Rick May, a voice actor best known to PC gamers for his role as the gruff-tongued Soldier in Team Fortress 2, has died after contracting COVID-19. His death was reported by the Rekindle School, an independent art, acting, and film school in Seattle, Washington, where May was an instructor.

May's video game credits include Team Fortress 2 as well as Star Fox 64, Freddi Fish 5, Sly 3: Honor Among Thieves, and Age of Empires 2: Definitive Edition. He has also served as artistic director of Renton Civic Theatre and Civic Light Opera, where he has directed and performed in over 300 productions, including Fiddler on the Roof, Death of a Salesman, A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, The Funny Couple, and The Cotton Patch Gospel. He has directed and performed in more than 300 productions.

"I met him over 30 years ago, and although we were not the social type of fellows, I always enjoyed running into him at gigs and auditions. Recording sessions with him were always full of laughter. But when the lights went down or the engineer said 'rolling,' he was the consummate professional. John Patrick Lowry, who voiced the sniper on Team Fortress 2, wrote a eulogy on Facebook

. [Along with Frank Buxton and David Selvig, I know the man who stood up and applauded my daughter Andie in her first appearance as a professional actor when she introduced her to the Kirkland Performance Center audience. He was the one who always encouraged me when I was diagnosed with cancer. His death left a huge hole in my heart and I know it has had a huge impact on many others."

Like all typical playable classes in Team Fortress 2, the Soldier became a well-rounded character through hundreds of updates and a surprisingly extensive lore; by 2011, one of TF2's digital comics had been published with the Soldier and the season event The fourth "Scream Fortress" depicted a roommate relationship with the magician and boss character Melasmus, whom players fought in the 2009 "WAR!" update, which pitted the Soldier against the Demoman in a week-long contest." Fan art was solicited as part of a "propaganda contest" that resulted in the following striking illustrations.

According to her Rekindle School obituary, May had suffered a stroke in February and was in a nursing home for rehabilitation when she contracted COVID-19. She was transferred to Swedish Hospital in Seattle for treatment, but died from the disease. He was 79 years old.

Fans of May's work shared tributes on Twitter: