Co-designer of Night In The Woods was Laid off on Charges of Violence
Alec Holowka, co-designer of Night In The Woods, was laid off. This is Infinite Fall's reaction to Zoë Quinn's tweets in which the woman claims that the developer used psychological and physical violence against her. The studio has also cancelled one of its unannounced projects.
Scott Benson and Bethany Hockenberry, until recently, Alec Holowka's fellow designers at Infinite Fall working on Night In The Woods, announced on Twitter that they had ended their cooperation with him. As a reason they gave accusations, which were published the day before by developer Zoë Quinn, known for her original project Depression Quest - in the notes attached to two tweets, she describes what her relationship with Holowka. During their short relationship, he allegedly used psychological and physical violence against her. She cites examples of humiliation, limiting contacts with the outside world, brutal behavior, and accuses him of effectively blocking her career development.
Last night Infinite Falls referred to the case by publishing a series of tweets. In one of them we read:
This week, allegations of past abuse have come to light regarding Alec Holowka, who was coder, composer, and co-designer on Night In The Woods. We take such allegations seriously as a team. As a result and after some agonizing consideration, we are cutting ties with Alec.
Infinite Falls has also informed about the future of its current projects. One of them, which has not yet been officially announced, will be completely cancelled and the release date of the limited version of Night In The Woods will be postponed. The mobile version of the game is still being developed and will be developed - a third-party company (Finji) is working on the project. The team will continue to operate.
Alec Holowka is yet to make a statement on this matter.
