Gunzilla Games has pushed back against recent reports claiming some Off The Grid developers were not paid for their work, with CEO Vlad Korolev issuing a detailed statement that attributed the allegations against the company to “haters.” However, he did not directly deny many of the central allegations and instead suggested the situation surrounding Off The Grid was more complex.
Founded in 2020, Gunzilla Games is a European studio with offices in London, Kyiv, and Frankfurt. It has over 200 employees as of spring 2026, according to publicly available LinkedIn data. The company’s debut title, a free-to-play crypto battle royale shooter called Off The Grid, launched for consoles in October 2024 before making its way to PC in July 2025. In early April 2026, several current and former employees said on LinkedIn that they had not been paid for their work on the game for months, adding that they knew of others in a similar situation.
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Gunzilla CEO Defends Studio Over Payment Disputes
On April 9, CEO Vlad Korolev addressed the non-payment accusations directly in a lengthy response posted on X, formerly Twitter. While he framed the criticism as an attempt to damage both Gunzilla and Off The Grid, his statement also acknowledged that some recent payments were structured around the company’s cash flow rather than workers’ preferred timing. “That’s the reality of the world we live in,” Korolev said, seemingly confirming that some Off The Grid developers have yet to be paid for their contributions to the project.
Korolev further argued that Gunzilla had spent more than a year managing costs as of April 2026, characterizing that as not uncommon in the current game development landscape. He framed the disputed payment timing as part of those ongoing efforts. The CEO also drew a clear distinction between different groups within the company. In defending Gunzilla’s practices, Korolev claimed full-time employees had never faced serious payment delays throughout the company’s existence, adding that their paychecks were never more than a week late.
Despite his pushback and claims that concerns about Gunzilla’s sustainability are exaggerated by “haters,” Korolev’s latest statement does not amount to an unequivocal defense, as it also includes an apology to anyone affected by the company’s practices. It remains unclear when Off The Grid developers who say they are still awaiting payment for their work will be paid by the company. It is equally unclear just how many contractors have had their payments delayed as part of Gunzilla’s stated cost-optimization efforts.
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Despite its apparent financial struggles, Gunzilla was the company that revived Game Informer in March 2025, securing the brand from GameStop, bringing back the editorial team, and restoring the publication’s archive while promising the outlet would operate independently. In that context, the allegations now surrounding Off The Grid carry added weight, because they sit awkwardly alongside Gunzilla’s recent effort to cast itself as a stabilizing force for a legacy name in games media.
- Released
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August 10, 2024
- ESRB
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M For Mature 17+ // Blood, Cash Rewards, Strong Language, Use of Drugs, Violence
- Developer(s)
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Gunzilla Games
- Publisher(s)
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Gunzilla Games
- Engine
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Unreal Engine 5
Source: Insider Gaming
