Foretold Studios failing to pay wages, plunging some workers into debt

Tollan Universe developer Foretold Studios has failed to pay a number of employees for months of work, plunging some into debt.

Multiple former staffers have told Game Developer the studio has missed numerous wage payments, employed dubious hiring practices, and has suffered due to mismanagement.

Despite those issues, the studio is outwardly pushing ahead with development on Tollan Universe, an "adventure game ecosystem" comprising two titles in Tollan Worlds and Tollan Survivors, the first of which initially incorporated web3 elements.

Discussing their situation with Game Developer, former Foretold artist Arkadi Allakhverdiev explained they joined the studio in September 2023. They initially received one month's salary and then the problems began. "In my case [the missed wages] started from the second month. Pretty much I was only paid for the month of October," they said.

Foretold leadership approached Allakhverdiev at that stage to explain the studio was struggling financially, but seemed optimistic about the prospect of securing additional funding. Given he had financial buffers in place, Allakhverdiev agreed to forgo some wages in the hope other employees would be paid. He never received a full wage payment again.

"That decision was mine and I do not regret it, but I wasn't expecting the financial situation to go on that long," he said. "The situation got so bad financially that one of the people in the company had to take a loan, and this was when I started to be upset.

"As an indie company, it was not [entirely] surprising as there are some challenging launches for small games and thus I was not personally alarmed. Then around the third month [of my employment] we were supposed to have a big investment drop in. Unfortunately, it never came and we pretty much got nothing until I left."

Foretold management turned the studio into a driverless car

Allakhverdiev said there was a sense that Foretold, under the management of CEO Michael Kuvshynov, was akin to a driverless car. Although he doesn't feel there was any "malicious intent" from leadership, he said Kuvshynov failed to effectively communicate with staff as to why wages were going unpaid and how the matter would be resolved.

"This became a huge issue internally," said Allakhverdiev. "No one was ready for the financial crisis that happened [almost] immediately as we all started working. After we started to have the [wage] issues we tried to stay positive but the more it was going [on], the more everyone's morale was sinking.

"What saddens me is that if we had the proper funds from the beginning, everything would have been fine and there would have been no management problems due to stress, no people leaving, and an amazing game."

Despite his belief that Kuvshynov didn't set out to mislead workers, Allakhverdiev said it was his role as CEO to effectively manage the situation. That never happened. Allakhverdiev departed Foretold in April 2024 after a call with leadership, but has yet to receive or sign an official termination agreement. He was owed $8,700 as of April 2024, but said he could be owed more given he was never officially offboarded.

Another former Foretold employee who chose to remain anonymous corroborated Allakhverdiev's testimony. They are currently owed $2,700, representing two months wages, and explained the lack of income has resulted in them taking on debt.

They said Kuvshynov never indicated the studio might encounter financial headwinds. Instead, Kuvshynov stated Foretold had a "bunch of investors" lined up. The cash never materialized.

"Michael told me they had a bunch of investors and a lot of money to fund the game, but after a single month of being paid [our wages], he told us there would be a one month delay in the payment, which then turned into no payment at all for several months and an attempt to decrease our previously agreed salaries," they added.

Notably, they alleged Foretold sought to hire new employees while still owing money to staff. "I know that he has at least attempted to hire people even while not paying the current employees," they said. "I don't know what he is telling these new hires and also don't know if he has ever paid them."

Others have been burned too. Agnieszka, who worked for Foretold for around four months before departing, said they're still owed $5,000. They suggested leaders within the studio didn't indicate it was struggling financially until it was too late. Even then, they said employees were told the cash shortage would be "temporary."

"I was aware of the money issues a little before most of the team because I was unlucky enough not to receive my October [2023] payment. Michael had entered the wrong account number, and the money kept being transferred between banks," they explained.

"Normally, the employer should resend the money and wait for the returned funds from the bank. However, he had no money to do that. I must admit, I finally got paid for October at the beginning of January when he received the lost money from the bank. I never received any money for November, December, or January.

One Foretold employee forced to go "begging" for wages

Agnieszka, who asked for their surname to be omitted from this report, said the situation left them "begging" Kuvshynov for a $200 payment so they could cover basic expenses. Although he eventually sent over the cash, WhatsApp messages viewed by Game Developer show Kuvshynov initially tried to pay them in crypto.

"I had no money for anything. Michael questioned me about what I needed the money for. It was one of the most humiliating conversations I've ever had, begging for money for food that he owed me," they continued. "He promised that he would pay everyone, and if people wanted to leave, they could leave and still get paid. It was difficult to believe him and to decide what to do—whether to quit and risk never getting paid for a month or to keep working longer in the hope that an investor would appear."

They believe some workers decided to stay in the hopes of being paid eventually, but suggested Foretold has made a point of hiring younger talent who might be easier to manipulate. "Right after I joined (and received my salary for the first week of work), a 19-year-old game designer asked me if I knew when we were finally getting paid," they said. "I was confused. It turned out he had never been paid and had been 'working there' for three months already."

Agnieszka said Foretold "hired" two people just before they departed, both of whom agreed to work for free on the understanding they would be paid later. "[Kuvshynov] has been telling people there is no money but there will be money soon. Back when he was hiring us, he did not mention any money problems."

Game Developer has viewed multiple emails sent by Kuvshynov in which he confirms the studio was unable to pay thousands of dollars in wages. Additional WhatsApp messages sent by Foretold chief product officer James Kucera to one source indicate Foretold was at risk of going bankrupt. Kucera also suggested he was owed money and had been taking on contract work to make ends meet.

Although Foretold remains in debt to employees, the studio recently announced another project set in the Tollan Universe. During the OTK Games Expo in June 2024, Foretold unveiled a 2D action roguelike called Tollan Survivors that will be making its early access launch in Q3 2024, officially turning Foretold into a multi-project studio. It's first project, Tollan Worlds, has yet to launch.

When approached for comment, Kuvshynov told Game Developer Foretold "has been struggling with fundraising over the last 12 months, which caused us not to be able to pay salaries to our team members."

"However, from the beginning, we were transparent with everyone about the situation and offered stock options as compensation for their work with us," he added. "For those who weren't interested in stock options and preffered to leave we agreed to compensate them once we raise money. As they wait for us to raise funds we stay in close contact them, answering all their questions and addressing their concerns."

All three sources have refuted those claims. They told Game Developer that Kuvshynov never indicated Foretold would only be able to pay them for one month of work before they joined the studio. They also stated that while stock options were offered, it never felt like a credible proposition given the studio was already in dire financial straits.

Game Developer is currently seeking additional answers from Kuvshynov to understand why he chose to hire multiple workers without the means to pay them, when our sources should expect to be paid, and why Foretold announced another project in June when it has so far been unable to compensate its workforce.