The development team of the MMORPG Pantheon: Rise of the Fallen commemorates its late CEO. Along with touching messages, there is a tribute in the game.
Who was the CEO? Brad McQuaid was considered a veteran in the MMORPG genre. He became known for his work on Everquest and Vanguard: Saga of Heroes. In 2014, he announced that he had begun development on a new MMORPG called Pantheon.
However, he did not live to see the release of the game. In November 2019, the developer passed away in his own apartment. The cause of death has not been publicly disclosed to this day. The MMORPG launched at the end of 2024 on Steam.
McQuaid’s grand vision was for Pantheon to be the spiritual successor to Everquest. After McQuaid’s death, the development studio struggled with financial issues and changed the biggest criticism of the MMORPG: the graphics.
Even after the release of the game, the thoughts of the developers are with their former CEO. The new patch now brings an innovation to the game dedicated to McQuaid.
McQuaid has been immortalized in Pantheon
How is the developer honored? On the official page, several members of the development team have shared numerous kind messages about McQuaid. They write about fond memories with McQuaid or explain what a gap the former CEO has left behind.
Additionally, the team announced on X that there will be a new NPC in the game. With patch 0.16.353 on April 25, 2025, Aradune Mithara was introduced to the game.
He can be found at the campfire outside the city of Availia, near the lift in Wild’s End. You can now start your search if you want to see the tribute with your own eyes.
In the comments, there are some voices that fondly remember McQuaid. Some users write about what a legend and visionary the developer was. He was far ahead of his time and shaped the youth of some users with his games.
How is Pantheon doing? The MMORPG is now able to stand on its own feet. With 4,093 ratings, the title currently has 77% positive ratings on Steam. However, recently many negative voices have been added due to the developers not communicating clearly.
Since the peak player count on January 20 with 6,569 players, the number has been continuously declining (via SteamDB). Currently, there are only 1,962 players within a day (as of April 27, 2025, at 11:30 AM).
It remains to be seen how the ratings and player numbers will change with the current patch. Due to the new negative ratings, Pantheon has dropped out of the top 10 best-rated MMORPGs on Steam. You can find out which games are in the spots here: The 10 MMORPGs on Steam with the best ratings in April 2025
