Doom Composer Bobby Prince Has Died

Video game composer and sound designer Bobby Prince has died. An obituary states that Prince died on June 16 at the age of 81 following an illness. Developer id software shared the news of Prince’s passing.

Rest in peace to the video game music pioneer Bobby Prince.
Your music lives on forever. pic.twitter.com/8LAT6CGZ5Y

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— id Software (@idSoftware) June 19, 2026

Prince was perhaps best known for his pioneering work on the Doom series. The Library of Congress inducted his soundtrack for the original game into the National Recording Registry just last month.

“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 Library of Congress stated. “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.”

Prince also worked on games such as Wolfenstein 3D, Rise of the Triad and Duke Nukem 3D. In 2006, the Game Audio Network Guild honored Prince with a lifetime achievement award.

“Everyone at Romero Games is deeply saddened to learn of the passing of Bobby Prince,” Doom co-designer and id Software co-founder John Romero wrote on X. “He left an incredible mark on games and on my life.”