RIP, Prince of Darkness: Ozzy Osbourne has died at age 76
Founding Black Sabbath frontman Ozzy Osbourne has died, his household experiences.
The extraordinarily influential steel singer and actuality TV star was 76, and had lately carried out at a profit live performance with Black Sabbath’s unique members. He was identified with Parkinson’s illness in 2019.
Osbourne’s most direct connection to gaming is his look in Double Wonderful’s 2009 journey sport Brütal Legend, during which he performs a model of himself named The Guardian of Metallic.
“:( RIP OZZY,” stated Double Wonderful founder Tim Schafer in a social media submit at this time. (See a clip of Osbourne’s look in Brütal Legend beneath.)
Though he wasn’t as immediately concerned in videogames as some celebrities (although he did additionally seem in a WoW advert), Osbourne’s affect on standard tradition cannot be overstated.
The Rock and Roll Corridor of Famer is taken into account a founding father of heavy steel music, and his affect might be seen within the occult themes present in a lot fantasy artwork from the ’70s to at this time.
“A lot of Doom’s soul is all the way down to heavy steel, and with out Ozzy and Sabbath, I’m not certain it could have been the identical,” stated id Software program co-founder John Romero at this time.
Like D&D and quite a few videogames, Osbourne (often known as the “Prince of Darkness”) was accused of glorifying Satanism. By the early 2000s, nonetheless, he had a special, funnier type of censorship to cope with: his near-constant profanity on hit actuality present The Osbournes being bleeped for TV.
“It’s with extra disappointment than mere phrases can convey that we now have to report that our beloved Ozzy Osbourne has handed away this morning,” reads a press release from Osbourne’s household. “He was together with his household and surrounded by love. We ask everybody to respect our household privateness right now.”
Because the information broke, video games business figures have been posting their condolences and describing the influence of Osbourne’s music on their very own work.
A lot of DOOM’s soul is all the way down to heavy steel, and with out Ozzy and Sabbath, I’m not certain it could have been the identical. Definitely, I might not have been the identical. Metallic gave a voice to an entire technology of children that didn’t slot in for one purpose or one other. It nonetheless does. RIP… pic.twitter.com/vjCXWJoVibJuly 22, 2025
Unhappy to lose Ozzy Osbourne, who was an essential outlet for me in my teenage years, and a decade later, paradoxically saved me calm throughout my prolonged morning commute.
— @thatdave.bsky.social (@thatdave.bsky.social.bsky.social) 2025-07-22T20:30:09.095Z
Rattling… RIP Prince of Darkness, Cryptid seeker, Father, style defining vocalist… Star of Recreation Boy’s Little Nicky sport. 🙁
— @mikejmika.bsky.social (@mikejmika.bsky.social.bsky.social) 2025-07-22T20:30:09.113Z