Midnight Society Hit With Significant Layoffs in Wake of Dr Disrespect Drama

Midnight Society Hit With Significant Layoffs in Wake of Dr Disrespect Drama

From Game Rant (Written by Diana Velásquez Vargas) on | OpenCritic

Midnight Society, the game studio co-founded by YouTube streamer Dr Disrespect, has experienced significant layoffs in the wake of the streamer's controversy. Midnight Society was established as an AAA studio in 2021, and it announced the development of its first game, Deadrop, in early 2022. Deadrop is a vertical first-person extraction shooter that was planned to launch in 2024, but the studio appears to have been affected by Disrespect's recent drama.

In June 2024, Dr Disrespect was accused of having sent inappropriate messages to a minor via Twitch Whispers, which led to him being permanently banned from the platform in 2020. The streamer admitted to having exchanged texts with a minor in 2017 and the situation led to him losing multiple partnerships. Amid the scandal, Midnight Society cut ties with Dr Disrespect but the studio reaffirmed its commitment to developing Deadrop. One of the company's co-founders, Robert Bowling, stated that Disrespect's main role in Midnight Society was to draw in a larger audience, but that his controversy would not affect the launch of Deadrop in late 2024. This plan seems to have changed, as the studio is dealing with an important cut in its developer team.