14 DAY TRIAL // Mike Maulbeck, one of the developers working at Code Avarice, the independent studio behind Paranautical Activity, has publicly apologized for issuing a death threat to Valve founder Gabe Newell and confirms that he's no longer associated with the team or the game.
Steam is the biggest digital distribution platform available across PC, Mac, and Linux, offering tens of millions of owners access to all sorts of games, from blockbuster triple-A ones to smaller, independent titles, such as the recent Paranautical Activity, which was made by startup studio Code Avarice.
Unfortunately, the game was at the center of a massive controversy, as after exiting the Steam Early Access section and becoming fully available on the storefront, Valve mistakenly listed it as still being in Early Access.
This sent one of its designers, Mike Maulbeck, into a Twitter tirade, which ended with a death threat to Valve boss Gabe Newell.
The game was promptly taken off of the Steam storefront, with Valve issuing a statement saying that it doesn't take threats to its employees lightly.
Maulbeck apologizes for his actions
Now, Maulbeck is apologizing for his actions on the Code Avarice blog, and confirms that, while the threat wasn't serious, it was still unwarranted and Valve hasn't made a mistake by delisting the game.
"I'm really, deeply sorry that my short sighted, hot tempered actions resulted in not only my own dreams and aspirations being destroyed, but those of the entire team I worked with. I'm sorry that my statements made Valve and/or Gabe uncomfortable and upset (rightfully so)," he explains.
The designer is no longer associated with the developer
Maulbeck also confirms that he's sold his share in the studio and that he'll no longer have an impact on its future projects or decisions. As such, he hopes that Valve might reconsider its stance and maybe even host other creations on Steam.
"I feel is it my responsibility to step down from Code Avarice completely so that Steam has no reason to harbor any more ill will towards the company, and maybe even if we can't see Paranautical Activity restored, at least future Code Avarice games may be allowed onto the platform," he adds.
Valve has yet to issue any other statement, but it's unlikely that it will re-host Paranautical Activity on Steam, even after the apology. Considering how important the popular platform is for any indie game, the delisting has, without a doubt, hurt its potential profit figures.
In terms of future plans, Maulbeck claims to want to still make video games but as a nameless employee, not a public representative.