Former BattleTech Dev Confesses to Sexual Harassment & Abuse

It was just earlier this week that we reported that Harebrained Schemes, the folks behind Battletech, was bought by Paradox. But as it turns out, that’s not the only big change happening at Harebrained Schemes: Tyler Carpenter, one of the designers at Harebrained, resigned from the studio… because he confessed to sexually harassing women in the workplace.

Speaking to Waypoint:
 

"HBS had no idea any of this happened. Because of that, for the good of HBS and my victims, I've resigned from HBS effective immediately. There doesn't need to be any inquiry because, frankly, everything is true."

The accusations range from the mild (inappropriate comments) to wildly gross, such as persistent attraction and even groping. One such accuser, Guild Wars 2 writer and editor Elan Stimmel, said she “lived in fear of [Carpenter] for years," while another ArenaNet narrative co-worker Jessica Price described him as "a gaslighting, assaulting, harassing abuser."

Jessica Price’s Twitter, obviously, blew up following the accusation, because people are people.

Following the news, Harebrained itself commented, saying…
 

"The moment this situation came to our attention, we placed the employee on immediate leave while we conducted a full investigation. We determined the best course of action was that Harebrained Schemes would part ways with the employee, and that action was taken immediately.”

"We are committed to providing a safe workspace for all our employees and will always take immediate action to maintain a safe, positive, respectful, and collaborative environment."

 
As for what happens next, well, a criminal investigation will probably follow suit, and he’ll have to face the legal and personal consequences of his actions. It’s… “good”, I guess, that he’s been so upfront with admitting his guilt, because it will help defang the troll patrol that might have come out in his defense otherwise, but… it doesn’t make up for what he did, obviously.

Hopefully justice follows swiftly.