Embark Studios, the developer of ARC Raiders and The Finals, has parted ways with former CCO and co-founder of the studio Rob Runesson, following allegations of sexual misconduct made anonymously, regarding Runesson's relationship with a popular The Finals streamer.
Embark released a statement to IGN following Runesson's departure, which reads as follows: "Our leadership team was recently made aware of allegations against an Embark employee. 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 allegations revolved around Runesson's relationship with a female streamer, with the streamer allegedly becoming increasingly uncomfortable with Runesson's request for sexual favours and conversations after engaging in a romantic and sexual relationship with the developer. The streamer allegedly felt they could not push back against Runesson, due to a potential conflict of interest and becoming financially dependent on Runesson's promotion of her streams.
The streamer in question has declined to comment on record, but did state that a number of the allegations were out of context or misleading. The allegations first came to light around a month ago, and have been shared across multiple online communities and forums.