In Brief:
- Unpaid Wages Allegations: Multiple current and former employees of Gunzilla Games have taken to LinkedIn to allege non-payment of salaries for periods extending up to five months.
- Financial Struggles Despite Investments: Despite receiving over $100 million in funding, Gunzilla Games is facing financial difficulties, with its main game, Off the Grid, underperforming.
- Impact on Staff and Operations: Following two rounds of layoffs in 2025 and delays in salary payments reported from as early as June 2025, the company’s reputation among employees is waning, with a Glassdoor rating of just 2.4 out of 5.
Overview of Gunzilla Games Crisis
Gunzilla Games, a game development studio headquartered in Frankfurt, with additional offices in Kyiv and London, is currently embroiled in a significant controversy over unpaid wages. Employees, both current and former, have publicized their grievances about not receiving their salaries for extensive periods, with claims reaching up to five months of non-payment.
Employee Testimonies and Public Allegations
Reports of unpaid wages have been circulating since June 2025, with further layoffs intensifying the issue. The affected include a wide range of staff from EU contractors to Ukrainian employees. Insights from LinkedIn posts reveal a distressing scenario: Oleksandr Linovichenko, a principal hard-surface artist, disclosed that he had not been paid for August and September, while Antron Palii, a senior QA engineer, claimed he had not received his paycheck for five months. Palii’s situation worsened after a confrontation with the CEO, following which his access was revoked without receiving the promised pay.
A senior VFX animator, now retired, also echoed the pattern of being expected to work without pay, a sentiment supported by numerous colleagues on public and social media forums such as LinkedIn and GameDev DOU.
Link1: https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7447312007797637120/
Link2: https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7447614668862435329/
Financial Discrepancies and Organizational Response
Despite its financial backing of over $100 million since its inception in 2020, Gunzilla’s flagship game, Off the Grid, a cyberpunk battle royale, failed to connect with players, leading to underwhelming participation numbers post-launch. The game’s integration with NFTs and paid campaigns with popular streamers like Ninja and TimTheTatman could not salvage its reception.
The studio, which also acquired Game Informer magazine from GameStop in early 2025, has not publicly responded to these allegations, according to the latest information. However, the repeated layoffs and the expansion of the GUN token from Avalanche to Solana occurred concurrently, showcasing a complex operational landscape at Gunzilla.
Employee Sentiment and Company Outlook
The situation inside Gunzilla has taken a significant toll on employee morale. Glassdoor reviews reflect a dire picture, with only 38% of employees willing to recommend the studio as a workplace. The reviews frequently point out the delayed payments, affecting primarily the Ukrainian and EU-based employees. In contrast, the Frankfurt-based staff seems to be less impacted, at least in terms of receiving timely payments.
As it stands, the issues at Gunzilla Games highlight a severe problem of mismanagement and possible financial misappropriation, with staff welfare and trust taking a back seat amid corporate decisions and expansions. How the company navigates this turmoil will be crucial to its future operations and credibility in the gaming industry.