Photo: Rebecca Heineman / CC BY 3.0 (source: Wikimedia Commons)
My Take
Heineman is a genuine pioneer who deserves far more recognition than she gets. She won the first national video game tournament, then helped shape the industry from the inside, building The Bard's Tale and Dragon Wars and co-founding companies like Interplay. That is a rare double life: champion player and foundational developer. She was also openly transgender, living publicly with a courage I admire as much as her technical legacy. She kept working at the frontier of games until her death in 2025. I think of her as one of the quiet architects the medium was lucky to have.
1. Profile
- Name (English)
- Rebecca Heineman
- Name (Japanese)
- レベッカ・ハインマン
- Reading
- れべっか・はいんまん
- Born
- October 30, 1963 (age 62)
- Zodiac / Chinese zodiac
- Scorpio / Rabbit
- Origin
- Whittier, California, United States
- Blood type
- Private
- Height
- Private
- Agency
- Private
- Occupation
- programmer / professional gamer / video game developer
2. Background
- Elementary school
- Private
- Junior high
- Private
- High school
- Private
- University
- Private
3. Relationships
- Spouse
- Private
- Children
- Private
- Parents
- Private
- Siblings
- Private
4. Personality
Motto
Private
5. Works & records
| Category | Title | Role | Year |
|---|---|---|---|
| Notable work | Tass Times in Tonetown | — | |
| Notable work | The Bard's Tale | — | |
| Notable work | The Bard's Tale III: Thief of Fate | — | |
| Notable work | Dragon Wars | — |
6. Links
- Official sitehttp://burgerbecky.com/
- Xhttps://x.com/burgerbecky
- Wikipedia (Japanese)https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rebecca%20Heineman
Frequently asked questions
When was Rebecca Heineman born?
Born October 30, 1963 (age 62).
Where is Rebecca Heineman from?
Rebecca Heineman is from Whittier, California, United States.
What does Rebecca Heineman do?
Rebecca Heineman works as programmer, professional gamer, video game developer.
What is Rebecca Heineman known for?
Notable works include Tass Times in Tonetown, The Bard's Tale, The Bard's Tale III: Thief of Fate.
Programmer — see all → · More people from United States →
7. About this entry
Tags
- Last updated
- 2026-06-17
Facts are limited to publicly available information up to 2024; non-public items are marked "Private / Unknown". English text is machine-assisted (facts translated by Sonnet, "My Take" written by Opus 4.8). The Japanese page is the source of record.