Allegations of severe and prolonged wage arrears have surfaced against Gunzilla Games, the publisher and developer of the blockchain-integrated battle royale title ‘Off The Grid’. Former and current staff across multiple regions are reporting non-payment of salaries stretching back months, with some Ukrainian employees claiming to be owed half a year’s wages. These allegations, spread across social media and internal communication channels, paint a picture of a company struggling with systemic payroll failures while attempting to maintain a facade of normal operations. This article details the scope of the payment crisis, the regional disparities in its impact, the associated pension contribution issues, and the broader context of Gunzilla’s recent corporate maneuvers.
Public Outcry and Social Media Backlash
In recent weeks, employees of Gunzilla Games have taken to professional networking platforms to voice their grievances publicly. Talent acquisition lead Anna Savina initially posted about experiencing significant salary delays without explanation, later updating her post to state the situation had been resolved for her personally. However, this post became a focal point for other aggrieved workers. In the comments, former principal hard surface artist Oleksandr Linovichenko stated he had not been paid for his work in August and September before leaving the company in October. His situation was mirrored by former principal weapon and hard surface artist Anton Kharyn. Notably, some of these public posts, including those by Savina and contractor Paul Creamer, were subsequently flagged by LinkedIn for violating its Professional Community Policies.
The Scale and Duration of Unpaid Wages
Speaking to GamesIndustry.biz, sources within the company revealed that the payment issues are neither new nor isolated. According to staff accounts, Ukrainian-based employees have been the most severely affected, with some reportedly not receiving salaries for approximately six months, being owed four to five months of back pay. The crisis then reportedly expanded to international contractors, who, like their Ukrainian colleagues, were given repeated assurances that payment was imminent. Canadian contractor Paul Creamer, for example, stated he worked from October to December 2025 without pay, based on management’s promises that the delays were temporary growing pains tied to being a new company.
Regional Disparities in Payment
The payroll problems have not impacted all offices uniformly. Staff in the company’s UK and German offices have, by most accounts, continued to be paid throughout the crisis, though not without issue. Employees in these regions have reported periodic late payments. At the time of reporting, some UK and German staff had not yet received their salaries for work completed in March. This geographical discrepancy suggests a complex and fragmented financial operation within the company’s multinational structure.
Pension Contribution Failures in the UK
Beyond delayed salaries, staff in Gunzilla’s UK arm have faced a separate but serious financial breach involving pension contributions. Multiple team members reported that between May and September of the previous year, the company failed to make legally required contributions to their pension pots, despite deducting the employee portions from their pay slips. The company allegedly blamed its payroll provider for the failure and claimed to be aggressively working on a solution. While outstanding contributions were backpaid in October, no further pension payments have been made since November, leaving staff once again in a precarious position regarding their long-term financial security. Concurrently, the UK entity underwent a name change to Geofvision on April 6, as listed on Companies House.
Terminated Staff Face Final Payment Hurdles
For contractors and employees who have been let go by Gunzilla, securing final payments has become an additional battle. Several former workers told GamesIndustry.biz that their severance or final invoices have been subject to the same delays. In certain instances, payments were only released after the affected individuals threatened legal action. This pattern has fueled further distrust, with multiple complaints being aggregated and shared on Ukrainian games industry forums, creating a public record of the allegations against the company.
Internal Culture and Management Response
Internally, according to staff, senior management has largely proceeded as if it were business as usual, despite the widening financial distress among the workforce. The frustration among unpaid employees has manifested creatively within company communication channels. In Gunzilla’s Slack workspace, staff created a custom emoji depicting a beggar asking for change, which has become a symbolic form of protest. Posts from CEO Vlad Korolov in Slack are now frequently met with more reactions using this emoji than with actual text replies, indicating a significant breakdown in morale and trust between leadership and the rank-and-file.
Background: Gunzilla’s Funding and Projects
Founded in 2020, Gunzilla Games launched with a substantial $25 million in funding from venture capital firm GameGroove. The company is led by industry veteran Alexander Zoll, former CEO of Crytek Kyiv, who serves as chief strategy officer. With offices in Frankfurt, Kyiv, Los Angeles, and London, the studio announced its debut title, ‘Off The Grid,’ in 2022. The third-person battle royale, created in partnership with filmmaker Neill Blomkamp, heavily promotes Web3 integration, including optional NFT-based item trading. The project reportedly sold access to in-game valuation nodes to investors in 2022. After a delayed launch, the game entered Early Access in October 2024. In a major 2025 move, Gunzilla acquired the renowned publication Game Informer after its closure by GameStop, rehiring its previous editorial team.
The mounting allegations of unpaid wages present a severe contradiction to the ambitious, well-funded image Gunzilla Games has cultivated. The situation raises urgent questions about the studio’s financial management and sustainability, particularly as it supports a high-profile game in Early Access and a major media property. While management has attributed delays to growing pains and third-party providers, the prolonged and widespread nature of the pay issues, coupled with the failure to meet statutory pension obligations, suggests deeper operational or fiscal challenges. The resolution of these claims will be critical not only for the affected employees seeking justice but also for the long-term credibility and viability of Gunzilla’s ambitious dual ventures in game development and games media.
