Justin Roiland, the director of High on Life and a co-creator of Rick and Morty, has resigned from his role at Squanch Games. Roiland resigned from the studio behind High on Life after being charged with domestic assault and false detention.
Roiland was charged with domestic assault and false detention in Orange County, California, in January 2023, in connection with an alleged incident in January 2020. A hearing has been set on April 27, 2023. Roiland launched Squanch Games in 2016 and has since released games such as Trover Saves the Universe and, most recently, High on Life.
Roiland’s resignation from the company has now been announced by Squanch Games through Twitter, although the team will continue to work on enhancing High on Life and creating games for their following. As a co-founder and the creative vision for the firm, it’s difficult to predict Squanch Games’ future without Roiland. Some Twitter responses wonder whether Roiland’s in-game character, Kenny, will be replaced. This follows Adult Swim’s announcement that the titular Rick and Morty would be replaced in the series’ future. Other comments emphasise the importance of spreading good remarks about High on Life.
— High On Life (@highonlifegame) January 25, 2023
Despite a poor reviewer rating, the comedy shooter High on Life garnered a high user rating on Metacritic, demonstrating that there is a significant demand for games with the studio’s own mix of humour and flair. While Roiland’s comedy style isn’t for everyone, the popularity of Rick and Morty demonstrates that the combination of mature humour and more illogical gags does have a large following.
It’s difficult to predict if Squanch Games will be able to bounce back from the events given the seriousness of Roiland’s accusations despite the fact that they have such a large fanbase. Tanya Watson, a former Epic Games executive and Squanch Games co-founder, is probably left as the studio’s interim leader now that Justin Roiland has gone. It is presently unknown if a new creative director will be hired or whether Watson will assume that function.
Although Roiland had been a driving force, investing time and effort to lead the studios games in a manner that combined gameplay with comedy and providing lots of easter eggs in Trover Saves the Universe and High on Life for fans, it is also important to note that Roiland did not produce these games by himself. Squanch Games remains a crew that has worked hard to build these projects, and the studio’s vow to continue working on High on Life is encouraging. The studio is under strain right now, but perhaps it will be able to overcome this setback and continue developing games that its fans like.
