Techland, Paradox Interactive and more drop writer Chris Avellone

Developers Techland, Paradox Interactive and Gato Studio have ended their ties with writer Chris Avellone due to sexual assault allegations.

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Techland announced the end of their working relationship with Avellone on Twitter. “We treat matters of sexual harassment and disrespect with utmost care, and have no tolerance for such behaviours,” it wrote. “This is why, together with Chris Avellone, we’ve decided to end our cooperation.”

However, Techland also reiterated that production on Dying Light 2 will not be affected by its decision. “The whole development team of Dying Light 2 continue progressing efficiently, according to the plan revised at the beginning of the year.”

Read their statement here.

Here's the statement regarding our cooperation with Chris Avellone: pic.twitter.com/ozLXZdVPZw

— Techland (@TechlandGames) June 22, 2020

Paradox Interactive has also reportedly stated that work Avellone did will not appear in its upcoming game, Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines 2. According to a statement supplied to Gamasutra, the writer was only “briefly” involved in the project, and that “none of his contributions remain in the game”.

In addition, developer Gato Studio, which is working on The Waylanders, has also stated the writer is “no longer associated” with the studio nor the upcoming game. “Chris was brought on as a design contractor on The Waylanders. As of last week, Chris’ contact is complete and the content provided will be assessed as development progresses.”

“Gato Studio and The Waylanders team take matters of abusive and predatory behaviour very seriously, and we stand against the kind of behaviour that was alleged to have happened in the stories shared over the weekend,” it added.

Read the statement below.

The team here at Gato Salvaje spent the past few days reading the stories shared online and reflecting. We have prepared the following statement with regards to the allegations made against Chris Avellone. pic.twitter.com/GTPjJcXfOs

— Gato Studio (@GatoStudioGames) June 22, 2020

Avellone has been accused of sexual assault and abuse by several women, a number of whom have recounted their experiences to Gamasutra.

Over the weekend, Jacqui Collins, Riot Games’ PR lead on Valorant, also shared an uncomfortable 2013 exchange with Avellone which features an unprompted sexually explicit proposition.

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