Tripwire Interactive CEO Steps Down Amid Controversy

President and former CEO of Tripwire Interactive, John Gibson, certainly had an interesting labor-day weekend crossed over with PAX West, ending with him stepping down from his positions. It goes without saying, America is a place of extremes. If you have an opinion on Guns, sports, religion, reality TV, military power, or any form of political opinion, you are assumed to be diametrically opposed to whatever the other person in the conversation believes. Following the latest and strongest anti-abortion law put into effect last week in Texas, a few people had rather adamant convictions online despite their lack of clerical credentials on the matter. Which is to say, Twitter is not the place to declare your baseless conclusions; Well, it is the place you do it, but it shouldn’t be.

On Sunday, Gibson took to Twitter to falsely claim that the US Supreme Court affirmed the Texas bill, dubbed “the ‘heartbeat’ act,” and he was proud of that. He then went on to state, “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 record as a pro-life game developer.” This “pro-life” stance comes from a developer with credits for designing first-person shooters The Killing Floor and its sequels, multiplayer World War II first-person shooter Red Orchestra 2, alongside being credited as CEO on Tripwire’s latest game, Maneater. It may just be subtle, but all of those games are about killing and they are from the “pro-life” developer. That is an odd choice of words John.

Proud of #USSupremeCourt affirming the Texas law banning abortion for babies with a heartbeat. 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.

— John Gibson (@RammJaeger) September 4, 2021

Gibson’s comments did not go unnoticed, as many took to Twitter to deride his statement for lacking knowledge of what he’s speaking of and lacking empathy or understanding for his peers who are affected. Many made it clear how misplaced his comments were, and once again some women of the games industry were forced into bringing up traumatic events in the wake of horrible incidents. Though individuals made clear their opinions on Gibson’s comments, Chivalry 2 developer Torn Banner and Maneater co-developer Shipwright Studios went swimming with the sharks to get away from Tripwire Interactive and John Gibson’s comments. The latter publically stated they were canceling contracts with the publisher/developer.

“Effective immediately, John Gibson has stepped down as CEO of Tripwire Interactive,” the publisher and developer stated late on Monday. They went on to say, “Co-founding member and current Vice President, Alan Wilson, will take over as interim CEO. Alan has been with the company since its formation in 2005 and is an active lead in both the studio’s business and developmental affairs.” The statement also goes on to say the company will hold a town hall meeting between leadership and employees, and that it is “unified in our commitment to take swift action.”

A statement regarding recent events.

Tripwire Official Site: https://t.co/Vgyx0jMLBb pic.twitter.com/rmKp105EIg

— Tripwire Interactive (@TripwireInt) September 7, 2021