Former Microsoft Director of Policy Stephen Toulouse has passed away news comes by word of a relative on twitter and has since been further confirmed by fellow co-workers.

A sad day, he will be sorely missed.

man, that's a shock. condolences to his family- i always thought he was a compelling and intelligent speaker on giant bomb content.

He seemed like a nice guy from what I remember of him during the E3 After-Hours streams. Condolences to his loved ones.

This is shocking and sad; he was tweeting just days ago. When the Halo series was really big news, around Halo 3, you'd hear plenty about Toulouse, and following that series closely, he was a person who existed as adjacent to it. He always seemed like someone who really cared about his job and it was admirable that he was trying to take one of the most toxic gaming spaces out there and make something better out of it. Condolences to everyone who remembers him.

:( Aww man

I would love to see an in depth look at StepTo's influence, maybe by Waypoint or No Clip. I honestly think that his hard-nosed and tireless work at making the original Xbox Live a better place was instrumental in the success of Internet gaming. I don't think that online gaming would have become nearly as popular as quickly as it has without his (and his team's) work keeping Live from becoming a total cesspool. A lot of people's first exposure to internet gaming was through the early Live service. They say the first guy through the wall always gets bloodied - I think all of us owe StepTo a debt.

I really liked that guy on Major Nelson Radio back in the day. He was a funny, genuine guy, from what I knew of him.

Well.. damn.. Will the bad news ever end.

RIP. I wasnt in the Xbox community so i only saw him during the E3-casts and he was pretty cool there.

Heartbreaking. He was one of the good ones. Always knew how to make everyone around him feel welcomed.

Prayers for his friends and family. RIP.

Praying for his friends and family.

Stepto's appearance on the E3 Giant Bombcast with e, Gary Whitta, and Jon Blow was what made me fall in love with the site. Following his work at Microsoft and beyond and his public appearances and speaking stuff painted a picture of a genuinely kind, funny, caring man. I got the pleasure of running into him a few times at events and he did nothing to change that in our limited interactions. I feel terrible for his family and friends.

As in, the news of individuals dying and groups attacking one another?

I'm sorry but no, the bad news will not end. I'm watching my favorite artists become memories year after year, it's quite strange.

Man, a bolt of lightning from clear skies.

I was impressed by Stephen's candor and social maneuvering during the E3 podcast with Jonathan Blow, especially since him and E were constantly being challenged on various Microsoft policies and issues with the Xbox 360.

He seemed like a really cool dude whenever I saw him on something. And the outpouring of love around the internet makes it sound like he was a good guy behind the scenes, too. Sad news.

We also lost the man that did Eli Vance's voice in Half-Life 2 recently as well, Robert Guillaume. RIP to both.

Only just caught up with this news. Holy cow. Many a Major Nelson podcast was enjoyed with this fine gent. Genuinely shocked this has happened. RIP, big fella.

This is sad news. It seemed very sudden also.

I listened to the Major Nelson Podcast for years and remember him. RIP