The authors of the independent MMORPG TitanReach have already canceled the project for the second time — this time definitively. The reason may be the fraudulent actions of the lead developer. He appropriated part of the received investments to himself and spent them not on the game, but on the purchase of Tesla and cryptocurrencies.
Brief chronology of events
- The development of TitanReach began in 2019. The following year, the Australian indie studio Square Root launched a Kickstarter fundraising campaign.
- According to the plans, the alpha version of TitanReach was to be released after the end of the campaign and last about six months. Then the developers promised to conduct a beta test and release the full version at the end of 2022.
- Initially, Square Root set a goal of $ 421 thousand, but managed to raise only $ 133 thousand.
- Despite the setback, the studio continued to develop TitanReach. The very concept of the project, inspired by classic MMO like RuneScape, attracted players. Many still believed in the game.
- Last spring, TitanReach was released in early access at a price of $70. At the same time, the game soon became a frituplein.
- In August 2021, the lead developer of TitanReach, Hayden Dee, known by the nickname Unravel, announced the closure of the game. According to him, the funds received would not be enough to support the project.
- Just a month later, Unravel reported to Discord that TitanReach was fully funded by an unknown investor. The fans were happy with such news.
- However, last week, the developers unexpectedly announced the closure of the MMO again. The exact reason for the cancellation was not disclosed, and the studio itself noted that it spent a total of $ 1 million on development (20% of the amount was donated by the players).
- According to PC Gamer, the TitanReach website, Discord channel and all social networks of the game were closed.
Where did the fraud charges come from?
- On February 14, YouTube blogger KiraTV published his own investigation of the situation. Before that, he supported the project and believed in its success even at the early stages.
- The blogger found out that Andre Cronje was the patron who financed the development of TitanReach. He is a South African developer, entrepreneur and crypto investor.
- Cronje has not yet commented on his involvement in the project. However, it was his participation that may have prompted Square Root to introduce NFT into the game. In a post about the closure of the game, Unravel noted that the studio planned to add its own Titan cryptocurrency to it in order to enable players to earn money and turn any item in TitanReach into NFT.
- Exactly how all this was to be implemented is unknown. Due to the closure of the project, the plans of the developers were not destined to come true.
- According to KiraTV, Hayden Dee appropriated Cronje’s money and invested $150,000 in cryptocurrency. As a result, he lost all funds. As proof, the blogger gave screenshots of his correspondence with Unravel.
- Also, the lead developer TitanReach allegedly bought a new Tesla for himself with the investor’s money. Because of such actions, Cronje probably decided to withdraw from the project and stop supporting it.
- Unravel itself disappeared from social networks after the closure of TittanReach and no longer contacted.