Remember Heavy Gear Assault? Maybe not, but it was announced last year as a satisfyingly stomp-happy arena-based PvP game. It’s in early access now, and the last word from the studio was that another round of investment had successfully gone through in November. However, according to anonymous sources the entire development team hasn’t been paid since July, and more or less the entirety of the team has moved on due to the lengthy period of management silence and non-payment. Two sources have stated that the treatment of both players and employees is untenable:
There needs to be accountability. The workers at Stompybot/Mektek are in the dark and haven’t been paid in over 6 months. Many have had to uproot their lives drastically and in a panic because payment was never received. We were told several times that the money was coming and to hold on, only to get no future updates and no money. We have lost hope for the company and our corporate team but we never, ever wished the players to be punished for this sad situation and the lack of accountability from the company.
Players recently posted a forum thread looking for updates to be told that the game is upgrading to Unreal 4 and the development team is “restructuring.” It’s all unsettling news for fans of the games and those looking for more giant robot action in the gaming space; it may be prudent to avoid buying into early access here until more information comes to light.
