Content warning: This story covers sexual assault.
Earlier this year, IO Interactive added UFC fighter Conor McGregor to Hitman: World of Assassination as an elusive target for Agent 47 to take out. But in light of McGregor’s recent legal troubles and a civil-trial verdict against him, IO Interactive is removing McGregor’s content from Hitman starting today.
The civil suit in Irish court found McGregor to be liable for assault against a woman who testified that the fighter “brutally raped and battered” her in 2018. In court, the woman shared her account that she and McGregor used cocaine together and that they knew each other prior to the event. The victim went on to testify that after she turned down McGregor’s sexual advances, he placed her in a chokehold and threatened to kill her before she gave in to him. McGregor has contended that the sex was consensual and he vowed to appeal, but IO Interactive has already announced that it is cutting ties with him over the verdict, which requires him to pay the victim $250,000.
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
McGregor provided his voice and likeness as The Disrupter, an MMA fighter who entered Agent 47’s crosshairs during an Elusive Target mission. In addition to that mission, McGregor was featured in a DLC pack for The Disrupter that included additional items and cosmetics inspired by his character. Even the official trailers announcing McGregor’s part in the game on YouTube have now been marked private or removed. It’s unclear if the deletion of McGregor’s content will extend to the players who already purchased and downloaded the DLC in question.
Prior to his guest appearance in this video game franchise, McGregor made a very brief appearance in Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare in 2016. Additionally, McGregor has appeared in every iteration of EA Sports UFC to date. For now, it’s unknown if Activision or EA will follow IO Interactive’s lead by removing McGregor from the older titles as well.
