Popular video game streamer Dr. Disrespect (aka Guy Beahm) was dropped by Midnight Society—the studio building the first-person shooter Deadrop—this week after Beahm was alleged to have inappropriately chatted with a minor.
As the streamer’s position as a co-founder and a prominent personality played a key role in bringing eyes to the game studio and its debut title—which was funded in part by a sale of NFT access passes—what happens to Midnight Society and its game now that he’s gone?
On Monday, Midnight Society issued its official statement on Twitter stating that it was “terminating” its relationship with Beahm. Then on Tuesday, studio head and former Call of Duty developer Robert Bowling posted his personal thoughts on the matter.
“If you inappropriately message a minor. I cannot work with you. Period,” Bowling said on Twitter. “I promised to only act on facts, and I did.”
This is a statement from me personally. It does not reflect any of my companies and has not gone through any legal or PR approvals.
If you inappropriately message a minor. I can not work with you.
Period.
I promised to only act on facts, and I did.
— Robert Bowling (@fourzerotwo) June 25, 2024
On Tuesday, Dr. Disrespect admitted to having conversations with a minor that “leaned too much in the direction of being inappropriate,” although he claimed that “nothing illegal happened.” Besides Midnight Society, brand partners have dropped the streamer this week amid the allegations and his response.
Since Bowling’s comment, little more has come out of the Midnight Society crew. This has led Deadrop players and industry onlookers to speculate about the future of the project.
“Your game is now dead in the water,” Game Fund Partners co-founder Jonah Blake tweeted in response to Midnight Society’s statement. “Shame there were some good devs on that team.”
Other replies to Midnight Society’s post echo this sentiment, with some slamming the game studio for not providing evidence to back up their decision ahead of Beahm’s own tweet.
In follow-up tweets, Blake clarified that he was talking about the primary role of Dr. Disrespect in the marketing and branding of the game, not in regard to the specific allegations and the studio’s response to those. (Decrypt’s GG reached out to Blake for further comment but did not receive an immediate response.)
In Discord, the message announcing Beahm’s removal attracted an array of poop, clown, and middle-finger emojis from fans.
Can we see actual some proof? Not asking for much here
— DDayCobra (@DDayCobra) June 24, 2024
All the while, some supporters who purchased NFTs for the project via Ethereum scaling network Polygon started asking for refunds. “We better get our refunds,” Discord user Toni wrote, before raising a ticket with the server moderators. “Let’s be real, the game is ass,” they added.”
Midnight Society’s refund policy notes that NFTs are non-refundable due to the irreversible process of on-chain minting. The studio sold its Founders Access Pass NFTs for $50 each back in November 2022, and then later sold non-NFT “tower key” game passes for $25 starting in March 2023.
The secondary market starting price for the NFTs plunged this week, from about $400 worth of Ethereum early Monday to about $150 as of this writing. They had started at more than $1,500 apiece back in March 2023.
Following Dr. Disrespect’s admission tweet, however, the tides have changed on perceptions of Midnight Society’s move.
Now, the concept of the game being dead feels insignificant given the seriousness of the claims, with some Twitter users—like Illuvium co-founder Keiran Warwick—slamming those who were speculating on the game’s future. Still, this hasn’t stopped the studio’s Discord from being filled with debate after moderators lifted any chat restrictions on sensitive matters.
I feel for Midnight Society. All the people who replied saying, “Your game is now DOA” should be ashamed and utterly embarrassed right now.
The “where’s the proof” crowd also needs a lesson on logical thinking. A studio relies almost solely on an individual and their reach to…
— Kieran.eth ♊️ (@KieranWarwick) June 26, 2024
“Before his admission of what he did and the ‘inappropriateness’ of it, my first thought was that the studio had shot itself,” a regular Deadrop player and tower key holder who calls themself Vox told Decrypt’s GG. “That perspective has changed now, and I think there’s a chance depending on how their early access plays that Deadrop could rally back. After all, a good game is a good game.”
While the community is in disarray, there is a subset of players that just want the game to continue to improve. Mayor Reynolds, a Deadrop content creator and streamer, said that he’s still dedicated to covering the game despite Dr. Disrespect being outed.
“I believe in the vision for the game and the studio,” Reynolds told Decrypt’s GG. “It was always Deadrop itself as a game and its universe that was going to carry us forward. It was never about a single person.”
“The team behind the game is working toward an early access-style release for Deadrop on PC and console later this year,” he continued, “and I’m extremely excited for it.”
Decrypt reached out to representatives for both Midnight Society and Dr. Disrespect for comment on his dismissal but did not receive a response from either side.
Edited by Andrew Hayward
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Source: https://decrypt.co/237152/what-happens-deadrop-midnight-society-dr-disrespect-booted
