The Aeon Must Die! controversy that was kicked off by allegations revealed during yesterday’s PlayStation State of Play has been addressed by the game’s publisher Focus Home Interactive.
Yesterday was a big day for PlayStation gamers with another State of Play presentation showing off new games and upcoming content for existing games. Unfortunately, what should have been a celebration of PlayStation gaming was marred by accusations of unpaid work and other problems. Now, Focus Home Interactive has directly addressed the Aeon Must Die! controversy less than a day later.
“Focus Home Interactive was informed of serious allegations raised by some of the developers at Limestone who have worked on the creation of the video game Aeon Must Die!,” read a portion of the statement. “These grievances are directed at Limestone, their direct employer.”
“As the publisher of this video game, Focus is carefully looking into these allegations and will draw the necessary conclusions if they are proved to be well-founded, and then take all appropriate measures,” the statement continued. “No further comment will be shared until we have a clearer and complete view on this matter.”
This Aeon Must Die controversy was revealed through a description in another version of the trailer uploaded to YouTube following the game’s official reveal during the State of Play stream.
“This trailer was created with abuse, manipulation, theft,” the description claims. “People who have worked on every shot of this are no longer with the company holding IP rights. Some were not even paid for their work. This trailer has a pending conflict of IP. The real IP for the game was stolen from the creators via foul play. Final reaction of the publisher to this information remains to be seen.”
The description highlights a link to a Dropbox folder which includes 17 folders addressing specific allegations against Limestone.
The allegations include lackluster COVID-19 safety protocols, sexism, unpaid work, and numerous other issues, all of which were purportedly put forth by a number of developers. The documents further claim that the developers mass-resigned from the company after these issues were not addressed by Focus Home Interactive.
The documents outlining the claims have not yet been independently authenticated; as always, unverified rumors like this should be taken with a grain of salt. Focus Home Interactive’s statement shows that it’s keen on investigating these issues — hopefully, a resolution will be reached that will make all involved parties happy.
Our statement regarding Limestone Games and Aeon Must Die!. pic.twitter.com/75ldhtp27T
— Focus Entertainment (@Focus_entmt) August 7, 2020
