The Legend of Monkey Island to Launch in June: Head Developer Ronald Gilbert Left Out of the Loop

The upcoming Sea of Thieves story expansion, The Legend of Monkey Island, is set to set sail on June 20. Unfortunately, it seems someone forgot to mention this to Ron Gilbert, head developer and writer for the Monkey Island series. In a Mastodon thread, Gilbert stated that he wasn’t informed of the upcoming story, commenting, “Wasn’t even told about it. Happened behind my back.”

Although Gilbert is credited as the creator of the classic adventure game series, Lucasfilm and Disney technically own the rights to the Monkey Island franchise, which means they aren’t obligated to seek Gilbert’s consent when developing new content.

Despite the lack of communication from Disney, Sea of Thieves developer Terrible Toybox has revealed that Gilbert was given a heads-up on the project as a courtesy, but the game was already well into development and he wasn’t able to make meaningful contributions.

This isn’t the first time the Monkey Island series has been developed without Gilbert at the helm. The Curse of Monkey Island, Escape from Monkey Island, and Tales of Monkey Island were all created with his prior knowledge.

Although it’s unclear who is to blame for the lack of communication, it’s disappointing to see the series’ creator left out of the loop in what otherwise appears to be a fitting homage. The trailer, which was released during the June 11 Xbox Showcase, showcases a recreation of Melee Island complete with nods to the franchise’s iconic items, locations, and characters.