Mike ‘IdolNinja’ Watson was a prolific Saints Row modder who caught the attention of the game’s developer Volition, and ended up serving a successful tenure as the game’s community manager. Tragically, Watson passed away on August 21, 2021, the very same day the first trailer for the Saints Row reboot dropped. He had been suffering from stage 4 cancer and, while his illness forced him to step down from his community manager role in May 2021, he continued working on the Saints Row 2 patch project.
At the time, Watson wrote that “It is 100% my choice to spend my last days contributing to it. Both Volition and Deep Silver have been incredibly supportive and have always given me the opportunity to leave the project with a solemn vow to make sure it gets finished without me.”
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This guy truly was loyal to the Saints to the very end. And Volition has reciprocated this loyalty by naming an entire in-game skyscraper after Watson, complete with a fountain monument bearing his image and a plaque bearing a written tribute. It’s a fitting tribute, no doubt.
Where is the Watson Tower in Saints Row?
The Watson Tower is in Lakeshore South between the Kiss Me clothing store and the Impressions clothing store. There’s a small triangular block there, which is dominated by the tower. The fountain monument is in front of the building on the northeast side. The plaque under the image of Watson reads,
MIKE WATSON
COMMUNITY LEADER
GENTLEMAN OF THE ROW
Gentleman of the Row was the name of the mod that really cemented Watson’s reputation as Saints Row’s top modder. It was a mod for the port of the original game that fixed so many of its issues that most players considered it absolutely essential. Watson also developed various mods for subsequent titles in the series, and became a well-known and popular figure among the fan community. He is, and always will be, missed.
