High on Life director and Rick and Morty co-creator Justin Roiland has resigned from his position at Squanch Games. His resignation from the studio behind High on Life follows Roiland receiving charges of domestic battery and false imprisonment.

In January 2023, it was reported that Roiland had been charged with domestic battery and false imprisonment in Orange County, California, in connection with an alleged incident in January 2020. A hearing is currently scheduled for April 27, 2023. Squanch Games was founded by Roiland in 2016, and has gone on to release games such as Trover Saves the Universe, and most recently High on Life.

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Squanch Games has now confirmed via Twitter that Roiland has resigned his post at the studio, but the team will continue work on improving High on Life and making games for their fanbase. As a co-founder, and the creative vision for the studio, it’s hard to say what the future of Squanch Games is without Roiland. Some replies to the tweet ask if Roiland’s in-game character, Kenny, will be recast. This would follow in suit with Adult Swim announcing that the titular Rick and Morty will be recast for the future of the series. Other comments focus on sharing positive words towards High on Life.

The comedy shooter High on Life received a high user rating on Metacritic despite a low critic rating, showing that there is a strong audience for games with the studio’s specific brand of comedy and style. While Roiland’s comic style isn’t necessarily appealing for everyone, the success of Rick and Morty also shows that the mixture of adult humor and more nonsensical jokes does indeed have a wide audience.

Even with such a wide audience, Roiland’s charges are very serious, and it’s hard to say if Squanch Games will be able to recover from the events. With Justin Roiland leaving the studio, Tanya Watson, a former Epic Games executive and Squanch Games co-founder, is presumably left as the head of the studio for now. It is currently unclear if a new creative director will be sought out, or if Watson will fill that role.

While Roiland had been a driving force, putting time and effort in to direct the studios games in a way that balanced gameplay with humor, and including plenty of easter eggs in Trover Saves the Universe and High on Life for fans, it is also worth noting that Roiland did not make these games alone. Squanch Games is still made up of a team that have worked hard to create these titles, and the studio’s promise to keep working on High on Life is reassuring. The pressure is on the studio now, but hopefully in time the studio will be able to overcome this setback and continue making games that its fans love.

High on Life is available on PC, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.

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