Reflecting the culture wars being fought in virtually every medium available these days, Tripwire Interactive co-founder Jon Gibson has spoken out about being ousted as developer and publisher CEO in 2021. He condemned what he called “social terrorism.” Tucker Carlson Tonight said he was “destroyed” by being kicked out of the company he helped start in 2005.
“[Social terrorism] Gibson is an attempt to use fear and intimidation to change people,” says Gibson. ”
Gibson resigns as CEO (opens in new tab) Shortly after tweeting a tweet in support of the abortion ban in September 2021. According to Gibson, she chose not to speak in his defense because she was “outnumbered” and she did not want to be in his shoes.
“That’s how this social terrorism works,” Gibson said. “You scare people, make their jobs harder, make them worry that if you don’t get people off the boat who don’t agree with your political stance, they’re going to leave the company. And she really couldn’t.” I can’t overcome the waves of other people’s emotions.
“And others who have agreed are afraid to speak up. They don’t want the next. I had one of the other owners of the company. Politically We are very much in agreement. He thinks cancel culture. Bad, he thinks abortion is bad and said, ‘Yeah, I don’t want it canceled next time.'”
Tripwire Interactive’s most famous games are Killing Floor, Killing Floor 2, Rising Storm 2: Vietnam, and Maneater. In 2021, Torn Banner Studios released Chivalry 2, a multiplayer medieval action game. PC Gamer reached out to Tripwire for comment on these statements, but did not receive a response in time for publication.
For 2021, Gibson Tweeted Support Texas Heartbeat Act (opens in new tab)This is a law that prohibits abortion after fetal heart activity has been detected. Usually about 6 weeks after conception. The law also allows private citizens to sue anyone who “facilitates and facilitates” abortions beyond that point for a minimum of $10,000. Alexis McGill Johnson, President and CEO of Planned Parenthood, said: called a ban It said it was “evil” and that “those who already face the greatest barriers to access to healthcare will suffer the most from this law.”
Gibson tweeted last year that he “doesn’t do a lot of politics as an entertainer.” “But with so many vocal buddies on the other side of this issue, I felt it was important to go on record as a pro-life game developer.”
The 2021 statement sparked an immediate backlash from Twitter followers, including the original Gears of War designer. Cliff Brzezinski (opens in new tab) and directed by God of War Corey Barlog (opens in new tab)Other game studios also participated. Torn Banner Studios, developer of Chivalry 2, said Gibson’s statement “contradicts what we believe about women’s rights,” while Tripwire and co-developers such as Chivalry 2 and Maneater. Shipwright Studios, who worked with us on the game, has completely severed ties with the company. (opens in new tab)A few days later, Tripwire apologized for the comments, saying they “did not reflect Tripwire Interactive’s comments as a company” and announced that Gibson was replaced by co-founder and vice president Alan Wilson.
In a statement sent to PC Gamer, Gibson said he was stepping down as CEO days after the tweet due to internal pressure from some employees and negative press coverage on social media and in the press. said he had volunteered for
“This created an unacceptable situation of the ‘worst’ solution of selling the company and me leaving Tripwire altogether,” Gibson said. “During this time, I remained a member of the Board of Directors, but functionally stepped down as CEO and remained with the company in an unspecified role and largest single shareholder until Tripwire was sold to Embracer. Gibson declined to disclose what role he held at the studio after stepping down as CEO.
Gibson also revealed that Tripwire’s situation had worsened after “people on the far right called for hundreds of death threats” in opposition to his removal as CEO. Intimidation made an already very difficult situation between me and the company nearly impossible,” Gibson said.
In his resignation, Gibson said in a statement that Tripwire’s owners and executives “acted with integrity and professionalism” and treated him “with the utmost care and dignity” in the days leading up to his resignation. said to have dealt with He”never started (opens in new tab)Employed at the studio for over a year, he helped broker the sale of the company to Embracer Group earlier this year. But he painted a very different picture in an interview on Fox, saying his experience was “destroyed” and led him to commit suicide for a while.
“Words cannot express how devastated I am,” Gibson said. “Everyone who works is doing a little bit or a lot of something. Absolutely love it.It’s been 20 years of my life, 25 years of my life building my skill set, being at the top of my game, loving my job every day and making people happy at work. I love it. The fans were happy, but the company took 10% of our profits and distributed it to their employees.
“People were going out to buy cars and houses. I could see people smiling and happy going to work. I shared something with my wife I will tell you what I said to her I said I just want to die I got depressed and of course angry and suicidal I didn’t want to leave the house.It destroyed me and I lived through 13 months of hell.”
Gibson told PC Gamer that the purpose of his remarks was to “put a human face” on his experience, encouraging an end to political extremism and vandalism.
“I’m raising my voice not to push back on my previous company, but because it could ruin someone’s life, so that in the future people will stop and consider before following people on social media.” It’s to raise awareness in the hope that it will come out,” Gibson said. “I want people to consider whether they want something like this to happen to their fathers, sisters, children, or themselves. A topic without anger or malice. Another way is that we continue to become more and more polarized, making things worse for all of us.
“Most conservatives now work with liberals, but they are not the same in other directions. We should have the right to work without taking away our rights.”
The conservative talk show Tucker Carlson Tonight airs nightly on Fox, highest rated show (opens in new tab) on TV. The host says “great exchange (opens in new tab)“The theory and that the United States is being ‘invaded’ by immigrants and refugees is from, most recently, the wars it started. Afghanistan (opens in new tab)New York Times Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter Nicholas Confessor recently NPR (opens in new tab) Tucker Carlson Tonight “might be the most racist show in cable news history” interview.
