Summary
Midnight Society, the game studio co-founded byYouTubestreamer Dr Disrespect, has experienced significant layoffs in the wake of the streamer’s controversy. Midnight Society was established as an AAA studio in 2021, and it announced the development of its first game,Deadrop, in early 2022.Deadropis a vertical first-person extraction shooter that was planned to launch in 2024, but the studio appears to have been affected by Disrespect’s recent drama.
In June 2024, Dr Disrespect was accused of having sent inappropriate messages to a minor via Twitch Whispers, which led to him being permanently banned from the platform in 2020. The streamer admitted to having exchanged texts with a minor in 2017 and the situation led to him losing multiple partnerships. Amid the scandal,Midnight Society cut ties with Dr Disrespectbut the studio reaffirmed its commitment to developingDeadrop. One of the company’s co-founders, Robert Bowling, stated that Disrespect’s main role in Midnight Society was to draw in a larger audience, but that his controversy would not affect the launch ofDeadropin late 2024. This plan seems to have changed, as the studio is dealing with an important cut in its developer team.
Midnight Society has faced several layoffs and has revealed thatDeadrop’s release has been pushed to 2025. As shared byDeadropnews account Variant Intel in aTwitter post, on September 6, Robert Bowling declared that Midnight Society had laid off several of its developers. “There is no denying that today is an extremely difficult day for everyone. My focus remains the same as it has always been, to support the developers of this game in their efforts to shipDeadrop,” reads Bowling’s statement. “However today, we are going to lose a number of those team members. Despite those affected no longer holding the Midnight Society role here, they remain a cherished and valued member of the community and legacy of this game, and my entire being is dedicated to seeing them join us again in the future.” The decision comes amidDr Disrespect’s return to streamingand many of his followers praising the content creator’s comeback.
Midnight Society Faces Significant Cuts in Development Team
Despite its distancing from Dr Disrespect,Midnight Society was confident in launchingDeadropthis year. However, on September 9, Bowling shared another statement with theDeadropcommunity revealing that the game was now planned for a 2025 release window. “We’ll be sharing our revised plans and milestones in the near future, and we thank you for your continued faith in our vision,” he wrote. According toDeadropcontent creator JOK5RR, around 50% of Midnight Society’s development team was dismissed, though the studio has not confirmed this number.
During his recent return stream, Dr Disrespect did not directly comment onDeadrop, but he made several remarks about his Twitch ban scandal. The streamer claimed that the minor he texted was “over the legal age of consent” at the time of the messages.Dr Disrespect also implied his intentions of suing Cody Conners, the former Twitch employee who first accused him of inappropriately messaging a minor. Disrespect has continued to stream on YouTube despite having been removed from the platform’s Partner Program, but he declared that he will reapply for monetization on September 25.
