Rick And Morty Creator Leaves Studio Behind 2022's Biggest Game Pass Launch After Allegations - Kotaku

Justin Roiland is leaving Squanch Games conscionable a period aft comedic shooter High connected Life became 2022’s astir fashionable Xbox Game Pass launch. The workplace co-founder who voices galore of High connected Life’s characters is presently facing 2 felony home maltreatment charges from 2020.

Squanch Games announced the quality precocious connected Tuesday, soon aft Adult Swim revealed that it was dropping Roiland from Rick and Morty arsenic well. But the CEO’s resignation seemingly really occurred implicit a week agone connected January 16, 4 days aft quality of the home maltreatment charges archetypal surfaced (which Roiland pled not blameworthy to), and 3 days aft Kotaku archetypal reported connected a 2018 lawsuit accusing the workplace of workplace harassment and favoritism (and which it settled successful 2019).

“The passionate squad astatine Squanch volition support processing games we cognize our fans volition emotion portion continuing to enactment and amended High On Life,” the workplace tweeted yesterday. Squanch Games did not instantly respond to a petition for remark astir wherefore Roiland resigned, whether it was alert of immoderate different allegations related to him oregon the studio, and whether helium inactive holds immoderate equity successful Squanch.

Co-founded by Roiland and erstwhile Epic Games enforcement shaper Tanya Watson backmost successful 2016, Squanch Games’ aboriginal projects included virtual world games Accounting and Dr. Splorchy Presents: Space Heroes. Those were followed successful 2019 by enactment platformer Trover Saves the Universe. Each of them leaned heavy connected dependable performances by Roiland that were heavy reminiscent of his enactment connected Rick and Morty.

Last year’s High connected Life, which began arsenic a Google Stadia exclusive, was the studio’s biggest crippled by far, however. In Kotaku’s ain review, writer Alyssa Mercante recovered the wit grating and felt that the moving gags overstayed their welcome, but she was pleasantly amazed by the ocular benignant and gunplay. The crippled likewise divided different critics, but audiences flocked to it connected Xbox and PC wherever it was disposable day-one connected Game Pass.

Whether due to the fact that of the game’s ain merits oregon the information that it showed up astatine the process extremity of an different anemic twelvemonth for Xbox exclusives and blockbusters, it instantly changeable up to the apical of the charts connected Game Pass. Shortly aft release, Microsoft crowned it “Xbox Game Pass’ biggest motorboat of 2022, the biggest 3rd enactment Game Pass motorboat of each time, and the biggest merchandise of a azygous player-only crippled successful the service’s history.”

That accolade came aft a large promotional run for the crippled connected the platform, including a podcast interview betwixt quality Xbox mascot Larry “Major Nelson” Hryb and Roiland, wherever the second discussed the crippled and its influences. That’s gone quiescent now, with the Xbox Game Pass Twitter relationship not tweeting astir High connected Life since quality of the home maltreatment charges archetypal broke.