Bollywood: Aeon Must Die Trailer Reappears Despite Unresolved Crunch Allegations

The trailer for Aeon Must Die has been reuploaded to YouTube a year after a series of accusations were made by former employees alleging withheld pay and mistreatment by developer Limestone Games management. The allegations surfaced shortly after the game’s trailer was first shown off at PlayStation’s State of Play event in August 2020, which left the game in limbo regarding its release until now.

The former Aeon Must Die developers reported mistreatment from Limestone Games and its CEO, Yaroslav Lyssenko. Along with testimonials from various staff regarding their experience, it was shared that all of the employees working on the title had quit shortly before the game’s State of Play reveal. They stated that the trailer shown was "theft," with some staffers "not even paid for their work," and former devs at Limestone Games detailed unsuitable working conditions at the company. This included allegations of harassment, corruption, abuse, underpayment of staff, and being subjected to crunch.

As first reported by VGC, the trailer for Aeon Must Die has resurfaced on publisher Focus Home Interactive’s YouTube channel, despite the ongoing lawsuits surrounding the beat 'em up game. The reuploaded trailer came with an announcement that Aeon Must Die will be released on PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, and PC sometime in 2021. Responding on Twitter to the reuploaded Aeon Must Die trailer, its former developers that now work at Mishura Games have stated that they are “confused and baffled by the announcement of Aeon Must Die.” Mishura Games added that there are still multiple ongoing legal disputes regarding unpaid work, the game’s IP, and more. Screen Rant has reached out to Focus Home Interactive for comment.

While Aeon Must Die's publisher responded to developers' accusations shortly after they were made, the company has remained quiet on the issue since then and not issued any public update on its internal investigation. The response was labeled disingenuous by former Limestone staff, who claimed that Focus Home Interactive was well aware of the situation as it occurred. Focus Home Interactive’s statement that it would look into the matter have since been contradicted by Mishura Games' response, which stated that “no publisher investigation was conducted.”

The unresolved story with the beat 'em up title’s alleged misconduct mirror other ongoing game industry issues, with much larger companies such as Activision Blizzard have come under legal fire for allegedly fostering toxic work environments. Discrepancies between Focus Home Interactive’s initial statement, former developers' claims, and the reappearance of Aeon Must Die’s trailer on YouTube have yet to be addressed by Focus Home at press time.

Next: Activision Blizzard Contract Workers Allege Toxic Work Culture

Aeon Must Die will be available on PS4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, and PC in 2021.

Sources: Focus Home Interactive/YouTube (via VGC), Mishura Games/Twitter

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August 20, 2021 at 12:17AM

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