Street Fighter 2 and Streets of Rage 2 Cover Artist and Painter Mike McGinty Has Passed Away

Mike McGinty

The video game world lost a true legend and talent this past weekend, as Street Fighter 2 and Streets of Rage 2 cover artist and painter Mike McGinty has passed away — leaving many gamers who have grown up seeing his work mourning and remembering the contributions he made to the industry.

Breaking the news in a post at Caring Bridge, Mike’s son Jobey wrote a lengthy and heartfelt tribute to his dad — expressing how much of a dedicated artist he was in both finishing his work and setting an example to his son and to other aspiring talents as well.

My Dad was an incredible artist, as everyone knows.  And in true artist fashion, he was also never satisfied with his final work.  Just a couple weeks ago, he said he needed “just one more hour on a few pieces” in order to “really finish them.”  We all knew that just wasn’t true, though.  Dad would always come visit our house, see some of the paintings he did for us over the years, and would put his nose about an inch from it and say, “y’know, Jobe, I wish I would have made those blues a little deeper,” or “you know I’d love to just splash a little more shadows on that tree,” or “that really needs a fresh coat of varnish on it.”

While he was an accomplished artist in many fields especially in making beautiful paintings, video game fans who grew up in the early 90’s will no doubt recognize his works. From posters and artwork for Street Fighter 2 to cover art for games like Streets of Rage 2 and Leisure Suit Larry — he contributed a lot of great art and it has become visual highlights of video game history. Here’s some of his works below.

It’s unquestionable how much contributions Mike’s artwork has had in games such as Street Fighter 2, and the Capcom fighting game franchise is still going strong to this day with Street Fighter 5.

Rest in Peace, Mike, and thank you for these beautiful works of art.

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