John Gibson, cofounder and former CEO of Tripwire Interactive, made a surprise announcement on X today that he would be returning to the video game industry after a more than three year hiatus. There are few who probably remember the controversy that Mr. Gibson found himself at the center of all the way back in September of 2021. A simple tweet in support of the Texas law banning abortions for children whose fetal heartbeat had been detected cost John Gibson his 16 year tenure at Tripwire Interactive.
His tweet read, “Proud of #USSupremeCourt affirming the Texas law banning abortion for babies with a heartbeat. As an entertainer I don’t get political often. Yet with so many vocal peers on the other side of this issue, I felt it was important to go on the record as a pro-life game developer.”
This was enough to cause a Twitter mob to converge on his social media post, with many high profile accounts calling for his removal from the company he had helped found. Within 24 hours, he was forced to step down from his position and would spend the next several years doing charity work abroad and quietly working on a Bible exploration game.
In a post today on X, John Gibson said, "I couldn't be more proud to announce my return to game publishing with the launch of my new company Templar Media! We will focus on putting 'Entertainment First!' and without the types of agendas we've seen in gaming and media in recent years."
A series of follow-up posts from the Templar Media account would further expound on the goals and aspirations of the studio.
