In June 2020, less than two weeks after the murder of George Floyd, the lead designer of indie fighting game Skullgirls made an "I can't breathe" joke while commentating an official tournament. Mike Zaimont's words hung in the air for an uncomfortable 13 seconds of silence from the other two commentators before he spoke again. Zaimont apologized on Twitter later the same day, but that joke ignited a chain reaction that would, within three months, lead to the collapse of the studio just as it was starting a new multi-year project.
He hurt everybody at Lab Zero, and there was no reason for it. Things could've been a lot better if he'd just tried to be a good person
Former Lab Zero coworker
