Rick & Morty fans are still trying to figure out what their favorite Adult Swim cartoon will look like now that the show has parted ways with co-creator Justin Roiland following accusations of domestic abuse. But Cartoon Network isn’t the only company to break its ties to the controversial animator. Squanch Games, the video game studio founded by Roiland in 2016 has also cut ties with its former CEO. And it may just be the best thing that’s ever happened to the company.
According to the company’s social media, Roiland handed in his resignation letter to on Jan. 16. His departure from the company comes just as the studio is experiencing the success of High on Life — a comedic first-person shooter — and the timing may be so good that it almost seems scripted. Though High on Life is experiencing a wave of popularity on its Xbox platform, its major criticism is that what Eurogamer categorized as its “edge lord cynicism and the same tedious, punch-down humor” often overshadows the enjoyment of the gameplay. And while Roiland isn’t wholly responsible for that — the game was created by Roiland but was ultimately written by Alec Robbins, aka “Mr. Boop” — there’s absolutely no denying the inherent “edginess” that has been Roiland’s brand for so long, not to mention that all of the shooter’s guns in the game yell at the player in the same voice Roiland uses to voice Morty.
And therein lies the irony. While there’s no way that Squanch would exist without Roiland and his brand, his departure — under any circumstance — allows the studio to move out from under his shadow. And while studios can often get boiled down to their most significant or well-known creator, the fact is that each game is the result of a group of artists, writers, engineers, and producers that ends up being far more than the sum of its parts. And beyond any thumbprint Roiland has on it, High on Life remains an entertaining and even, at times anyway, innovative game.
It’s up to the studio as to what exactly their next chapter entails. And undoubtedly, Roiland’s footprints will continue to be found for some time to come — the very name “Squanch” itself is a Rick & Morty bit — but the company now finds itself with a blank slate that few companies ever get to possess. This can be a moment for the designers, artists, and production teams to completely recreate the studio while at the same time having the momentum of a massive hit at their backs. There’s only one known among all the unknown quantities here: that it’s about to get very interesting.