Hitman developer IO Interactive has announced that it has stopped working with MMA fighter Conor McGregor, who was added to the game as an Elusive Target in June, following a civil trial ruling that found him liable for assault against a woman who accused him of raping her in 2018.
All content featuring his character in the game will be pulled from sale. «In light of the recent court ruling regarding Conor McGregor, IO Interactive has made the decision to cease its collaboration with the athlete, effective immediately,» the studio posted on X. «We take this matter very seriously and cannot ignore its implications.
Consequently, we will begin removing all content featuring Mr. McGregor from our storefronts starting today.» IO confirmed that the court case in question is the recently-concluded civil trial in which he was ordered to pay more than €248,000 ($260,000) to a woman who accused McGregor of raping her in 2018.
A BBC report says the trial included eight days of evidence and three days of closing arguments and judge's comments; the jury deliberated for more than six hours before delivering its verdict.
In a since-deleted message on X (via CBS), McGregor complained that the jury did not hear all the evidence in the case and indicated he would appeal the verdict. «The judge's instruction and the modest award given was for assault, not for aggravated or exemplary damages,» McGregor said.