IO Interactive ended its cooperation with MMA fighter Conor McGregor judgment of the Irish High Court established that in 2018 he attacked and raped a woman.
Issuing a statement regarding social mediaIO has announced that it will remove content featuring McGregor from Hitman: World of Assassination starting today:
“In light of the recent court ruling regarding Conor McGregor, IO Interactive has decided to immediately cease cooperation with the athlete. We take this issue very seriously and cannot ignore its consequences. As a result, we will begin removing all content featuring Mr. McGregor from our stores starting today.”
McGregor’s voice and likeness were used for a character called the Disruptor, one of the Elusive Targets in the recent Hitman games. These time-limited missions and scenarios change in and out of the game, providing players with changing challenges, giving you only one attempt to reach the goal when it is available. The Disruptor mission debuted in July this year, was recently reintroduced as the current Elusive Target, and was scheduled to be available until December 8, but was withdrawn earlier.
In addition to this mission, the Disruptor DLC pack was sold, providing ongoing access to The Ostentatious, an arcade contract for the character, as well as offering outfits, items, and cosmetics for the Freelancer HQ.
Last week, McGregor was found guilty by a jury in a civil case that found he had sexually assaulted a woman, Ms Hand, in a Dublin hotel six years ago. In the civil case, McGregor faces no prison time but was ordered to pay €248,000 in compensation.
McGregor announced he would appeal against the verdict.
Source: Interactive IO, BBC
