Following sexual assault allegations, EA is cutting ties with the acclaimed video game writer who worked on the latest 'Star Wars' game
- Across the last two weeks, video game writer Chris Avellone has been accused of sexual assault by several women.
- Avellone was one of the writers involved in "Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order," a story-driven single-player "Star Wars" game that sold over 10 million copies.
- A sequel to "Fallen Order" is currently in production, but Avellone is off the project, EA said. "We take all allegations of harassment and abuse very seriously," the company said in a statement, "and the recent reports that have surfaced are very concerning. EA has no plans to work with Chris Avellone moving forward."
- Avellone has a long history in the video game business, having worked on major franchises like "Fallout" and cofounded Obsidian Entertainment.
Chris Avellone, the writer behind the 2019's "Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order" and many other successful video game series, has been accused of sexual assault and inappropriate behavior by several women in the past two weeks.
"He got me blackout drunk," one woman said. "He and two friends somehow got me back to my room, where he pounced in front of the other guys." Another woman, Christy Dena, echoed that experience in a public response. Dena said she had "the same kind of scenario in 2013" with Avellone.
Following those allegations, Electronic Arts has officially cut ties with Avellone.
"We take all allegations of harassment and abuse very seriously," a statement from EA sent to Business Insider said. "And the recent reports that have surfaced are very concerning. EA has no plans to work with Chris Avellone moving forward."
Avellone is credited with a story credit and as a writing consultant on "Star Wars Jedi: The Fallen Order." The game, developed by EA's Respawn Entertainment, has sold over 10 million copies since launching in November 2019, far exceeding EA's own internal projections. When EA spoke about "Fallen Order" in an investor call earlier this year, CEO Andrew Wilson referred to the game as the "first title in an entirely new franchise."
EA isn't the only major video game company to cut ties with Avellone. The Polish game studio Techland announced on June 22 that it ended its relationship with him on upcoming game "Dying Light 2," as did Gato Studios which was working with Avellone on a game named "The Waylanders."
Avellone did not respond to repeated requests for comment.