Hitman dev cuts ties with MMA fighter Conor McGregor following court ruling

By Carli Velocci Published November 25, 2024

Conor McGregor wearing a big fur coat and sunglasses in Hitman. — IO Interactive

Hitman developer IO Interactive has ended a partnership with MMA fighter Conor McGregor after a civil court ruling found he was liable for a 2018 sexual assault.

McGregor was found liable in a Dublin civil case last week brought by a woman who accused McGregor of sexual assault, and was ordered to pay 250,000 euros (or around $257,000). Prosecutors denied to press criminal charges in the initial case, and McGregor called the case “full of lies.”

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“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,” the studio wrote on X. “We take this matter very seriously and cannot ignore its implications.”

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The DLC is no longer for sale, and the video announcement has been removed from YouTube.

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. We take this matter very seriously and cannot ignore its implications. Consequently, we will begin removing all…

— HITMAN (@Hitman) November 25, 2024

The former UFC star has a long history of public incidents involving alcohol, driving under the influence, and racist comments from long before IO Interactive partnered with him on a World of Assassination DLC. He was previously arrested in Florida and charged after attacking a fan taking his picture, which was all recorded on surveillance video. All charges were subsequently dropped. He pleaded guilty to assault in 2019 after punching a man at a Dublin pub, and was arrested on sexual assault charges, although those were dropped.

Hitman 3 was transformed into Hitman: World of Assassination in 2023, and IO has been steadily releasing DLC starring celebrities as elusive targets. McGregor wasn’t cast as himself in the DLC. Rather, he played The Disruptor, a rich MMA star who’s tasked with fighting a tech CEO. Unfortunately, the CEO’s executives hire Agent 47 to take out The Disruptor. For doing so, players got access to some themed cosmetics, including the fur coat and a cane, along with permanent access to a two-level Arcade contract called The Ostentatious.

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Carli is a technology, culture, and games editor and journalist. They were the Gaming Lead and Copy Chief at Windows Central…

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