Outpouring of tributes to ‘icon’ Steve Jobs

Messages of respect and condolence for Steve Jobs and his family are today sweeping across social networks, as the technology world tries to come to terms with the Apple icon’s passing.

The business magnate passed away yesterday in his California home, following a private battle with pancreatic cancer. His family says he died peacefully and was surrounded by loved ones.

Develop is collecting a list of tributes to Steve Jobs from across the games sector – the industry that he and Apple reinvented with smartphones.

If you would like to be added to the tribute page, tweet us @developonline or send an email here.

Steve Jobs (1955 – 2011)

"RIP Steve Jobs. The world is richer for his contributions." – John Carmack, id Software co-founder

"For those of us lucky enough to get to work with Steve, it’s been an insanely great honor. I will miss Steve immensely." – Bill Gates, Microsoft co-founder

"There are very few people who directly and concretely change the world and the way we live in it. Steve Jobs was one of them." – Ben Kuchera, games journalist

"I’m very sad to hear you left us, Steve. You were the only ones keeping things interesting." – Markus Persson, Minecraft creator

"Very sorry to hear about Steve Jobs. RIP." – David Braben, Elite co-creator

"RIP." – Shuhei Yoshida, Sony games development boss

"A moment of silence for Steve Jobs – an American icon." – Sony’s official twitter page

"The world has come down with a massive crash with the news that a man I’ve never met, yet was still a mentor, has died. RIP Steve Jobs." – Miles Jacobson, Sports Interactive chief

"There may be no greater tribute to Steve’s success than the fact much of the world learned of his passing on a device he invented." – Barack Obama, US president

"The man changed the world." – George Broussard, veteran games developer

"Steve Jobs wrote a key thread in the narrative of my life, from Apple II to iPAd. Can’t imagine what it would have been like without him." – Casey Hudson, executive producer of the Mass Effect series

"Very sad news to wake up to. I wouldn’t be where I am, do what I do, without what he has done. Steve Jobs will remain an inspiration to me." – Will Luton, creative director at Mobile Pie

"God bless. Siochan leat Steve Jobs. Everything I am professionally is a result of your vision." – Brenda Brathwaite, games designer

"His impact on the computer and entertainment industries are nearly unparalleled." – Brian Robbins, International Game Developers Association

"Steve Jobs. A great, great man. There’s a hole in every geek’s heart tonight. I haven’t been heartbroken by the death of a celebrity since John Lennon." – Ken Levine, creative director, Irrational

"Steve Jobs death at such a young age is a great loss. His vision and ideas shaped the very evolution of games and, through the iPhone and iPad in particular, will continue to do so for some time yet." – Tristan Donovan, author, Replay: The History of Video Games

"Steve pushed the world forward by not accepting anything short of perfection. He proved that our reach doesn’t have to exceed our grasp.: – Andy Cahalan, managing director at NPS Digital

"Steve Jobs single handily proved that great design make great products and was without doubt the most revered and quoted creative genius. We in the games industry will feel the benefits of his brilliance for many decades to come." – Peter Molyneux, Lionhead founder

“When I was at Art college in 1984 my first project was ‘design an icon around the letter A’. My design was ‘A is for Apple’. When my tutor asked me what it meant I showed him the Apple Macintosh ad in a magazine & said ‘this is the future for design’. Steve Jobs & Steve Wozniak were my heroes. My love for Apple started, when they sacked Jobs, I hated them. Goodbye Mr Jobs.” Andy Payne, UKIE Chairman

“Awful & sad news about Steve Jobs, an icon of our times! So shocked, an amazing legacy he leaves behind, so much he changed.” – Dave Allanson, director of Albino Pixel

“Steve’s best advice: Make It Great.” – Steve Gaffney, studio director, Splash Damage

“Using a Mac is what first made me think about the intersection between technology and design. In 2003 I pushed trolleys in a car park for 4 months to save up £1400 to buy my first one. That’s what it meant to me. RIP” – Martin Darby, founder of Remode Studios

Thank you for everything you achieved in your short life time. May others follow your inspirational and visionary leadership. RIP – Philip Oliver, co-founder, Blitz Games Studios

“Little over 10 years ago, in a country with very limited access to internet and computer magazines (ex-communist Romania), I have read a few things about Steve Jobs and Apple. I always deeply admired people like Steve. He was one of the icons I looked at when I started the first Romanian (independent) game development studio and released the first PC game authored in my country, later to become the largest domestically owned game development studio. People like Steve Jobs inspire many of us and help us build great things out of simple ideas.” – Robert Muresan, Exosyphen Studios

"I miss you, Steve." – Trip Hawkins, EA founder(full tribute through the link)

"The world has lost a genius who has forever changed the way we live, work and play. R.I.P. Steve," Nolan Bushnell, Atari founder

More tributes to come in throughout the day

If you would like to be added to the tribute page, tweet us @developonline or send an email here.