Gunzilla Games: Damage Control Looks Very Obvious Here
Gunzilla Games finds itself in a bit of a mess after someone publicly claimed the company had not paid employee salaries for months. A talent acquisition lead named Anna Savina took to LinkedIn earlier this week, stating that Gunzilla Games owed a significant outstanding debt covering several months of work. Other employees quickly chimed in, suggesting they were dealing with similar situations and that the paycheck drought was real. Does any company actually think they can skip paying people for months without someone eventually spilling the tea on social media?
Paychecks MIA, CEO Calls It FUD
Gunzilla Games CEO Vlad Korolev did not take these accusations lying down, firing back with a lengthy post on Twitter. Right out of the gate, he called the claims nothing more than FUD, which stands for fear, uncertainty, and doubt, basically accusing Savina of trying to farm views. He claimed the whole thing was a targeted attack on the biggest web3 game ever created, which sounds like a pretty dramatic way to dodge questions about missing paychecks.
The CEO then shifted focus hard to the studio’s NFT battle royale game called Off The Grid, talking about its growth and offering to set up a live dashboard to show new players joining in real time. That pivot felt a lot like a magician waving one hand while the other hand hides something shady.
That Apology Felt Like Robot Step
Gunzilla Games eventually circled back to the actual accusations after all the talk about player counts and NFT hype. Korolev acknowledged a new narrative from haters claiming the studio incorrectly laid off contractors or paid them with delays. He admitted the company is optimizing costs, just like every other gaming, crypto, and tech company doing the same thing right now.
According to him, Gunzilla Games has been doing this cost-cutting dance for over a year, and sometimes payments get scheduled in a way that works for the company’s cash flow rather than for individual contractors. That explanation basically translates to sorry, but the business comes first, which is not exactly the comforting reassurance a person waiting on months of back pay wants to hear.
The Loudest Complainer Gets The Check
Gunzilla Games claims to honor every obligation and work at a pace that ensures the company keeps moving forward. Korolev offered an apology for any inconvenience this has caused, which feels about as sincere as a robot apologizing for stepping on a toe. He mentioned that one of the loudest voices against the company, a contractor who finished their work a week ago, got repaid immediately after speaking up.
That detail raises a pretty big question, though, because he did not address the other claims from long-time employees who might still be waiting on their money. Paying off the loudest complainer while ignoring the rest looks less like resolving an issue and more like damage control. Gunzilla Games then doubled down on defending its internal practices, including the proud admission that there has not been a single day on which anyone worked in a work-life balance mode.
That statement basically brags about running employees into the ground, which is a wild thing for any CEO to put in writing. Korolev finished his response by telling haters to keep trying to find reasons why Gunzilla Games should fail, promising the studio will keep responding with achievements. Achievements are great and all, but achievements do not pay rent or put food on the table for contractors waiting on months of overdue paychecks.
Gunzilla Games Has Serious Explaining To Do
Savina did provide an update after taking her claims public, stating that her specific situation had been addressed by the company. No update came for the other employees who made similar accusations, leaving them stuck, wondering if speaking up would also get their problems solved. The pattern here seems pretty clear: raise a public stink, get paid. Stay quiet, stay waiting. That system might work for a handful of loud voices, but it leaves everyone else hanging in a very uncomfortable limbo.
Gunzilla Games has some serious explaining to do beyond just calling critics haters and bragging about player counts. The CEO’s response focused more on attacking the messenger than actually addressing the systemic problem of delayed payments and skipped salaries. A company that prides itself on no work-life balance while also struggling to pay people on time sends a pretty clear message about where its priorities actually sit.
For anyone considering contracting with Gunzilla Games, the takeaway seems to be to hope you get loud enough on social media to actually see your money. The studio might keep delivering achievements and NFT battle royale updates, but none of that matters much to a person staring at an empty bank account after months of unpaid work.
