Hitman developer IO Interactive is distancing itself and its popular franchise from controversial mixed marital arts fighter Conor McGregor following a recent Irish High Court ruling in which a jury found him liable for sexually assaulting a woman in 2018.
On November 22, a civil jury in Dublin, Ireland ruled in favor of a woman who accused the UFC superstar of sexually assaulting her in a hotel room in December 2018. McGregor is not facing any criminal charges, but the court ruled that the fighter needs to pay the woman $257,000. In a now-deleted tweet, McGregor claimed he is appealing the decision. As a result of the ruling, IO Interactive is going to remove the UFC fighter from Hitman.
On Monday, IOI released an official statement on Twitter announcing that it had made a decision to ends its “collaboration” with McGregor. The UFC fighter was added as an “Elusive Target” to Hitman 3 over the summer. His character returned to the game earlier this month, but is being removed immediately according to IOI’s statement.
“In light of the recent court ruling regarding Conor McGregor, IO Interactive has made the decision to cease its collaboration with the athlete, effective immediately,” said IOI Interactive on social media.
“We take this matter very seriously and cannot ignore its implications. Consequently, we will begin removing all content featuring Mr. McGregor from our storefronts starting today.”
This is far from McGregor’s first time in court, as the fighter has a long history of alleged criminal activity. In 2023, a woman accused the athlete of attacking her on a yacht the previous summer and forcing her to jump off to escape him. The woman dropped the case without stated cause after a brick was thrown through her window and an attempt was made to set her car on fire outside her home.
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