Recently, a Chinese indie game called Arrogation: Unlight of the Day has sparked controversy due to public accusations against the well-known Chinese games media, Gamersky.
“Gamersky robbed our work that costed 2.3 million”
According to the video published, Gamersky did not follow the agreed terms during the game's trial and promotion stages, resulting in low sales and decreased interest in the game. The studio also accused Gamersky of making unauthorized changes to the game's revenue account transfer date on the termination contract, attempting to cheat the game's development team out of their profits.
“Truth”
Gamersky responded by claiming that they had been communicating with two different teams - the game's development team and the investor - for the past six months. They stated that the accusations were initiated by the investor, who is studying in Macau and is not in direct contact with the team.
Gamersky then presented evidence, including chat logs, to refute the investor's claims. They argued that they had actually wanted to delay the game's release due to numerous bugs and glitches that prevented players from enjoying the game properly. Gamersky claimed that the investor forced the game to be released prematurely to avoid being forced to inherit his family business if the game was not successful.
Four days before the game was released, Gamersky's testers were still giving feedback to the development team about the fatal glitches that made the game unplayable
Gamersky also highlighted that during the period leading up to the game's launch, the investor’s posts using the game’s social media they controlled were extremely negative, frequently making disparaging remarks about players and influencers.
Gamersky also denied the claim that they did not effectively promote the game, pointing out that they had invested heavily in online videos and images, as well as engaging numerous Chinese gaming influencers to play and promote the game. Negative reviews were mainly due to the game's poor quality, and not a result of insufficient promotion.
Most of the video uploaders are invited by Gamersky
Regarding the accusation that Gamersky changed the contract terms, Gamersky admitted to a mistake made by their finance department but claimed that the transfer of control over the account had been carried out immediately after the contract was received. Therefore, there was no attempt to cheat the development team out of their profits.
Gamersky showed the mistake they made, making the account transfer deadline from 5 days to 35.
The controversy has caused a stir among gamers, with most of them siding with Gamersky due to the evidence presented, the poor quality of the game itself, and the extremely arrogant attitude of the investor towards the players and influencers. However, some players have raised concerns about Gamersky's history as a piracy site and questioned whether they could be considered a qualified game publishing company in the industry's current push towards standardization.
Currently, neither party has made any further announcements or responses. It remains to be seen whether they will settle the matter peacefully or take it to court to determine the outcome. We will continue to report on this story as it develops.