Paramount Game Studios has confirmed that Mike Zaimont is involved in the development of Avatar Legends: The Fighting Game, which is slated for release on July 23. Zaimont, who previously worked on fighting games Skullgirls and Indivisible at Lab Zero, faces accusations of sexual misconduct. He is currently contributing to Gameplay Group International, the developer of Avatar Legends, focusing on backend programming, engine architecture, and netcode.
The publisher's stance echoes sentiments from 2023, when the CEO of the publisher for Zaimont's previous game, Diesel Legacy, stated that Zaimont deserved an opportunity to demonstrate change. However, former colleagues from Lab Zero have disputed this narrative. They pointed to a lawsuit filed by two former developers, creative director Mariel Cartwright and CEO Francesca Esquenazi, over wrongful termination and retaliation. Zaimont counter-sued, which some former colleagues cited as evidence of a lack of accountability for his past behavior at Lab Zero.
Allegations against Zaimont at Lab Zero included making a joke about the death of George Floyd, frequent unwanted physical contact, making inappropriate comments about himself or employees' bodies, and using personal details to threaten or demean coworkers. The lawsuit between Zaimont, Cartwright, and Esquenazi was settled in April 2026 under undisclosed terms, with a joint statement indicating the parties agreed to resolve the matter.
Zaimont's involvement with Avatar Legends was recently brought to wider attention by Irene Koh, an artist for the Legend of Korra comics, in a public online post. Koh expressed disappointment, given her contributions to the Avatar intellectual property over the past decade. Paramount Game Studios had not publicly commented on Zaimont's role until this confirmation. Zaimont has not maintained a public online presence since 2020.