Ant Simulator dev quits after partners allegedly blow company funds

Game developer Eric Tereshinski published a video this weekend claiming he was quitting ETeeski, the game company he co-founded in 2014, and ceasing work on its Kickstarted game Ant Simulator because his (former) business partners allegedly blew the company's money on food, liquor and entertainment.

If true, it's a cautionary tale for fellow developers. While Tereshinski was the programmer on Ant Simulator and a number of other small games, he was also known in the game development community for creating a seriers of "Ultimate GameDev" tutorial videos for prospective game makers.

Those videos were the centerpiece of a successful Kickstarter campaign in 2014 that earned ETeeski over $4,400, funds which Tereshinski's video claims were frittered away (along with separate development funding for Ant Simulator) by his ex-partners.

"They had secretly spent the overwhelming majority of both our Kickstarter money and the Ant Simulator investment money on liquor, restaurants, bars, and even strippers," Tereshinski said in his video, noting these allegations were among the "many reasons" he chose to resign from ETeeski and cease work on Ant Simulator.

His video also includes a promise to try and offer refunds to people who pre-ordered the game, as well as a pledge to stop using the ETeeski brand and continue his own career as a game developer.

As part of his efforts to extricate himself from ETeeski, Tereshinski claims he is legally obligated to take down all the work he did while with the company, including the Ultimate GameDev tutorial videos -- though at the time of this writing they still appear to be online.

Gamasutra has contacted ETeeski, LLC directly for confirmation and further details, and has yet to hear anything back.

UPDATE: Tereshinski's ETeeski, LLC business partners, Tyler Monce and Devon Staley, have spoken to Game Informer in a bid to clear their names. Both have denied Tershinski's allegations, branding them "completely false."

“I don’t know why he’s painting that picture, but the reality is that anything that was spent in a bar or restaurant was very reasonable in nature when you look at any business, including video game companies," said Monce.

"It was part of our operating budget, it’s not anything that was excessive. It was all reported to the IRS. The picture he’s painting about that is 100 percent bull****. I think he wanted to create this outlandish story, grab headlines, and make us look terrible. So far, it’s working for him.”

Monce and Staley told Game Informer they plan to take legal action against Tereshinski. Check out the full interview here.