Dexerto would like to pay tribute to Patrick Dane, our former Games Editor, who has sadly died in a car accident. This devastating news has shocked and saddened everyone who worked with Patrick, and our thoughts and love go out to his family and friends.
Tom East – Editor in Chief
When I interviewed Patrick for the position of Games Editor, I was not only impressed by his extensive contacts in the industry, but also by the fact that he was actually friends with many game developers, and he actually played his beloved Overwatch and Destiny with them.
Having got to know him after he got the role, it made perfect sense. He was one of the nicest people I have met in more than 25 years working in the games industry. Friendly, loquacious, but also hugely loyal, you can imagine him getting on with anyone as he took out the Hive in Destiny.
Patrick loved to chat to people. When I needed him, I’d often see the little headphones icon next to his name on Slack – but it was all in the name of making the site and its writers better. He was collaborative, trusting the opinions of all his colleagues, no matter their job title. Everyone had a voice on the team. He would finish the day chatting to the US team about what to cover and even go above and beyond to speak to the Australian team late at night. A fast talker, I loved listening to his rambles in our weekly gaming meetings, sometimes his brain seemingly going too fast for everything he wanted to say!
When it came to his own writing, however, he gathered all his thoughts and produced incredible work. He was a brilliant writer, able to produce great news stories, interviews, and guides, but his passion came across best in his reviews. His Destiny: The Final Shape review was one of the best game reviews I have ever read. He took risks, too – expertly reviewing Final Fantasy 16 from the perspective of someone who had never played a Final Fantasy game before.
You’ll be able to read a lot of the work he produced on Dexerto as well as Tech Radar, Metro, Bleeding Cool, and, most recently, This Week in Videogames. However, his legacy will be felt for longer with the writers he developed, many of whom will call him a mentor and great friend.
Calum Patterson – Managing Editor
Before writing this, I looked back to find that the day we interviewed Patrick for Games Editor was almost exactly three years ago today, in January 2023. We were on the hunt for someone with bags of experience, industry connections, and above all, a real passion for gaming, particularly live-service games. Patrick ticked all those boxes and more.
He was so passionate about his work that I think he even reignited my love for gaming. He was such a joy to work with, he was great in meetings and had such a kind way of dealing with people, even when it was necessary to give critical feedback or when something had gone wrong. We all learned so much from Patrick, and his influence on the website and our games team is still present today. I will also really miss his musings on Twitter. Rest in peace, Pat.
Jessica Filby – Deputy Games Editor
I wasn’t long into my career in the Games Industry when Pat joined Dexerto and completely changed my perspective on the job. Pat had a passion for gaming, unlike anything I’d seen before. He lived and breathed Destiny, Overwatch, and really any live service games he could get his hands on, and that reflected wonderfully in his writing.
Shortly after Pat joined Dexerto, he began teaching me how to write long-form content (something he was fantastic at). Regularly, he’d take hours out of his day to strip apart my reviews or opinion pieces to teach me better ways of laying out paragraphs, keeping things flowing, and teaching me not to be afraid of getting a little silly occasionally. That’s something I will never forget and still carry with me in everything I write.
Outside of writing, we enjoyed a few chaotic games of Helldivers 2 together, regular chats about films or DnD, and some rather informal meetings where he’d try and make me review or cover games he knew I’d hate… I think it was because I slated Avatar once, something he adamantly adored. Pat was one of the biggest mentors in my professional life and a fantastic friend in my personal life, and I’ll miss him every day.
David Purcell – Head of Audience Growth
Patrick was a really unique person, and it was a pleasure to have met him. He joined Dexerto to do a job I had previously held, Games Editor, and he was far better at it than I ever was. His passion for video games was extraordinary. His introduction ultimately gave our team new energy at the time to go on and break records.
He would champion the positive impacts games can have on people every day, and also the communities that are involved with each one we would cover. That approach gave ordinary players a voice on our website, helping us grow in a unique way.
As a person, he was simply lovely. He always had time for people – and it’s heartbreaking to write that in the past tense. Pat took writers of all experience levels under his wing, developed them, and many of those people from that era are now leading the department. Many of them became his close friends. Rest in peace, Patrick. You will be missed forever.
James Busby – Associate Games Editor
Like many here at Dexerto, I first met Patrick in January 2023 when he joined us as our Gaming Editor. It’s always fun when you get to work and meet new people, and my excitement quickly rose when I found out that Patrick and I shared a similar sense of humour and positive outlook on life.
As his Deputy Editor, Patrick was my boss, but more importantly, he was a fantastic friend. It sounds cliché, but there are those people in our lives who just make you feel warm, and your life is brighter for them just being in it – Patrick was one of those people.
While things weren’t always easy, Patrick was always there for us all, ensuring that the gaming team was looked after. He never shied away from sharing his expertise, whether it was through his fantastic editorial skills or by sharing his extensive industry contacts.
I can safely say that Patrick has been one of the best mentors I have ever had, and without him, my writing wouldn’t be at the level it is today. I am also confident in saying that Dexerto wouldn’t be the place it is today without him.
It wasn’t all just work, though. When we weren’t busy joking around in meetings, sharing memes in chats, and dreaming up scenarios where we could review Avatar and Godzilla figures, we’d often play games together after work hours, laughing and talking away late into the night together – something we continued to do regularly after he left Dexerto.
I always looked forward to our gaming sessions, even if it meant we’d both be a little more tired the next day. Whether it was getting Victory Royales in Fortnite, scaring people in Dead by Daylight, blasting bugs in Helldivers 2, or just chatting about the latest things we’d been up to, he never failed to put a smile on my face. Patrick was always there for me, and I’ll always cherish the time we spent together.
Ava Thompson-Powell – Evergreen Manager
Patrick was a wonderful person to work with, and I’ll always be sad that I didn’t get as much time to get to know him as I’d have liked.
When he joined Dexerto in 2023, I was instantly impressed by his work ethic, how much he lived and breathed gaming, and was the resident Overwatch or Destiny expert I could always go to when I needed something done. We’d often speak about wanting to play a couple of games together outside of work — particularly Dead by Daylight.
We played a few sessions together here and there over the couple of years that I knew him, but our schedules often didn’t line up, and it breaks my heart that I wasn’t able to spend more time getting to know this incredibly talented writer and editor.
It’ll always make me chuckle when I think about how, in his initial days at Dexerto, he’d come to me asking how something worked, and after I returned to the company a year later, he joked about the role reversal of things being flipped around.
He was a joy to get to work with each day, was incredibly uplifting and complementary to the team, and I’ll always remember him fondly.
Brad Norton – Australia Managing Editor
Patrick was a beacon of light in our industry. He always looked for the positives in any situation, making the best of the cards dealt. There was seemingly nothing in this world that could hinder his spirit. No personal qualms, no industry-wide shockwaves, and no Overwatch updates that nerfed his mains. He was ever optimistic.
Being on the other side of the world was no barrier. Patrick went out of his way to accommodate the AU team in ways I’d never experienced before. He truly wanted us connected and our voices heard. As Games Editor, he somehow made time for us, often out of work hours.
For a while, we had regular planning calls, and they’d always be a highlight of my week. Yes, we got the work done, but these were also an opportunity to catch up, shoot the breeze about games we both obsessed over, and to get excited about what was to come. He made the job exciting and, in many ways, revitalized my passion for the industry. His loss is a deeply significant one, leaving behind a void that simply won’t be filled.
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