Mike Maulbeck, the Code Avarice developer who tweeted death threats to Gabe Newell, has resigned from his company.
In an open letter, Mike took responsibility for his actions, and sold all his shares in the company, including his IPs, to his partner and Code Avarice co-founder Travis Pfenning. Mike is going out of his way to assure Valve that he will no longer profit from Code Avarice games in the future, and will have no say in their management or development.
Mike stated that his temper and tendency to vent online have been issues since the company launched, and he basically does not want all of Code Avarice implicated or punished for his actions. He feels he is not capable of being a public face for a company like an indie game developer. Mike hints that he may pursue his career as one of many unknown developers working for a larger game developer.
The news took his cofounder Travis Pfenning by surprise as well. He tweeted that he did not agree with Mike’s decision, calling the situation, ludicrous.
For their part, Valve has yet to talk to Code Avarice again, but a studio rep confirmed that they have already tried contacting Gabe, and are looking for ways to communicate their intent with Valve. They are also looking into console releases, as it may be the only way to save the game from failure.
