Return to Monkey Island director will no longer post about game after online abuse

Ron Gilbert, the original creator of the Monkey Island series and director of the upcoming Return to Monkey Island game, has announced he will stop talking about the game after receiving abuse from “fans.”

As originally reported by Video Games Chronicle, Gilbert posted about the abuse he had been receiving on his blog (which has since been taken offline).

Dominic Armato, the voice actor for protagonist Guybrush Threepwood, posted a screenshot from Ron Gilbert’s blog, voicing his feelings on the matter.

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“Bang up job, everybody.”

“I've seen a lot of passionate but polite/polite-adjacent discussion going on, but the comments on Ron's blog were a total s***show.”

In the original post, Gilbert had said: “I’m shutting down comments. People are just being mean and I’m having to delete personal attack comments.”

“It’s an amazing game and everyone on the team is very proud of it. Play it or don’t play it but don’t ruin it for everyone else.”

Ron Gilbert then announced his decision to keep comments related to the upcoming sequel under wraps in the future.

“I won’t be posting any more about the game. The joy of sharing has been driven from me.”

Criticism of the game started appearing shortly after a new gameplay trailer was shown during the latest Nintendo Direct event, with fans of the series split over the new art style.

Jonathan Ackley, a game designer who had worked on The Curse of Monkey Island in 1997, sympathised with the development team, as his involvement with the Monkey Island series was also criticised for its change in looks.

Ron Gilbert’s return to Monkey Island is the first time he has worked on the series since Monkey Island 2: LeChuck’s Revenge, which was originally released in 1992.

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