Beloved Terraria Mod Shut Down Following Sexual Misconduct Allegations, Creators Reportedly Turn Down Streamer xQc's Offer to Save It
Development on a beloved Terraria mod is shutting down following sexual misconduct allegations revolving around its lead developer. Meanwhile, the creators of the mod have reportedly turned down an offer to save it from streamer xQc.
Terraria is one of the biggest crafting games in the world and has a thriving modding community. One of the best and most popular mods is known as Calamity, which massively expands the game with additional bosses, biomes, items, and music, almost serving as an unofficial expansion for the title. However, it has been bogged down in controversy for some time now, which has led to the team ceasing development.
The mod's lead developer, Ozzatron, was accused of allegedly participating in an NSFW Discord server reportedly with minors present. Screenshots leaked of Ozzatron allegedly participating in highly inappropriate conversations with members who claimed to be as young as 15 years old. The mod's previous leader, Fabsol, was similarly accused of grooming minors in 2022, meaning this has been an alleged repeat issue across multiple leaders.
Additionally, Ozzatron has been accused of being manipulative and difficult to work with, causing team members to grow uncomfortable and frustrated with the lead developer. As a result of this, the rest of the mod team has decided to abandon development on Calamity. The team alleged that Ozzatron has gone AWOL and is withholding Patreon funds that are used to pay the team for their contributions.
Some team members also asked that their assets be outright removed as they don't want to be associated with the project following all of the controversy. Due to the sheer amount of work needed to make those kinds of changes, the team has decided that a total shutdown is the best compromise.
"We’re sure most of you are aware of the troubled past of Calamity's development," said the mod team in an official Discord server. "At this point, many of us have felt personally betrayed time and time again after being promised something better that never ended up coming. We’re just tired at this point, and almost all passion we had for the mod has been soured, with many of us having chosen to leave as a consequence. Most of us want to simply move on and would be far happier working on our own projects that aren’t and won’t be tied to something with what we feel is an irrecoverably tainted reputation."
Famous streamer and content creator xQc volunteered to step in by buying the Terraria mod and hiring the development team himself. However, members of Calamity's mod team have rejected the offer. This isn't totally surprising if members are asking for their work to be outright removed from the project and others are fed up with other behind the scenes issues. It seems like everyone is ready to move on and there's too much negativity wrapped around the project for the team to continue working on it.
Cade Onder is a freelancer for IGN's news team. He covers all things entertainment, including gaming, film, and more. You can find him on Twitter @Cade_Onder.