Off The Grid developer Gunzilla accused of failing to pay employees
Gunzilla Games has been publicly accused of failing to pay a number of employees.
The studio has offices in London, Frankfurt, and Kyiv. It is currently working on Off The Grid, a battle royale shooter that features what Gunzilla describes as an "optional NFT element" in the form of tradeable items.
According to a Steam disclosure, Gunzilla also leveraged generative AI tools to produce early concept art, audio samples, and translations throughout production.
Off The Grid remains in early access. Yet, despite the fact that work on the title is ongoing, Gunzilla has purportedly failed to pay some employees for months.
Posting on LinkedIn, the studio's former head of talent acquisition claimed they had to contend with "significant salary delays" spanning months with no clear payment timeline. They described the issue as "systemic" and accused Gunzilla CEO Vlad Korolev and CFO Taras Basarab of ignoring direct requests relating to the matter.
"I'm not the only one. I know many talented colleagues who are in the same 'fog.' Were not asking for bonuses, were demanding what we have earned," they added.
In an update, that person indicated their "personal matter" has been resolved. Other former staffers, however, claim to have fallen victim to the same behavior.
"I was laid off in the end of August and haven't received my last reimbursement (for August) from Gunzilla Games by now," wrote a former Gunzilla QA engineer.
"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," added another former Gunzilla employee.
"I foolishly worked for 3 extra months (October, November and December) with assurances that delays in payment would be resolved. Upper management promised that these delays were temporary and growing pains tied to being a new company with a new game."
They specifically claim that Gunzilla CEO Vlad Korolev promised to address the issue in a call with some employees in December 2025, where he purportedly insisted the studio was profitable and told staff to keep the issue under wraps and continue to work.
Game Developer has reached out to Gunzilla for comment.
