Game developers Shipwright Studios and Torn Banner Studios recently came out in favor of killing unborn babies.
Both studios made statements in response to former Tripwire Interactive CEO John Gibson publicly supporting Texas’ new Heartbeat Act that declares “a physician may not knowingly perform or induce an abortion on a pregnant woman if the physician detected a fetal heartbeat on a pregnant woman if the physician detected a fetal heartbeat for the unborn child as required by Section 171.203 or failed to perform a test to detect a fetal heartbeat.”
The bill also allows individuals to “bring a civil action against any person who performs or induces an abortion in violation of this subchapter; knowingly engages in conduct that aids or abets the performance or inducement of an abortion, including paying for or reimbursing the costs of an abortion through insurance or otherwise, if the abortion is performed or induced in violation of this subchapter, regardless of whether the person knew or should have known that the abortion would be performed or induced in violation of this subchapter.”
Gibson supported the bill on Twitter writing, “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.”
In reaction to this public statement, Shipwright Studios, who claims to have worked with Tripwire over the last 3+ years announced they would be severing their contracts with the company.
The posted a letter to Twitter in response to Gibson’s public support of the bill. The letter begins, “While your politics are your own, the moment you make them a matter of public discourse you entangle all of those working for and with you. We have worked closely alongside the talented and passionate developers at Tripwire and your partners for the last 3+ years.”
It continued, “We know it is difficult for employees to speak up or act out in these scenarios, and they may not feel comfortable to speak their minds. It is regrettable, but we feel it would be doing ourselves, your employees, your partners, and the industry as a whole a disservice to allow this pattern to continue without comment.”
“We started Shipwright with the idea that it was finally time to put our money where our mouth is. We cannot in good conscience continue to work with Tripwire under the current leadership structure. We will begin the cancellation of our existing contracts effective immediately,” it concluded.
Torn Banner Studios, the developers of Chivalry 2, would also respond to Gibson’s tweet with their own.
They tweeted, “We do not share the opinion expressed in a recent tweet by the president of Tripwire, publisher of Chivalry 2. This perspective is not shared by our team, nor is it reflective in the games we create. The statement stands in opposition to what we believe about women’s rights.”
Tripwire Interactive would eventually announce that Gibson had stepped down as CEO of the company, stating that his statement does “not reflect those of Tripwire Interactive as a company.”
It also noted that “his comments disregarded the values of our whole team, our partners and much of our broader community.”
According to the Catechism of the Catholic Church, abortion is a “moral evil.” It states, “Since the first century the Church as affirmed the moral evil of every procured abortion. This teaching has not changed and remains unchangeable. Direct abortion, that is to say, abortion willed either as an end or a means, is gravely contrary to the moral law.”
The magisterial document Donum Vitae (The Gift of Life) the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith affirmed that, “The human being is to be respected and treated as a person from the moment of conception; and therefore from that same moment his rights as a person must be recognized, among which in the first place is the inviolable right of every innocent human being to life.”
The American College of Pediatricians also declares that “the predominance of human biological research confirms that human life begins at conception—fertilization.
They add, “At fertilization, the human being emerges as a whole, genetically distinct, individuated zygotic living human organism, a member of the species Homo sapiens, needing only the proper environment in order to grow and develop. The difference between the individual in its adult stage and in its zygotic stage is one of form, not nature.”
Gibson did recently release a statement to Twitter addressing the fallout from tweeting his support for the Heartbeat Act.
It reads, “By now you have heard of my exit as CEO of Tripwire Interactive. To the many fans, friends and peers across the belief spectrum that have reached out to offer care and support, thank you. It means more than you can imagine. For those upset about my exit, I encourage you to continue your support of Tripwire and their many amazing partners. Please know that the owners and executive team of Tripwire have acted with class, professionalism, and have treated me well with great care and dignity, and I will be forever grateful for this.”
He continued, “It has been one of my greatest pleasures in life to serve and lead the excellent team at Tripwire. Yet a team is more than just a leader – its heart and soul are the many great people that execute the vision and turn it into reality. I am confident that the many incredibly talented and passionate individuals at Tripwire will continue on to achieve even greater things. I know what is coming next from this team, and the world will be blown away when it arrives.”
“To the many great partners we’ve collaborated with over the years I would like to say thank you for bringing your best to the table and working through many challenges to succeed together. From those that gave us our start via the MSU mod competition, to great digital distribution platforms providing us a platform to bring our games to the players – we would not have been able to get off the ground without you,” he added.
Gibson concluded, “More recently it was inspiring to see an amazing team’s craftsmanship and drive to create the best medieval slasher possible. Behind the scenes excellent contractors enabled Tripwire to go further faster than we would have been able to alone. I wish all of these partners the best success now and in the future.”
What do you make of Shipwright Studios and Torn Banner Studios supporting the killing of unborn babies?