On May 8 2018, the long time running RPG Codex posted an interview with Chris Avellone, the former Obsidian Entertainment writer and designer about reasons surrounding his departure from the company two years ago. The next day, he chief editor of RPG Codex Infinitron, received a private message from Eric Fenstermaker, former Obsidian writer and lead narrative designer of Pillars of Eternity, requesting that he post some of his remarks in reply to their recent interview with Chris Avellone. From that evening onward, Chris Avellone would frequently answer question after question from their users. He would go on to unleash a torrent of shocking accusations against Obsidian Entertainment and its owners, alleging all manner of ethical misconduct and business malpractice. In particular, this included details about the circumstances of his departure from Obsidian, which is now alleged to have been both forced and uncompensated due to legal mumbo-jumbo.
The interview thread is now over 200 pages long encompassing all sorts of drama and allegations pro and against Avellone. Fortunately, Codex user TT1 has thoughtfully collated all of Chris Avellone’s posts into a Google Doc for for the ease of laymen and journalists alike. The doc is about a 100 pages long and is filled with accusations and allegations enough to make a 2 hour documentary. Chris seems to be taking a break from answering the questions at the moment, so it’s a good time as any to catch up. Of course, these are all just accusations at the moment and Obsidian Entertainment hasn’t responded to them as they are busy promoting their new game, Pillars of Eternity II- Deadfire.
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