Over the weekend, John Gibson (now former CEO of Tripwire Interactive) made a statement on Twitter in support of controversial anti-abortion legislation recently enacted in Texas.
In making the statement public, Gibson inadvertendly put Tripwire in a difficult position as people began to tie Gibson’s support of Texas’s anti-abortion legislation to Tripwire Interactive as a whole.
After backlash against Gibson and Tripwire reached a fever pitch, Tripwire came back with a response in the form of Gibson’s departure from Tripwire. In the interim following Gibson’s leave, Tripwire VP and co-founder Alan Wilson will serve as CEO.
CEO of Tripwire Interactive Steps Down Following Controversial Tweet
A statement regarding recent events.
Tripwire Official Site: https://t.co/Vgyx0jMLBb pic.twitter.com/rmKp105EIg
— Tripwire Interactive (@TripwireInt) September 7, 2021
A statement made by former Tripwire Interactive CEO, John Gibson, made its way across Twitter this past weekend, with people lambasting Gibson for his support of the new anti-abortion legislation in Texas.
As previously mentioned, Gibson’s statement put Tripwire Interactive in an incredibly difficult position – one that risked potential damage to their business with games like Maneater and Chivalry 2 both getting dragged under in the discourse surrounding Gibson’s tweet, in addition to Tripwire as a company.
Additionally, developers like Shipwright Studios said they’d be cancelling all contracts with Tripwire, and Chivalry 2 developer Torn Banner also released a statement distancing themselves from the game’s publisher, Tripwire.
To avoid any further damage as a result of his statement on Twitter, Tripwire made the decision to have John Gibson step down as CEO of Tripwire. The decision came with the following announcement from Tripwire:
“The comments given by John Gibson are of his own opinion, and do not reflect those of Tripwire Interactive as a company. His comments disregarded the values of our whole team, our partners and much of our broader community.
Our leadership team at Tripwire are deeply sorry and are unified in our commitment to take swift action and to foster a more positive environment. Effective immediately, John Gibson has stepped down as CEO of Tripwire Interactive.
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.
Alan will work with the rest of the Tripwire leadership team to take steps with employees and partners to address their concerns including executing a company-wide town hall meeting and promoting open dialogue with Tripwire leadership and all employees.
His understanding of both the company’s culture and the creative vision of our games will carry the team through this transition, with full support from the other Tripwire leaders.”
After hearing the news, we’re curious how you feel about Tripwire parting ways with former CEO, John Gibson? Let us know on our social media channels including Facebook and Twitter.
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