The sexual assault lawsuit against Chris Avellone, a writer and developer behind role-playing games like Fallout New Vegas and Star Wars Jedi Fallen Order, as well as published by Bethesda Prey and upcoming shooter System Shock, has been accused of sexual assault with the hand. of two women. . Avellone’s accusers have issued a joint statement publicly retracting the allegations originally made against the game’s developer.
In 2020, two women claimed to have been sexually assaulted by Chris Avellone, who also worked as a designer on the role-playing games Fallout 2 and Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic 2. The following year, Avellone filed a defamation lawsuit against his accusers. Now Avellone shares a joint statement between him and his accusers.
“Mr. Avellone never sexually abused us,” the accusers write. “We have no record of him sexually abusing women.
“Everything we have previously said or written about Mr. Avellone was not our intention. We wanted to support women in the industry. In doing so, our words have been misinterpreted to suggest specific allegations of misconduct that were unspoken and unintended.
“We are passionate about the safety and agency of women, minorities, LGBTQIA+, and any other community that has witnessed harassment in the gaming industry. We believe Mr. Avellone shares a desire to protect and improve these communities. We believe he deserves a full return to the industry and we support him in this endeavor.”
The filing explains that the claims against Avellone were “dismissed with prejudice pursuant to a confidential settlement providing for the payment of a seven-figure sum, including reimbursement of Mr. Avellone’s California attorney’s fees.”
Although the statement was posted on Avellone’s own blog, Avellone’s lawyers sent a copy directly to Forbes; Forbes reporter Eric Kane shared a signed copy of the statement on Twitter.
“I appreciate the availability [the accusers] working with us to address issues in the gaming community, and his defense deserves our thumbs up and support,” Avellone wrote. “There are still many very real challenges we face, but I am confident that we can overcome them together.”
Avellone also calls on “everyone to respect the privacy” of the accusers and “take advantage of this opportunity as a way to hear all voices to improve our culture and our communities.”
The most recent game Avellone has been working on, a remake of the FPS System Shock, is scheduled for release in May.
Source : PC Gamesn
