Gunzilla Games is the studio behind Off the Grid, an NFT battle royale title that arrived in early access back in October 2024. It's also the studio backed by District 9 and Gran Turismo film director Neil Blomkamp (who is listed as its chief creative officer), and last year it also became known as the studio that 'saved' long-running publication Game Informer after it was unceremoniously shuttered by GameStop. Now, however, the studio has been accused of not paying its workers "for many months."
The accusations come from former and current Gunzilla Games employees, who shared the accusations on their personal LinkedIn pages. Paul Creamer, a VFX, cinematic, and gameplay animator who previously worked at Gunzilla, began his post very directly, saying, "Gunzilla Games has not paid its employees for many months but still expects them to work. I have personally not been paid since October 2025. Some have had their pay delayed even longer."
He adds that the last three months he worked at Gunzilla (October to December 2025) he "foolishly" continued working based on promises that he would be paid from Gunzilla and its chief executive officer Vlad Korolev. "Upper management promised that these delays were temporary and growing pains tied to being a new company with a new game."
"In December the CEO himself (Vlad Korolev) had a call with my department where he promised us that invoices would be paid as soon as possible, that the company was profitable and that we were all doing the right thing by keeping quiet and continuing to work. He was not being truthful and now the company ignores our questions and removes our posts about what's going on trying to silence us. Silence is what they're hoping for, wishing that we'll just go away quietly. This has happened too many times in my 20 year career as an animator. Working hard then receiving nothing in return. This is all too common."
Creamer was not the only employee to come forward with the same accusations. Anna Savina, the former head of talent acquisition at Gunzilla Games also accused the company of not paying her for "several months" in a post on LinkedIn, but has since updated her post to include that "The situation regarding my personal matter has been resolved."
At the time of this writing, however, Savina seems to be the only one who has seen a resolution to the issue. Creamer has not yet shared that he has been paid for his work, and other former Gunzilla employees commented on his and Savina's posts to add that they have also not been paid. Concept artist Sergei Kochurkin wrote, "The same situation. I haven't received payments for August and September...big scam."
Antron Palii, senior QA engineer wrote "I'm in the exact same situation. Five months without a paycheck. On top of that, at an in-person meeting, when the CEO heard that I wasn't going to work for the sake of an idea and that I wanted proof that I would be paid, he promised in front of my colleagues to pay me everything and end our working relationship within a day. As you can imagine, they took away all my access and didn't pay me."
Gameplay animator Rayan Tiraghan added "they also owe me some money," and UI programmer Riccardo Galdieri went further to say "This is much bigger than you can possibly believe, there are dozens of people with pending salaries from them." Galdieri adds that he was once one of those 'dozens,' but was able to get the money he was owed after taking legal measures against Gunzilla Games.
Savina was seemingly able to get her situation resolved after making a post on LinkedIn and drawing attention to the matter. Galidieri was only able to get paid after getting a lawyer involved to fight the company for wages he was owed. With several other employees coming forward to say that they have also not been paid, and, at the time of this writing, no word from Gunzilla Games management, it's difficult to say where this situation will land.
It could very likely mean that Gunzilla is at the end of its financial rope, and is days away from announcing its shuttering. That not only leaves the employees who haven't been paid without the money they are owed, but it also leaves Game Informer back in another precarious situation, and a year after it's sudden resurrection, it could be shut down all over again.
About the author: David has been writing about videogames, technology, and culture since 2020, with a focus on reporting daily news across multiple publications, including GameDaily.Biz, GameSkinny, and PlayStation Universe before joining Wccftech in 2025. David started contributing as Canada/US reporter for Wccftech's gaming section in 2025. Besides being up-to-date on the industry's movements, he loves interviewing developers, reviewing games, and writing intricate essays about the symbolism and layered meanings to be found in rich narratives as he's done for publications like GamesIndustry.Biz, LostInCult, and others. Outside of games he loves movies, music, theatre, his hometown, and his family, though not necessarily in that order.
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