Midnight Society, the creator-led developer behind the web3 extraction shooter Deadrop, has severed ties with co-founder Guy “DrDisrespect” Beahm following an internal investigation into alleged misconduct. This move comes in the wake of resurfaced allegations regarding Beahm's 2020 ban from Twitch.

Guy “DrDisrespect” Beahm

What is Deadrop?

Deadrop, formerly known as "Project Moon," is a game being developed by Midnight Society. It is a Vertical Extraction Shooter (VES) that blends the level design of an arena shooter with the scale of a Battle Royale and the strategic gameplay of an extraction shooter. Players compete for the best drops or try to extract with their life and gear. 

Vertical Extraction Shooter

Deadrop takes a unique direction towards the battle royale genre, identifying the game's genre as a Vertical Extraction Shooter. An extraction shooter is a player versus player versus environment raid game, similar to Escape from Tarkov or Hunt: Showdown. In this type of game, players keep any loot they acquire during a successful match, but lose all of their equipment if they die. The term "vertical" refers to the game being set in a high-rise structure.

Recent Updates

Deadrop recently unveiled a teaser for a new game mode named Midnight Ride, which combines elements of car racing with shooter mechanics, offering a unique and thrilling experience. For their 2024 plans, the development team at Deadrop is shifting its focus towards more behind-the-scenes work, enhancing the game's visuals, implementing a quests and contracts system, and ensuring console certification to comply with rigorous release standards. 

Midnight Society Cuts DrDisrespect

Over the weekend, Cody Conners, a former account director of strategic partnerships at Twitch, allegedly revealed that DrDisrespect was banned from the platform for inappropriately messaging a minor. The Verge corroborated these claims, adding more weight to the allegations.

Cody Conners Statement on X

In response, Midnight Society initiated its own internal investigation into Beahm’s conduct. Following the investigation, the studio announced today that it has terminated its relationship with Beahm, distancing itself from the controversial figure.

DrDisrespect Sued Twitch

Prior to these revelations, DrDisrespect had sued Twitch over the ban, and in 2022, the two parties reached a legal settlement. The agreement included no admission of wrongdoing from either side, and Twitch compensated Beahm for the remainder of his exclusivity contract. Despite these legal resolutions, Beahm has maintained his innocence, stating on Friday, June 22, that he did “nothing illegal, [and] no wrongdoing was found.”

Midnight Society Statement on X 

The future of Midnight Society, Deadrop, and its 55 employees is now uncertain. As a creator-led startup, the company’s reputation was closely linked to Beahm’s public persona. While distancing itself from DrDisrespect may help the studio recover its reputation, the loss of Beahm’s platform and community support presents a significant challenge.

For the time being, DrDisrespect has announced an indefinite break from streaming, leaving the gaming community and his followers in a state of speculation about what’s next for the once prominent streamer.

Project Roadmap 2024

Since the studio's establishment in 2021 and the inception of "Project Moon," there have been seven major releases during the Foundation and Expansion phases. The current phase, termed the Refinement year, focuses on targeted public releases, design tests, and player feedback sessions. These efforts aim to culminate in an 'early access' release across all approved platforms.

Deadrop 2024 Roadmap

Optimization

Collaboration with Epic Games is underway to optimize the use of Unreal Engine 5. The goal is to maximize the engine's capabilities while ensuring smooth performance across various hardware configurations. The target is to maintain a solid framerate for players using 1070-equivalent graphics cards, while high-end systems will enjoy enhanced framerates.

Hideout

The Hideout, introduced in early snapshots, serves as the player's pre-game area for forming squads, showcasing stashes, and socializing. The redesigned Hideout will be reintroduced to support new game features, including vehicles, vendors, and displays.

Midnight Ride Screenshot

Future Planning

Efforts are focused on enabling the community to create, import, and sell their own in-game creations. This involves developing systems that can seamlessly integrate third-party content in the future.

Visuals

The visuals of Deadrop are approaching their final stages. This includes refining environments, sectors, characters, and weapons. Due to the extensive effort required for visual enhancement, fewer releases with targeted testing will occur to balance this with game optimization.

Quests and Contracts

Quests and Contracts are integral to Deadrop's design, allowing players to collaborate with or work for various in-game factions, earning rewards. These will be a significant focus of upcoming testing phases.

Midnight Ride Gameplay

Console

Achieving console certification is a top priority. The team is committed to meeting the stringent requirements of console platforms for early releases, ensuring inclusivity for all players in this early development stage.

Final Thoughts

The team is dedicated to advancing the game towards public release, incorporating community feedback to refine gameplay and visuals. Major milestones will be accompanied by specific updates. Stay tuned on Discord for announcements regarding playtests and other releases.