# Ari Gibson
**Ari Gibson** is the name of two public figures in software and media. The better known is **Ari Nicholas Gibson** (born 1983), an Australian artist, animator, and video game designer who co-founded the independent studio Team Cherry and co-directed *Hollow Knight* (2017) and its sequel *Hollow Knight: Silksong* (2025)[1](https://www.videogameschronicle.com/people/ari-gibson/). A second Ari Gibson, based in [Boulder, Colorado](https://www.edgepedia.org/boulder-colorado), is a software developer known for the open-source browser extension Deadname Remover and for engineering work at the startups Valley and Fieldguide[2](https://github.com/arimgibson) • [3](https://www.joinvalley.co/about). Other people sharing the name appear in unrelated fields, including an Australian surfer featured in a Screen Australia children's production[4](https://www.screenaustralia.gov.au/getmedia/65c5874d-300b-421b-aafb-e78ed2f6f551/MR-210820-Screen-Australia-announces-over-%243m-for-children-s-content.pdf).
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Studio | Co-founder and co-director of Team Cherry, Adelaide[1](https://www.videogameschronicle.com/people/ari-gibson/) • [5](https://notablepeopleproject.org/ari_gibson) |
| Games | *Hollow Knight* (2017); *Hollow Knight: Silksong* (2025)[1](https://www.videogameschronicle.com/people/ari-gibson/) |
| Earlier work | Director of the animated short *The Cat Piano*; co-director with Jason Pamment of The Audreys' "Sometimes the Stars" music video[6](https://catpianofilm.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/02/presskit20101.pdf) • [7](https://motionographer.com/2011/03/10/sometimes-the-stars-ari-gibson-jason-pamment/) |
| Team Cherry core team | Gibson and William Pellen as co-creators and co-directors, Jack Vine as programmer, with early developer David Kazi and composer Christopher Larkin[8](https://periodicos.utfpr.edu.br/de/article/download/19732/10574) |
| Developer (Boulder) | GitHub user arimgibson; maintainer of Deadname Remover; engineer at Fieldguide, previously Head of Frontend at Valley[2](https://github.com/arimgibson) • [3](https://www.joinvalley.co/about) |
| Deadname Remover | Firefox and Chrome extension replacing deadnames with chosen names; MIT-licensed; about 20,000 Chrome users with a 4.55 rating from 387 reviews as of October 2026[9](https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/deadname-remover/) • [10](https://chrome-stats.com/d/cceilgmnkeijahkehfcgfalepihfbcag) |
## Ari Gibson, game designer and animator
Gibson was born and raised in Adelaide, South Australia, and studied at the University of South Australia, where he earned a Bachelor of Visual Arts with a major in New Media Art[5](https://notablepeopleproject.org/ari_gibson). His animation career began in 2005 at The People's Republic of Animation, an Adelaide studio, where he worked with animator and director Eddie White[5](https://notablepeopleproject.org/ari_gibson). He is credited as director of the short film *The Cat Piano*, an award-winning animated work[6](https://catpianofilm.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/02/presskit20101.pdf) • [5](https://notablepeopleproject.org/ari_gibson).
**Music videos and short films.** Gibson and Jason Pamment, who had worked together on *The Cat Piano* as director and art director, made the music video for the title track of The Audreys' album *Sometimes the Stars*. The piece was produced almost entirely by the two of them, with Gibson producing line animation that was then colored while Pamment painted the layered backgrounds; they worked in Photoshop for 2D animation and backgrounds and composited in After Effects, using monochrome values and stage-lighting-inspired compositions[7](https://motionographer.com/2011/03/10/sometimes-the-stars-ari-gibson-jason-pamment/). The studio also produced short independent pieces such as *Winter Fox* and *Motorbike*, characterized by subdued palettes and minimal dialogue[5](https://notablepeopleproject.org/ari_gibson).
**Team Cherry and Hollow Knight.** Gibson moved into game development through game jams, where a prototype called *Hungry Knight*, featuring a small nameless knight in a cavernous space, preceded *Hollow Knight*[5](https://notablepeopleproject.org/ari_gibson). In 2014 he co-founded Team Cherry with programmer [William Pellen](https://www.edgepedia.org/william-pellen), and the studio crowdfunded *Hollow Knight*, which was released in 2017 to wide acclaim[5](https://notablepeopleproject.org/ari_gibson) • [1](https://www.videogameschronicle.com/people/ari-gibson/). The core team consisted of Gibson and Pellen as co-creators and co-directors and Jack Vine as programmer, with early involvement from developer David Kazi and a score by composer Christopher Larkin[8](https://periodicos.utfpr.edu.br/de/article/download/19732/10574). Gibson led the art and co-directed the sequel, *Hollow Knight: Silksong*, released in 2025[5](https://notablepeopleproject.org/ari_gibson) • [1](https://www.videogameschronicle.com/people/ari-gibson/).
## Ari Gibson, software developer
A second Ari Gibson is a software developer based in Boulder, Colorado, active on GitHub under the handle arimgibson, where his profile lists employment at Fieldguide and notes open-source work alongside it[2](https://github.com/arimgibson). He studied at Metropolitan State University of Denver from 2019 to 2022, participating in the Puksta Scholars Program, and lists Ari Gibson Consulting LLC among his experience[11](https://www.linkedin.com/in/arimgibson).
**Deadname Remover.** His most visible project is Deadname Remover, a browser extension that replaces deadnames, the former names of transgender and non-binary people, with chosen names on web pages. The extension is co-credited to WillHayCode and Ari Gibson on Firefox, is MIT-licensed, and processes all data locally on the device with no data collection[9](https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/deadname-remover/). A version 2.0.0 released in February 2025 rewrote the codebase on the WXT extension framework, added shadow DOM support, pride-themed highlighting, and accessibility improvements[12](https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/deadname-remover/versions/). On the Chrome Web Store the extension counted about 20,000 users with a 4.55 rating from 387 reviews as of October 2026[10](https://chrome-stats.com/d/cceilgmnkeijahkehfcgfalepihfbcag).
**Startup engineering.** Gibson was Head of Frontend at Valley, an AI outbound-sales company founded in 2023 by Zayd Ali, and is listed on the company's team page[3](https://www.joinvalley.co/about). In a 2024 post announcing Valley V3, he described work on the platform's scheduling and connectivity systems[13](https://www.linkedin.com/posts/arimgibson_we-just-killed-the-spray-and-pray-approach-activity-7259599598220902400-Aum9). He has also written technical tutorials, including a May 2020 Medium guide to building a portable [Visual Studio Code](https://www.edgepedia.org/visual-studio-code) setup with Git and Node.js on a flash drive[14](https://medium.com/@arimgibson/supercharged-portable-vscode-with-git-and-node-js-34afad8f661b), and participated in the T9Hacks 2022 hackathon in Boulder[15](https://devpost.com/arimgibson/challenges).
## Distinguishing the namesakes
The two principal Ari Gibsons are easy to separate by field and location: the game designer is Australian and associated with Team Cherry and the *Hollow Knight* series[1](https://www.videogameschronicle.com/people/ari-gibson/), while the developer is American, based in Colorado, and associated with web tooling and open source[2](https://github.com/arimgibson). Search results for the name also surface unrelated individuals, such as Arian Gibson, a former vice president of product at Netsertive with a background at Microsoft and Mixpo[16](https://people.equilar.com/bio/person/arian-gibson-netsertive-inc/30423473), and an Ari Gibson who works at Makena Capital Management in California[17](https://www.linkedin.com/pub/dir/Ari/Gibson).
## References
1. [Ari Gibson, Video Games Chronicle](https://www.videogameschronicle.com/people/ari-gibson/)
2. [arimgibson (Ari Gibson), GitHub](https://github.com/arimgibson)
3. [About Valley AI, joinvalley.co](https://www.joinvalley.co/about)
4. [Screen Australia: $3.2 million of production funding for 4 children's projects](https://www.screenaustralia.gov.au/getmedia/65c5874d-300b-421b-aafb-e78ed2f6f551/MR-210820-Screen-Australia-announces-over-%243m-for-children-s-content.pdf)
5. [Ari Gibson, Notable People Project](https://notablepeopleproject.org/ari_gibson)
6. [The Cat Piano presskit](https://catpianofilm.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/02/presskit20101.pdf)
7. [Sometimes The Stars: Ari Gibson & Jason Pamment, Motionographer](https://motionographer.com/2011/03/10/sometimes-the-stars-ari-gibson-jason-pamment/)
8. [Team Cherry and Hollow Knight, Revista Gestão & Tecnologia de Projetos (UTFPR)](https://periodicos.utfpr.edu.br/de/article/download/19732/10574)
9. [Deadname Remover, Firefox Add-ons](https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/deadname-remover/)
10. [Deadname Remover, chrome-stats](https://chrome-stats.com/d/cceilgmnkeijahkehfcgfalepihfbcag)
11. [Ari Gibson, LinkedIn](https://www.linkedin.com/in/arimgibson)
12. [Deadname Remover version history, Firefox Add-ons](https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/deadname-remover/versions/)
13. [Ari Gibson's post on Valley V3, LinkedIn](https://www.linkedin.com/posts/arimgibson_we-just-killed-the-spray-and-pray-approach-activity-7259599598220902400-Aum9)
14. [Supercharged Portable VSCode (with Git and Node.js), Medium](https://medium.com/@arimgibson/supercharged-portable-vscode-with-git-and-node-js-34afad8f661b)
15. [Ari Gibson (arimgibson), Devpost](https://devpost.com/arimgibson/challenges)
16. [Arian Gibson, Equilar ExecAtlas](https://people.equilar.com/bio/person/arian-gibson-netsertive-inc/30423473)
17. ["Ari Gibson" profiles, LinkedIn](https://www.linkedin.com/pub/dir/Ari/Gibson)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Technology and the built world › Computing and digital systems › Software and programming › Software people › Programmers and software engineers*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 15, 2026 · Edited: Oct 12, 2026; Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 15, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license