Gunzilla Games CEO Pushes Back on Unpaid Worker Accusations as Off the Grid Controversy Deepens
Gunzilla Games is facing a fresh wave of scrutiny after multiple former and current workers alleged they were not paid for extended periods, with some claims describing delays lasting for months. The controversy escalated after chief executive officer Vlad Korolev published a lengthy response on X, rejecting the criticism as “a new narrative from haters” while defending both the studio’s performance and its broader operating model. Reports published on April 9 and April 10, 2026, outlined allegations from several workers tied to delayed or missing payments, while Korolev’s public response acknowledged payment scheduling tied to company cash flow but denied that full time official employees had ever seen delays longer than 1 week.
While people who have never played OTG and have never built a business sit and spread FUD to farm a few views — targeting the biggest web3 game ever created, a game that represents not only itself but the entire web3 gaming industry in front of traditional gaming — we will keep…
— Vlad Korolev (@VladK133) April 9, 2026
The studio at the center of the dispute is best known for Off the Grid, its web3 focused battle royale project, and for its association with filmmaker Neil Blomkamp. Gunzilla also drew attention after becoming linked to the revival of Game Informer following GameStop’s shutdown of the publication. In his response, Korolev framed the backlash as coordinated fear, uncertainty, and doubt, arguing that critics were targeting what he described as the biggest web3 game ever created. He also claimed that the game has millions of players, that 100000 users joined the premium Off The Grid Pro subscription in 2025, and that around 3000 new players join daily, though those figures were presented in his social post rather than in independently published company disclosures.
What makes the response especially notable is the contrast between Korolev’s success narrative and his own acknowledgment that some payments were scheduled around the company’s cash flow. In the statement, he said Gunzilla has been optimizing costs for more than a year, similarly to many companies across gaming, crypto, and tech, and added that some payments may have been arranged in a way that worked for company operations rather than for each individual worker. He also apologized for any inconvenience while insisting that every obligation would be honored. That language is important because it stops short of a full denial that payment disruptions happened, even as it disputes the scale and framing of the accusations.
The backlash has not remained limited to anonymous commentary or a single disgruntled source. Coverage of the dispute states that multiple ex staff and contractors publicly described lengthy delays, including claims of unpaid work stretching back to late 2025. One widely cited example came from reporting that referenced a former senior animator alleging they had not been paid since October 2025, while other workers reportedly described similar experiences. Some individuals later said their cases were resolved, but the broader criticism has not gone away because the issue now appears to involve multiple separate claims rather than one isolated dispute.
Outside studio leadership have also weighed in, which adds another layer of reputational pressure. Scott Albright, the founder and chief executive officer of Combat Waffle Studios, publicly criticized Gunzilla on LinkedIn, writing that the issue was finally coming out and condemning any studio that fails to pay its team. That criticism carries extra visibility because Combat Waffle is an established VR developer with titles including Silent North and Grim, both listed on Steam. In practical terms, this means the story is no longer just about a leadership statement versus worker complaints. It is now becoming an industry credibility issue, with peers openly questioning Gunzilla’s conduct.
From an industry perspective, this is where the story becomes more serious than a routine studio dispute. Game development can survive hard schedules, aggressive milestones, and even unpopular executive messaging for a while, but payroll trust is foundational. Once developers and contractors begin publicly alleging non payment, the conversation shifts from brand defense to operational risk. For a live service title in the competitive extraction and battle royale space, that matters. A studio can pitch growth, community traction, and premium subscription momentum, but if those claims are paired with admitted cash flow based payment scheduling, the optics become difficult to reconcile.
That contradiction is the core issue surrounding Korolev’s response. If Off the Grid is performing at the scale he describes, critics will naturally ask why payment timing became a problem at all. And if Gunzilla wants to use player numbers and subscription growth as proof of strength, the lack of public, verifiable transparency around those metrics leaves room for further skepticism. In today’s games business, especially in the live service and web3 space, confidence is not built through bravado alone. It is built through consistency, transparency, and the ability to pay the people building the product on time.
For now, Gunzilla has clearly chosen a confrontational approach, presenting the controversy as an attack from outsiders rather than a deeper studio accountability issue. Whether that strategy stabilizes the narrative or intensifies it will depend on what comes next. If more workers come forward, or if clearer evidence of delayed payments surfaces, this could evolve into a much bigger trust problem for both Gunzilla and Off the Grid.
What do you think, can a studio still defend its long term credibility after public payment disputes like this, or does trust break the moment workers have to speak out?
