Justin Roiland resigns from Squanch Games

The co-creator of Rick and Morty and founder of Squanch Games has resigned from the studio following his arrest for domestic violence.

Justin Roiland, co-creator of Rick and Morty and founder of game development studio Squanch Games, has resigned from the studio.

It comes after the popular game creator was arrested and charged with multiple counts of felony domestic violence, in documents that were recently revealed by NBC News. NBC reported that Roiland was charged with one felony count of domestic battery with corporal injury and one felony count of false imprisonment by menace, violence, fraud, and/or deceit.

The charges relate to an event that happened around January 2020, after a criminal complaint was filed by a person who was dating Roiland at the time. Roiland pleaded not guilty to both charges in the Orange County Superior Court in October 2020.

High on Life quickly became one of the most popular games on Xbox and Steam. Picture: Squanch Games

Squanch Games, which developed the incredibly popular Xbox game High On Life, announced Roiland’s resignation today, saying that Roiland quit the company on January 16.

“On January 16, 2023, Squanch Games received Justin Roiland’s resignation,” Squanch Games said in a post on Twitter, “The passionate team at Squanch will keep developing games we know our fans will love while continuing to support and improve High On Life”.

Squanch Games’ High On Life very quickly became the most played game on Xbox Game Pass on the week the game was released, with Xbox Marketing VP Aaron Greenberg describing it as a “breakout hit”.

The game had an extensive marketing campaign prior to launch, with Xbox accounts promoting it heavily in the weeks prior to the game’s release.

High On Life also became the most purchased game on Steam on the week it was released, beating out the usual top performers like Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II and FIFA 23. The game has over 7,500 user reviews on Steam, with over 90% of those reviews listed as positive.

Roiland co-created Rick and Morty alongside Dan Harmon. Picture: Adult Swim

It comes after Adult Swim, the American TV network that produces Rick and Morty, also announced that Roiland would no longer be a part of the show’s production. Roiland, who voiced both main characters in the series, is expected to be recast for future episodes of the show, and will no longer play a role in its creation.

Written by Oliver Brandt on behalf of GLHF.