‘Apex Legends’ lead designer fired for offensive remarks made in 2007

The remarks were both sexist and racist in nature

Daniel Z Klein, lead game designer on Apex Legends, has left Respawn Entertainment after a series of offensive blog posts published in 2007 were discovered late last month.

Images from a DeviantArt blog were circulated on Twitter in July 2021 containing sexist and derogatory language directed at women and African people.

At the time, Klein made a statement on Twitter explaining that he was “embarrassed, sad, and angry at my younger self” and that he “apologised unreservedly” for what was said.

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In addition, Klein’s colleague, Ryan K Rigney, Respawn’s director of communications spoke in support of the game designer, explaining that “I don’t think anything from 2007 reflects on a person in 2021”.

In a statement to Fanbyte, an EA spokesperson described the comments on July 29 as “disturbing, and we certainly don’t condone the point of view expressed. Our [human resources department] is aware and investigating”.

According to the site, Klein was let go on August 6 with the former Apex Legends game designer confirming the news in a series of tweets a few days later.

Klein tweeted that he was “heartbroken and depressed” at the decision and that it’s “been a very dark few days”. He went on to explain that he “wholeheartedly [agrees] that THAT guy should have been fired” referring to his younger self but explained that he had “poured so much energy into becoming a better person since then”.

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Before joining Respawn, Klein was fired from Riot Games in 2018 for allegedly not co-operating with the company’s social media policies. He used his social media platform to defend League of Legends PAX West events that were exclusive to women and non-binary attendees and commented directly on the toxic culture seen at Riot.

In other news, senior Diablo IV developers and a World of Warcraft designer have left Activision Blizzard with rumours suggesting this is tied to recent allegations at the company.

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