Gunzilla Games, the studio behind the battle royale extraction shooter Off The Grid, is under scrutiny after accusations emerged that the company has failed to pay staff salaries for an extended period. The allegations have been circulating and gained enough traction to prompt an official response from studio leadership.
According to reporting from TheGamer, Gunzilla Games head Vlad Korolev has dismissed the claims outright, characterizing them as a "new narrative from the haters." Korolev's framing positions the accusations as bad-faith attacks rather than legitimate grievances from current or former employees.
A studio already under pressure
Gunzilla has been in a tricky spot for a while now. Off The Grid launched into early access on PC and consoles in late 2024 with a distinctive cyberpunk aesthetic and an NFT-adjacent economy that immediately drew skepticism from players. Sustaining momentum for an early access live-service game is an expensive, grinding process, and scrutiny around a studio's financial health in that context tends to hit differently.
The specifics behind the salary allegations - including how many employees are affected, how many months of missed payments are alleged, and whether complaints have come from current staff or former employees - have not been detailed in Gunzilla's response. That lack of transparency won't do much to quiet the noise.
Why this matters
Unpaid salary allegations are serious in any industry, but in games they carry extra weight given the sector's history with crunch, layoffs, and studio closures. When developers speak up about not being compensated, it's a red flag that warrants more than a dismissive "haters" rebuttal from the top.
Korolev's response, as characterized by TheGamer, leans heavily on deflection. That might satisfy some observers, but it leaves a lot of unanswered questions for anyone following the studio's situation closely. A more detailed statement addressing the specifics of payroll operations and employee relations would go further toward actually clearing the air.
Off The Grid is still in active development, and Gunzilla has framed the project as a long-term live-service investment. How the studio handles this reputational moment - and whether former or current employees come forward with more specifics - will likely shape how the broader community views both the game and the people making it.
