Maneater co-developer cuts ties with Tripwire following anti-abortion statements by the latter’s president

Developer Shipwright Studios has cancelled contracts with main Maneater developer and publisher Tripwire Interactive over comments the latter’s president has made in support of a controversial Texas law on abortion.

President of Tripwire Interactive John Gibson posted the tweet on Saturday evening, praising the US Supreme Court’s decision not to block a six-week abortion ban law recently passed in Texas. Gibson said he was proud of the decision, saying “As an entertainer I don’t get political often. Yet with so many vocal peers on the other side of this issue, I felt it was important to go on the record as a pro-life game developer.”

As spotted by PC Gamer, Shipwright Studios responded to the tweet with a statement of their own. “While your politics are your own, the moment you make them a matter of public discourse you entangle all of those working for and with you. We have worked closely alongside the talented and passionate developers at Tripwire and your partners for the last 3+ years.”

“We started Shipwright with the idea that it was finally time to put our money where our mouth is,” they continued. “We cannot in good conscience continue to work with Tripwire under the current leadership structure. We will begin the cancellation of our existing contracts effective immediately.”

Shipwright had worked on several Tripwire titles as a co-developer, including Maneater and Chivalry II. In fact, Chivalry II‘s other developer—Torn Banner Studios—also added a response of their own. “We do not share the opinion expressed in a recent tweet by the president of Tripwire, publisher of Chivalry 2,” they said. “This perspective is not shared by our team, nor is it reflected in the games we create. The statement stands in opposition to what we believe about women’s rights.”

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— Shipwright Studios (@shipwrightstdio) September 5, 2021