High on Life developer Squanch Games just dropped a teaser for an upcoming DLC, and there's no sign of disgraced studio founder, Justin Roiland, anywhere. In the short trailer, we hear the voice of Michael Cusack's Knifey rather than Roiland, despite his own character playing a much more significant role in the game.
It's not clear if this comes as a result of Roiland's departure from Squanch back in January, or if he was always planned to have a less significant role in future updates. In any case, it shows that Squanch is prepared to move on without him, and isn't planning to ditch its latest release over the controversy surrounding the Rick & Morty co-creator.
In a YouTube video titled, "NEW HIGH ON LIFE CONTENT LOADING...", we can hear Knifey hype up the new content, followed by a chainsaw sound. This has many believing that the update will centre around Knifey, replacing Justin Roiland's Kenny as the face of High on Life.
The expectation that Roiland's role in High on Life will be diminished came after it was revealed that he is facing charges of domestic battery and false imprisonment. The arrest took place in 2020, with Roiland pleading not guilty early this year.
However, while he was still awaiting trial, further allegations were made against the writer and voice actor. Rick & Morty fans came forward with screenshots of alleged conversations they had with Roiland, showing him engaging in predatory behaviour towards them. In some cases, the fans say were underage at the time of the incidents. Others said that journalists had been investigating Roiland "for years", implying these details would be been revealed even if he hadn't been arrested. It was then reported that Cartoon Network itself had investigated Roiland over sexual harassment complaints, with Roiland then distancing himself from Rick & Morty's ongoing production.
Despite this, it's worth mentioning that Squanch Games hasn't updated its YouTube video description, still stating that it is "Co-Founded and led by Justin Roiland, Co-Creator of Rick & Morty and Hulu’s Solar Opposites."
TheGamer has reached out to Squanch Games to elaborate on Roiland's involvement in future High on Life updates.