Over the weekend, many brave individuals shared their stories of sexual abuse and workplace harassment within the games industry. One of the men accused is Dying Light 2‘s Chris Avellone, who previously worked on titles such as Fallout: New Vegas and Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic II. In a recent Twitter thread, @SJBsMama describes Avellone as a “conniving sexual predator”. Dying Light 2 developer Techland has since cut ties with Avellone, announcing on Twitter that their partnership has ended. Be aware that the replies aren’t civil and could be upsetting for some.
Here's the statement regarding our cooperation with Chris Avellone: pic.twitter.com/ozLXZdVPZw
— Techland (@TechlandGames) June 22, 2020
Distancing themselves from Avellone is probably the best thing Techland could do in this situation. The writer has been heavily involved with the game, so much so he presented its initial reveal back in 2018. As Techland has already stated, Avellone’s departure probably won’t affect the development of the title too much.
Since its reveal was over two years ago, we can likely assume that most of the narrative work is in its final stages, if not completed. His removal is a smart decision from Techland to distance him from their product. Hopefully, more developers will take appropriate action over other sexual harassment allegations that have come out over the weekend.
