Rick and Morty and Squnch Games co-founder, Justin Roiland, is no longer the CEO of High life developer, the company announced Tuesday. The company tweeted from its official Twitter account that Roiland had resigned last week, on January 16th. News of Roiland’s resignation came hours after Adult Swim cut ties with Rick and Morty creator.
Roiland is facing felony domestic abuse charges stemming from an incident in 2020; His arrest and charges were not publicly reported until NBC News first reported on the incident in January.
“The passionate team at Squnch will continue to develop the games we know fans will love while continuing to support and improve High life,” Square Games tweeted. Squanch Games did not respond to Polygon’s request for additional comment.
The Rick and Morty The co-creator was arrested in August 2020 and released on a $50,000 fine for two felony counts: one count of domestic assault and another count of false imprisonment. He faces several years in prison if convicted. Roiland pleaded not guilty to both charges at the October 14, 2020 arraignment. His next hearing is in April. Roiland’s attorney has insisted he is innocent of the two felonies.
Squnch Games’ most recent game, High life, was released late last year to great success; It’s a Launch of the biggest Game Pass of year. Roiland founded the studio with former Epic Games executive producer Tanya Watson in 2016; She holds the position of CEO until leaving the studio in February 2021. Squnch Games has released four games: Accountant, Dr. Splorchy Gift: Space Hero, Trover save the universeand High life.
Squanch Games itself faced a sexual harassment, discrimination and wrongful termination lawsuit in 2018. Roiland was not named in the lawsuit, Kotaku reported; The lawsuit names former chief technology officer Jeff Dixon as the perpetrator of the harassment. The lawsuit was settled in 2019.
