Arc Raiders developer Embark Studios has “mutually agreed to part ways” with co-founder and chief content officer Rob Runesson, according to an IGN report, following allegations of sexual misconduct with a streamer. Embark said its investigation did not substantiate the claim, but that the decision to part ways was made because the situation had proven “unsustainable.”
The allegations against Runesson were initially shared anonymously by someone who claimed to have spoken to a “popular female streamer of The Finals,” who allegedly made statements about being in a romantic and sexual relationship with Runesson that they could not escape because of their reliance on Runesson for stream promotions. Those allegations were eventually made public by streamer Balise, and were also shared on The Finals subreddit.
The Finals streamer who made the initial statements about Runesson told IGN that a number of the allegations cited were either out of context or misleading. Despite that, Embark and Runesson decided it would be for the best to part ways.
“Our leadership team was recently made aware of allegations against an Embark employee,” Embark said. “We take these matters seriously, and as a part of our process for addressing any types of allegations, we immediately hired a law firm to conduct an external investigation. The investigation did not substantiate the allegations, but we found the situation unsustainable and mutually agreed to part ways with Rob.”
The split with Runesson comes a month after Embark suspended its “outbound esports efforts” for The Finals, following multiple complaints about player misconduct. Embark said the suspension “gives us the space to evaluate and review the system in its entirety, and determine the best way forward.”
