Some devastating news has occurred today, not only in the traditional sports scene, but in esports as well. NBA star Kobe Bryant, known as one of the best players in the modern NBA league, has died in a helicopter crash. The crash occurred outside Calabasas, California, and Kobe Bryant was among nine who died in the crash, alongside his daughter Gianna Maria. Kobe was 41.

Kobe Bryant was undoubtedly a huge fixture in basketball. However, his contribution to esports is not as well known. Kobe was a noteworthy investor in Epic Games. Alongside his investment partner Jeff Stibel, he invested not only in the Fortnite esports scene but in Epic Games’ development of the Unreal Engine. Epic Games’ Unreal Engine powers hundreds of games from AAA titles to indie games, and even has a few applications outside of the game industry.

Many esports players have invoked his name when throwing grenades or other throwable objects in their game of choice. Kobe Bryant will most certainly be missed by many fans of both traditional sports and esports.