For anyone that is a fan of the independent fighting game Skullgirls, they probably have been abreast to the news surrounding polarizing developer and game designer for Lab Zero Games Mike Zaimont, known by the moniker "Mike Z". Throughout 2020, "Zaimont has been a lightning rod for the wrong kind of attention on social media and reports of inappropriate behavior and other problems regarding conducting himself with streamers and the community.

Months ago, Mike Z made a tasteless "I can't breathe" reference to the murder of George Floyd during a live stream, that lead to an uncomfortable silence. His inappropriate behavior among co-workers lead to the community demanding he be banned from events like Combo breaker. Twitch streamer and cosplayer BunnyAyu spoke about her interactions via direct message with Mike Z regarding BDSM being included in the game. the conversation started out well enough, but then quickly spiraled into getting personal and disturbing.

These stories were quite public and had accumulated for months on end, without Lab Zero intervening and properly reprimanding Mike beyond being removed from tournament events. This was too much for staff members to tolerate and several programmers departed due to Mike Z not being held accountable for his actions.

I've resigned from Lab Zero Games. pic.twitter.com/I0dazMz4XB

— Kinuko (@kinucakes) August 24, 2020

The departures continued throughout August 24th: 

I'm leaving Lab Zero Games.

Short version:
Mike Z creates an unsafe work environment for everyone.
He is the sole owner of Lab Zero Games, and removing him is difficult. He originally agreed to leave, but is unwilling to make a reasonable compromise, so I’m taking my exit now. pic.twitter.com/Uk4GjMt62k

— EU03 (@ClickAgain) August 23, 2020

Brandon Sheffield of NecroSoft Games, who worked with Lab Zero on Indivisible, shared his experiences working with Zaimont:

I was trying to wait for lab zero to get more internal resolution on this before I went public, but now that @ClickAgain has started talking about it, I'll share with you the statement I made in the company slack when I cut ties with lab zero almost two months ago. pic.twitter.com/meV0q8ijmQ

— brandon sheffield (@necrosofty) August 23, 2020

With all of this coming to a head, production of the game will no longer be headed by Zaimont, as Autumn Games and Hidden Variable takes over production. An official statement was posted on SkullGirls Mobile's twitter: 

An official statement from Hidden Variable and Autumn regarding Lab Zero Games and the future of Skullgirls. pic.twitter.com/4qeoN9fgRj

— Skullgirls Mobile (@sgmobile) August 25, 2020

A part of Autumn Games and Lab Zero's statement:

"Recently, a number of Lab Zero Games employees have decided to leave the company as a result of actions by Mike Zaimont and a series of reported incidents that involved Mike over the years.

Autumn Games and Hidden Variable Studios fully support those employees who have chosen to stand by their principles and leave in light of that behavior, and we find their allegations to be credible. As such, effective immediately, we will no longer be working with Mike Zaimont or Lab Zero Games."

"Skullgirls, in all its forms, has been a product of years and years of effort from dozens of dedicated developers, artists, designers, and more. As such, Hidden Variable and Autumn are committed to investing in the ongoing development of Skullgirls without the involvement of Lab Zero or Mike Zaimont. We plan to work with the many talented individuals who are leaving Lab Zero to build new Skullgirls content moving forward, including the Annie launch on Skullgirls Mobile in the coming months, and her launch in Skullgirls 2nd Encore in 2021. Beyond Annie, we intend to continue working together to provide new Skullgirls content for everyone in the community to enjoy for years to come.

We hope this can serve as a fresh start for the next phase of Skullgirls development, unburdened by the events of the past."

The level of poisonous behaviour displayed by Mike Zaimont hampers the development of video games, their relationship with the community, and especially the fighting game community, which earlier this year has seen more than its share of inappropriate conduct amongst pro players. Actions like Mike's need to be weeded out and rightfully dealt with, as to not impede on the growth of fighting games. It takes great bravery and a sign of solidarity for the former staffers of Lab Zero Games to make a statement, and best wishes to their futures.