenaline-fueled soundtrack created by freelance video game music composer Bobby Prince." The Library of Congress further noted, "Prince, a lifelong musician and practicing lawyer, was fascinated by the MIDI technology that rose in prominence in the mid-1980s as a means for instrument control and composition, an interest that led to his earliest work composing video games."

Regarding the Doom soundtrack, the Library of Congress stated, "For Doom, Prince took inspiration from a pile of CDs loaned by the game's chief designer, John Romero, including seminal works by Alice in Chains, Pantera and Metallica." It continued, "Despite the limitations of the 1993-era sound card drivers, Prince composed the perfect riff-shredding accompaniment for the game's demon-slaying journey to hell and back." The institution also wrote, "Taking advantage of his knowledge of MIDI, Prince even worked to ensure that the sound effects he created could cut through the music by assigning them to different MIDI frequencies." Finally, it stated, "The Doom soundtrack would go on to inspire countless remixes and lay the foundation for future generations of game composers."

Prince was a practicing lawyer who graduated from law school. His family wrote in an obituary, "Through his compositions and sound design for titles including Doom, Doom II, Wolfenstein 3D, Rise of the Triad, and Duke Nukem 3D, Bobby helped establish video game music as a respected art form." They added that his innovative work helped define an era of gaming and influenced generations of players around the world.