Tollan Universe developer Foretold Studios is reportedly struggling to pay its staff.
According to a report from Game Developer, the issues date back to at least last September, when current and former staff accused CEO Michael Kuvshynov of failing to communicate transparently with staff about alleged cash flow issues and of actively recruiting new employees while owing current and former employees outstanding wages.
Employees who worked at Foretold say they are still owed several months of wages, amounting to tens of thousands of dollars. One said they had to “beg” for $200 to cover basic needs, and while Foretold eventually agreed, the CEO initially wanted to pay them in cryptocurrency.
“I had no money for anything. Michael (Kuvshynov) asked me what I needed the money for. It was one of the most humiliating conversations I've ever had, begging for money for the food he owed me,” he explained.
“He promised that he would pay everyone and that if anyone wanted to leave, they could do so and still get paid. It was hard to believe him and decide what to do: whether to quit and risk not getting paid for a month or to keep working longer in the hope that an investor would come along.”
“(CEO) Michael told me that they had a ton of investors and a lot of money to fund the game, but after just one month of receiving payment (salaries), he told us there would be a one-month delay in payment, which then turned into no payment for several months and an attempt to lower our previously agreed salaries,” added another former developer, who asked to remain anonymous.
Former Foretold artist Arkadi Allakhverdiev says he received his first salary after starting at the studio in September 2023, but has not received any payments since.
They left in April 2024 and still owed at least $8,700.
“As an independent company, it was not (entirely) surprising, as there are some challenging releases for small games, and therefore I personally was not alarmed,” Allakhverdiev said.
“Then, around the third month (of my employment), we were supposed to have a big drop in investment. Unfortunately, it never happened and we got virtually nothing until I left.”
In response to Game Developer, Kuvshynov said that Foretold “has been struggling with fundraising for the past 12 months, which has prevented us from paying salaries to our team members.
“However, we were transparent with everyone about the situation from the beginning and offered stock options as compensation for their work with us,” the CEO added.
“We agreed to compensate those who were not interested in stock options and preferred to leave once we raised the money. While they wait for us to raise the funds, we stay in touch with them, answer all their questions and address their concerns.”
However, three former indie developers at Foretold dispute these claims, insisting that leaders have not been transparent about the studio's financial constraints.