Daniel Klein, lead game developer on Apex Legends, has parted ways with Respawn Entertainment following the emergence of offensive DeviantArt blog posts he published in 2007.
Per PC Gamer, it was revealed that images of the blog had recently started circulating online, including derogatory and abusive content aimed at women and African people. The backlash from the blog being discovered, and his subsequent departure from Respawn Entertainment has forced Klein to make a public statement regarding the situation.
On July 27, Klein addressed the issue on Twitter in a series of tweets, stating that he “take(s) full ownership for the things I said, and I'm embarrassed, sad, and angry at my younger self for saying this stuff. I hope it is obvious that I don't believe these things anymore."
I was recently confronted with some awful statements I made on a blog I wrote back in 2007. I take full ownership for the things I said, and I'm embarrassed, sad, and angry at my younger self for saying this stuff. I hope it is obvious that I don't believe these things anymore.
— Daniel Zenon Klein (@danielzklein) July 27, 2021
Two weeks later, on August 10, Klein announced his departure from Respawn Entertainment through a series of further tweets. In these tweets, Klein delves into his behaviour, stating that: “I said racist and sexist things, not because I deeply believed any of them, but because I knew I could get a reaction out of people. That does not excuse anything I said; the impact of my words was the same regardless of what I believed.”
I said racist and sexist things, not because I deeply believed any of them, but because I knew I could get a reaction out of people. That does not excuse anything I said; the impact of my words was the same regardless of what I believed.
— Daniel Zenon Klein (@danielzklein) August 10, 2021
Following his departure, Klein provided the following statement to Kotaku: "I fully own the awful, bigoted statements I made in 2007 and am disgusted with my younger self for making them. But there's also no doubt in my mind that they came to light because someone went looking for things to hurt me with. EA was aware of this allegation, and I specifically asked them to be on the lookout for these strategies being used against other employees in the future."
EA has made no further statements to the press regarding Klein's behaviour, beyond the initial statement it provided to Fanbyte when the blog posts emerged: "The comments are disturbing, and we certainly don’t condone the point of view expressed. Our [human resources department] is aware and investigating.”
Klein's departure comes alongside news that three senior developers at Blizzard have left the company, some of whom had been connected to events mentioned in the recent Activision Blizzard lawsuit.
Liam Wiseman is a Freelance News Writer for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter @liamthewiseman