The American developer Shipwright Studios has begun canceling all contracts with the creator of Maneater, Tripwire Interactive, after the president of the latter aroused controversy over his views on abortion.
John Gibson, President of Georgia-based Tripwire Interactive, posted a tweet on Saturday, applauding the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision not to intervene in passing a Texas law banning abortion after six weeks, with no room for emergency requests.
The head of Tripwire posted that he was “proud” of the court, adding, “As an animator, I don’t get into politics often. important to continue the record as a game developer in life “.
The tweet has drawn a lot of criticism, including several game developers and other industry professionals.
The day after Gibson tweeted, Shipwright Studios announced that it would sever ties with Tripwire, after working with the developer for more than three years on projects such as Maneater and Chivalry 2.
“While your policy is yours, the moment you make it a matter of public discourse, entangle all those who work for and with you,” the company wrote in a statement, shared via Twitter.
“We know it’s hard for employees to speak or act in these scenarios, and they may not feel comfortable in their opinion. It’s unfortunate, but we think we would be doing it ourselves, your employees, your partners and the industry. as a whole, a bad service to allow this pattern to continue without comment.
“We started Shipwright with the idea that it was finally time to put our money where we are. We can’t, with good conscience, continue to work with Tripwire under the current leadership structure.”
At the time of writing, neither John Gibson nor Tripwire Interactive have made any further statements. GamesIndustry.biz has contacted Tripwire for feedback.
Update: Torn Banner Studios, the team behind Chivalry 2, has also distanced itself from Tripwire by one statement via Twitter.
“We don’t share the opinion expressed in a recent tweet by the president of Tripwire, publisher of Chivalry 2,” the company wrote.
“This perspective is not shared by our team, nor is it reflected in the games we create. The statement goes against what we believe about women’s rights.”