Foretold Studios is struggling to pay wages, leaving staff "begging" for help
Leadership says it will "compensate [staff] once we raise money"
Tollan Universe developer Foretold Studios is reportedly struggling to pay its staff.
According to a report by Game Developer, the problems date back to at least last September, with current and former staff accusing CEO Michael Kuvshynov of failing to communicate transparently with staff about alleged cashflow issues, and actively recruiting new hires whilst owing outstanding wages to current and former employees.
Staff who worked at Foretold state they're still owed several months' pay, amounting to tens of thousands of dollars. One said that they had to "beg" for $200 to cover basic needs, and whilst Foretold did eventually acquiesce, initially the CEO wanted to pay them in cryptocurrency.
"I had no money for anything. Michael [Kuvshynov] questioned me about what I needed the money for. It was one of the most humiliating conversations I've ever had, begging for money for food that he owed me," they explained.
"He promised that he would pay everyone, and if people wanted to leave, they could leave and still get paid. It was difficult to believe him and to decide what to do – whether to quit and risk never getting paid for a month or to keep working longer in the hope that an investor would appear."
"[CEO] Michael told me they had a bunch of investors and a lot of money to fund the game, but after a single month of being paid [wages], he told us there would be a one-month delay in the payment, which then turned into no payment at all for several months and an attempt to decrease our previously agreed salaries," added another former developer, who asked to remain anonymous.
Former Foretold artist Arkadi Allakhverdiev says they received their first wage after starting at the studio in September 2023, but hasn't been paid since.
They left in April 2024, still owed at least $8,700.
"As an indie company, it was not [entirely] surprising as there are some challenging launches for small games and thus I was not personally alarmed," Allakhverdiev said.
"Then around the third month [of my employment] we were supposed to have a big investment drop in. Unfortunately, it never came and we pretty much got nothing until I left."
Responding to Game Developer, Kuvshynov said Foretold "has been struggling with fundraising over the last 12 months, which caused us not to be able to pay salaries to our team members.
"However, from the beginning, we were transparent with everyone about the situation and offered stock options as compensation for their work with us," the CEO added.
"For those who weren't interested in stock options and preferred to leave we agreed to compensate them once we raise money. As they wait for us to raise funds we stay in close contact them, answering all their questions and addressing their concerns."
However, three separate former developers from Foretold dispute these claims, insisting leadership has not been forthcoming about the studio's financial constraints.