Chris Avellone, a game designer who came to prominence in the '90s following his work on Fallout 2, has been accused of sexual assault and harassment by multiple women, according to Gamasutra. Avellone has worked as a freelance writer after leaving developer Obsidian Entertainment in 2015, 12 years after he co-founded the studio with fellow ex-Black Isle Studio employees. Multiple studios he has recently worked with have now spoken out about his involvement with their projects.
Among the studios now addressing his work status is Paradox Interactive, which stated that none of Avellone's contributions to Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines 2 will be included in the game, although it appears this does not stem from the allegations. According to a Paradox representative, Avellone's role in Vampire Bloodlines 2 was "brief" and whatever content he made for the game would not be used in any capacity. "Chris Avellone briefly worked with the Bloodlines 2 writing team early in the development of the game," Paradox said. "Through an iterative creative process, however, none of his contributions remain in the game that Hardsuit Labs is continuing to develop." Paradox didn't specifically comment on the allegations made against Avellone.
Dying Light 2 developer Techland, in a statement on Twitter, said it has stopped working with Avellone amid the allegations. "We treat matters of sexual harassment and disrespect with [the] utmost care, and have no tolerance for such behaviors--it applies to both our employees as well as external consultants, Chris among them," Techland said. "This is why, together with Chris Avellone, we've decided to end our cooperation." Avellone had served as a writer on Techland's upcoming zombie-parkour survival game.
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