The Dr. Disrespect co-founded studio, Midnight Society, which was responsible for extraction shooter "Deadrop," announces its closure four months after suffering "significant" layoffs.
The news comes as Google has decided to lift its YouTube monetization ban on Guy Beahm, which came into effect after he admitted to "inappropriate" behavior with a minor last year.
Midnight Society was founded by Beahm and former "Call of Duty" community manager Robert Bowling in 2021.
Midnight Society Announces Closure
The studio also announced its first title, which is a free-to-play vertical extraction shooter, "Deadrop," the year after. Since then, the studio has continued development on the game, but last year was particularly challenging for Midnight Society.
The situation was a result of Dr. Disrespect's controversial admission that he exchanged "messages with an individual minor back in 2017." He also admitted that their conversation "leaned too much in the direction of being inappropriate," according to Eurogamer.
Following the revelation of the controversy, Bowling and Midnight Society were quick to distance themselves from Beahm. However, the studio has apparently not been able to bear the brunt of the issue.
In September 2025, Midnight Society announced "significant" layoffs and blamed "multiple unexpected challenges in recent months." Now, four months after that announcement, the company has revealed that it is closing down.
Dr. Disrespect Controversy
The announcement of the closure also came after level designer Brad Boice posted on social media that the studio's employees were given two days' notice of an imminent closure. He said that they were told the Midnight Society was out of funding, Decrypt said.
Bowling has also removed all Midnight Society branding from his account on X and has not responded to requests for comment about the situation.
Another founder, Quinn DelHoyo, said that the studio has not "skipped a beat" and planned to release "Deadrop" in full in the fall of 2025.
Despite their efforts, a lot of fans believed that the extraction shooter had no chance to become successful without Dr. Disrespect's involvement. This was because he was the primary marketing tool until his controversy.
Some also argued that it was a mistake to boot the controversial streamer because it was not done with proper due diligence. The situation got worse after Beahm changed his story and denied the allegations against him.
Midnight Society's "Deadrop" was set within a fictional universe where "the 80s never ended." The studio shared images that showed characters wearing Daft Punk-like helmets with guns and swords, according to IGN.
