Ready or Not loses Team17 as a publisher due to developer's comments on a school shooting level

Void Interactive and Team17 have come to a mutual agreement in which the pair will no longer be working together, following one of the developers making a comment on a school shooting level in its SWAT game, Ready or Not.

Originally debuting in Early Access on Steam on December 17, Ready or Not is a tactical FPS which sees players step into the shoes of a SWAT police unit as they have to manage and deal with dangerous and hostile situations. With this concept in mind, the question of whether a school shooting level will be available was posed on Reddit, with one of the Void Interactive's developers replying "You better believe it's gonna".

This response has sparked a little bit of conflict, and has led to Ready or Not's publisher, Team17 dropping the game from its portfolio, in what is regarded as a mutual agreement as the statement from Void Interactive explains.

"VOID Interactive and Team17 have mutually agreed that Team17 will no longer publish Ready or Not", reads the statement. "We are confident that this is the right path for the future of Ready or Not, and we thank Team17 for their partnership and wish them great success with their spectrum of games!"

Following up to this decision, Void Interactive has also published a longer statement, which delves into the school shooter level topic, where the developer stated it is "dedicated to promoting a level of authenticity and realism" while also understanding that the subject requires a "certain responsibility" when handling it.

Void Interactive went a step further also stating "'School' is not just a part of the fabric of Ready or Not, it is part of the fabric of thousands of people's stories worldwide. It is the story of those who have died too soon at the hands of a deranged gunman, the story of family and friends waiting for a phone call that might never come, the story of the first responders who do everything they can only for it to not be enough. It is a look at an uncomfortable reality that has become all too common, and we hope that we can play some small part in honouring those who have been impacted by these real world tragedies with a portrayal that does not trivialise their experiences."

You can read the full statement by Void Interactive below.