Following the scandal surrounding the YouTube streamer, Dr. Disrespect, the gaming studio Midnight Society has seen a large number of layoffs. After establishing itself as a major motion picture company in 2021, Midnight Society declared in the beginning of 2022 that it was working on its debut title, Deadrop. Deadrop was supposed to release in 2024 as a vertical first-person extraction shooter, but it looks that the recent controversy surrounding Disrespect has had an impact on the studio.

Dr. Disrespect was permanently banned from Twitch Whispers in 2020 after he was allegedly accused of sending offensive comments to a minor over the network in June 2024. The streamer acknowledged exchanging texts with a juvenile in 2017, a circumstance that cost him several partnerships. Midnight Society severed its connection with Dr. Disrespect over the controversy, but the production company reiterated its dedication to creating Deadrop. Robert Bowling, one of the company's co-founders, said that Disrespect's primary goal in Midnight Society was to attract a wider audience, but that his controversy would not have an impact on Deadrop's late 2024 launch. The studio is currently struggling with a significant reduction in its development workforce, therefore it appears that this plan has changed.

Midnight Society has disclosed that Deadrop's release date has been pushed back to 2025 and has seen multiple layoffs. According to a tweet from the Deadrop news account Variant Intel, Robert Bowling announced on September 6 that Midnight Society had fired a number of its developers. "There is no doubting that everyone is having a really tough day today. In Bowling's statement, "My focus is still the same as it has always been: supporting the game's developers as they work to ship Deadrop." But a handful of those team members will be leaving today. Even though the individuals impacted no longer play the Midnight Society role in this game, they are still beloved and important parts of the community and its history, and I will stop at nothing to have them return at some point in the future." The choice was made in the midst of Dr. Disrespect's reappearance on streaming, which many of his fans applauded.

Significant Development Team Cuts At Midnight Society

Even though Midnight Society distanced itself from Dr. Disrespect, it felt confident enough to introduce Deadrop this year. On 9th September, Bowling, however, made another announcement to the Deadrop community, stating that the game was now scheduled for release in 2025. "We'll be sharing our revised plans and milestones in the near future, and we thank you for your continued faith in our vision," he added. Though the studio has not confirmed this figure, Deadrop content developer JOK5RR claims that about half of Midnight Society's production crew was let go.

Dr. Disrespect made a number of comments regarding his Twitch ban controversy during his most recent return stream, though he refrained from discussing Deadrop specifically. According to the streamer, the kid he contacted was "over the legal age of consent" when the communications were sent. Dr Disrespect also hinted his intentions of suing Cody Conners, the former Twitch employee who first accused him of improperly texting a youngster. Disrespect has been withdrawn from the YouTube Partner Program, but he hasn't stopped streaming. He says he will reapply for monetization on 25th September.