Tripwire Interactive, creator of man eater And Kill floor 3announced further layoffs this week. The Georgia-based studio is laying off 36 developers. These reductions come on top of a previous round of restructuring in March. Some observers have blamed the downsizing Kill floor 3The reception is harsh on Steam. Tripwire Interactive co-founder John Gibson blamed it on “woke leftists.”
“Kill Floor 2a 2016 game, still averaged about 6,000 daily players on Steam as of last month,” video game consultant Iain Garner posted on X in response to this week’s layoff announcement.KF3 there were about 460 of them. KF2 sits at 88 percent positive reviews, while KF3 is at 44 percent.
Gibson, who co-founded the studio in 2005 with Alan Wilson, cited Garner’s Twitter post and offered a different reason for Tripwire’s struggles. “That wasn’t the problem, it was that woke leftists had me, the CEO, the key leader and creative force, ousted and the company was forced to be sold,” he wrote. “This narrative that CEOs are just greedy stuffed shirts is destroyed by this result. The same team that created KF3 do KF2without his leader.
He continued: “I’m not saying no mistakes were made after I left, and I’m not saying I was the only talented person there. I lead a great team of talented individuals, and we were successful as a team. But pull the linchpin and the machine falls apart. It’s like kicking Steve Jobs out of Apple.”
You may be wondering what Gibson is talking about. Woke leftists? Kick Steve Jobs out of Apple?
I’m not saying there weren’t mistakes made following my departure, and I’m not saying I was the only talented person there. I lead a large team of talented people and we have been successful as a team. But pull the pin and the machine collapses. It’s like kicking Steve Jobs out of Apple.
— John Gibson (@RammJaeger) November 10, 2026
The gaming industry veteran was referring to his departure from the studio in 2021 over his support for an abortion ban that the Supreme Court upheld in Texas before Roe v. Texas was overturned. Wade. “Proud that #USSupremeCourt upheld Texas law banning abortion of babies with a heartbeat,” he wrote at the time. “As an artist, I don’t often get involved in politics. Yet with so many peers speaking out on the other side of this issue, I felt it was important to speak out officially as a pro-life game developer.”
Tripwire Interactive’s development partners distanced themselves from this statement, as did the studio itself. “The comments given by John Gibson reflect his own opinions and do not reflect those of Tripwire Interactive as a company,” he wrote in a statement at the time. “His comments disregarded the values of our entire team, our partners and much of our broader community. Our Tripwire leadership team is deeply sorry and is unified in our commitment to taking swift action and fostering a more positive environment.”
Gibson stepped down as CEO a few days later, co-founder Alan Wilson took over, and Tripwire was sold to the Embracer Group a year later, where it was placed under Saber Interactive. Embracer began to fall apart and Saber Interactive was sold, but Tripwire remained as part of Embracer. Matthew LoPilato, who previously served as CFO, is now CEO, and Wilson, who was CEO, remains a vice president at the company.
“Our team is focused on our internal projects, including the active development of Man Eater 2work in progress on Kill floor 3and publishing efforts under the Tripwire Presents label,” Tripwire announced alongside this week’s layoffs. “We continue to provide the best possible support for all of our games and remain committed to our amazing community.”
Gibson is interested in new and different things, but he’s clearly still irritated with how everything turned out. “For clarity, they didn’t oust the old guard, just me,” he wrote in a later comment on
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