Justin Roiland has resigned from High on Life developer Squanch Games.High on Life's official Twitter account announced the news of Roiland's departure from Squanch Games after co-founding the video game company in 2016. "On January 16, 2023, Squanch Games received Justin Roiland's resignation," the statement, posted on Jan. 24, reads. "The passionate team at Squanch Games will keep developing games we know our fans will love while continuing to support and improve High On Life." Roiland's sudden exit follows his recent felony domestic violence charges regarding a criminal complaint filed against him in May 2020.
On Jan. 12, Roiland appeared in court for a pre-trial hearing. The document charges Roiland with one felony count of domestic battery with corporal injury and one felony count of false imprisonment by menace, violence, fraud and/or deceit. In 2020, the Rick and Morty co-creator pleaded not guilty to an incident that allegedly occurred between himself and an anonymous woman who was dating Roiland at the time.
According to public documents, Orange County police arrested Roiland in August 2020 before he was released on a $50,000 bond. Authorities later issued a protective order that prohibited Roiland from going within 100 feet of the woman and ordered him to turn over any owned or possessed firearms. Due to the active protective order, police body camera footage, police reports, abuse investigation reports, medical reports and recordings of interviews are not available to the public. Roiland will attend another court hearing on April 27. If convicted, Roiland could face prison time.
Roiland's attorney, T. Edward Welbourn, released the following statement: "It is hard to overstate how inaccurate the recent media coverage of this situation has been. To be clear, not only is Justin innocent but we also have every expectation that this matter is on course to be dismissed once the District Attorney's office has completed its methodical review of the evidence. We look forward to clearing Justin's name and helping him move forward as swiftly as possible."
In addition to Roiland's resignation from Squanch Games, Adult Swim announced it would end all association with the Ricky and Morty co-creator. The television network revealed that the production team is "hard at work" on the series' seventh season. Following Roiland's departure, co-creator Dan Harmon will act as Rick and Morty's sole showrunner. As of writing, it remains unclear who will replace Roiland as the voices of the lead characters Rick Sanchez and Morty Smith.
Beyond Rick and Morty, Roiland co-created the Hulu series Solar Opposites with Mike McMahan, which was renewed for a fifth season in October 2022. Like Ricky and Morty, Roiland also voices the show's main character, Kovo. As of writing, it's undetermined if Hulu and 20th Television Animation will similarly cut ties with Roiland following his domestic violence charges.
If you or someone you know is experiencing domestic abuse, the free 24-hour National Domestic Abuse Helpline is available at 1.800.799.SAFE (7233). For a list of crisis hotlines, click here.
Source: Twitter