Alec Holowka, Canadian developer at Night In The Woods has died, his sister confirmed this weekend.
Alec, who co-founded the adventure game and was co-designer, coder and composer on the indie thriller, had recently been battling mood and personality disorders according to his sibling Eileen Mary Holowka.
His death was confirmed by Eileen, who took to Twitter to share the sad news.
His cause of death is not yet publicly known, however Eileen shared a lengthy statement claiming Alec was dealing with mental illness.
Eileens Twitter has now been made private, however according to several gaming outlets she wrote: Those who know me will know that I believe survivors and I have always done everything I can to support survivors, those suffering from mental illnesses and those with chronic illnesses.
Alec was a victim of abuse and he also spent a lifetime battling mood and personality disorders. I will not pretend that he was not also responsible for causing harm, but deep down he was a person who wanted only to offer people care and kindness. It took him a while to figure out how.
Over the last few years, with therapy and medication, Alec became a new person — the same person hed always been but without any of the darkness. He was calm and happy, positive and loving. Obviously, change is a slow process and it wasnt perfect, but he was working towards rehabilitation and a better life.
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Eileen thanked various crisis services, who she claimed had been supporting her brother in the lead up to his death.
She added: We tried out best to support Alec, but in the end he felt he had lost too much.
It comes days after Alec was accused of sexual abuse, prompting his fellow Night In The Woods developers to apparently cut ties with him.
Indie game developer, author, and comics writer Zoë Quinn alleged last week Alec sexually assaulted her and used abusive language against her.
Alluding to claims of sexual misconduct against Alec, Eileen added that Alec specifically wished the best for his accuser and others.
In a separate tweet, she wrote: And in case its not f**king obvious, Alec *specifically said* he wished the best for Zoe and everyone else, so dont use our grief as an excuse to harass people.
