American Foretold Studios, known for the Tollan Universe game series, has been failing to pay its employees for months. Several former studio employees discussed this with Game Developer.
Tollan Survivors
According to sources interviewed by Game Developer, the payroll issues started in the fall of 2023. Initially, Foretold Studio's management assured that the salary delays would be short-term. They denied having significant financial troubles and claimed that Foretold Studio had attracted "a bunch of investors" who would soon invest. However, Foretold Studio still hasn't received any investments and is currently on the brink of bankruptcy.
Remarkably, Foretold Studio has been periodically hiring new employees. This hasn't stopped them from announcing a game titled Tollan Survivors in June, which is scheduled to enter early access by late September 2024.
CEO Mikhail Kuvshinov confirmed to Game Developer the fact of unpaid salaries. He emphasized that Foretold Studio’s management had been upfront with employees from the start. When financial problems arose, they offered employees stock options as compensation or asked them to wait until Foretold Studio could secure funds to settle salary debts.