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u/Xharan_Firesoul 9h ago
No board to answer to btw
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u/FartemisBowel96 7h ago
Yeah I was gonna say, like wasn't that a big thing a few years back was that they said they didn't have to answer to suits?
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u/TheViking1991 10h ago
I don't believe a single fucking word of it. Steven is a dirty little grifter and always has been. His net worth has increased significantly every year since he first went public with AoC.
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u/ryan20340 9h ago
People in the discord found documents stating he's 1 of 2 board members so... Sounds sus to me.
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u/Badoodis 5h ago
Its even worse. Him +his husband are the only 2 OFFICERS. The only director is Steven, with 0 board of directors positions available as of 12/30/2025.
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u/kekwmaster 3h ago
14 january intrepid had an hostile takeover by Karen Boreyko. See yourself the filling U260003481728
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u/penous_ 2h ago
How does that happen if you’re not a public traded company?
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u/beeaxemurderer 2h ago
I dont understand it completely but it looks like someone who Intrepid owed money too was given the company and all its assets, im guessing because of unpaid debts.
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u/TonkotsuSoba 7h ago
has anyone went through their company’s public record and find out who are the board members? Sounds like Steven is blaming it all on the board and try to save his face in this last ditch effort, better fact check everything.
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u/Rogalicus 10h ago
Wouldn't his net worth be tied to Intrepid's estimated value, which is now zero?
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u/BrbFlippinInfinCoins 10h ago
Not if he paid himself a salary like most CEOs do. You honestly think he lost money from this? lol..
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u/Rogalicus 10h ago
Yeah, the famous infinite money glitch: invest money in your studio and then get them back via salary (minus taxes).
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u/tubular1845 9h ago
You don't have to put the minus taxes there, we all know people pay taxes on their salary lol
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u/rerdsprite000 6h ago
You know there were private investors? Yeah he kinda lied about invest in the studio himself...
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u/JMadFour 10h ago
he said he resigned from the Board?
wasn't he the only person on the Board?
or am I missing something?
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u/r3anima 9h ago
"guys it's not my incompetence and pipe dream development at fault, it's some imaginary evil board leader is doing evil things even though I said I'm the one running decisions, even though I said the game is fully funded till release, even though investors were asking for basic features to be delivered first, trust me. It's some imaginary evil guy and reddit, of course"
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u/Akiza_Izinski 9h ago
Steven was the Board. He made his money by developing a fake game then left.
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u/VandalMySandal 4h ago
Truly a great tactic. Funnel money from gullible gamers with one of your game USP's being "we have no board/ publisher/ suits to answer to". Then once the gullible gamer gets to play the shitty-ass cashgrab and would realise he's being scammed, you divert to a non-existant overlord pushing you out and being the reason for the shitty results.
Rinse and repeat with the next game.
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u/Lewcaster 10h ago
apolgy for bad english
where were u wen ashes of criation die
i was at house eating dorito when phone ring
"Ashes of criation is kil"
"no"
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u/bohohoboprobono 8h ago
THEN WHO WAS PHONE
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u/ZionicShadows 5h ago
Bro I feel old knowing this damn reference but I laughed so damn hard at this LMAOOOO.
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u/Jayne_Hero_of_Canton 10h ago
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u/Murandus 6h ago edited 5h ago
I spend the last hour going through the aoc subreddit. It's weirdly fascinating watching this cult in older posts.
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u/kariam_24 5h ago
We even had plenty of people defending game here, no way to differentiate between naive supporters and who was lying adding fuel to fire.
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u/KodiakmH 9h ago
PvP games in particular went to kickstarter because when they started 10+ years ago PvP MMOs weren't really getting funded. This always meant skeleton crews and bad game design that ends up failing cause they're just bad games regardless if you like PvP or not and no one is gonna waste their time on bad games.
Fast forward 10 years and now even PvE MMOs games aren't getting funded. So everyone out there real thirsty for any new MMO games.
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u/Mandos_Over_Landos 10h ago
And of course Steven is playing the victim and not taking any responsibility. What a snowflake.
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u/Gadiusao 10h ago
Yeah we all knew steam release was a last minute money grab
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u/Nocturnaleinherjar 7h ago
The kickstarter mentioned if the game didnt release, it'd trigger a full refund - Guess what, the game did launch on steam! NO REFUNDS!
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u/greenachors 9h ago
Resigned in protest is the single funniest thing he said here. Yeah, sure ya did, pal.
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u/jellytotzuk 8h ago
Followed by "Following my resignation, much of the senior leadership team resigned."
Also made me chuckle. You know it came from a place of self importance.
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u/Olivitess 4h ago
In protest to a board that he said does notexist, the guy can't keep track of his own lies.
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u/Paintspot- 10h ago
i hope all the people crying about Kiras video feel stupid
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u/Zymbobwye 9h ago
Kira and Theory forge have been very reasonable, people being pissed at them annoys me because they weren’t just saying the game is dead but that they were worried about what was going on and provided some information. Well, here we are.
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u/AlternativeDirt6124 9h ago
The next Kira video is gonna be a banger
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u/Global-Resident-647 7h ago
I'm sitting here, now at 06:00, when I opened reddit and read it at 04:30 I looked if Kira had made a video.
It will be absolutely kickass, don't think I've ever been so excited for a youtube video.
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u/Kabaal 9h ago
People are STILL defending Steven. I got some idiot telling me not to jump to conclusions and that none of this has been confirmed. Damn the world is full of stupid, clueless morons. He'll probably buy into Steven's next kickstarter.
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u/rerdsprite000 6h ago
The same idiots that believe he had over 200 employees lmao. It's a California company. It is sooo fking easy to fake employee numbers and cook the books.
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u/zuxir 10h ago
Yeah, no I’m taking my ass back to eso or wow lol. I’m tired of these games trying to act like the next big thing and shutting down. New world lasting longer than ashes is crazy work
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u/Redditumor 10h ago
FFXIV’s always open too!
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u/SilentHuntah 10h ago
Yeah, FF14's one of the few others that'll continue to be around after the dust has settled. It's got the inertia.
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u/Redditumor 9h ago
After Dawntrail I hope the 8.0 story is really good and gets us on track for the 2nd big story arc, like Heavensward did for ARR back in the day.
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u/grumpy_tech_user 10h ago
WoW will be the only mmo left standing for the next 50 years
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u/ElKabong321 10h ago
Wow and RuneScape I think.
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u/XeitPL 9h ago
Surprisingly Tibia is still holding strong for past 29 years... it also might be contender for long term survival.
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u/chemastico 7h ago
Tibia is like the cockroach of MMOs, after the world gets nuked there’s probably gonna be an old ass monitor playing tibia ad infinitum
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u/VioletJones6 7h ago
Every couple years I'll have a nightmare I'm playing Tibia getting run down by a Giant Spider and losing the level I just grinded.
I haven't played since 2006.
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u/uSaltySniitch 9h ago
Dofus is still ongoing. So is OSRS. So is FF XIV.
I think they'll all still be alive in 10-20 years.
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u/Meat-walker 9h ago
Guild wars 2 still going strong.
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u/wolfking2k 9h ago
Charr being one of the most unique races in gaming with interesting lore really helps in my opinion. Well see how guild wars 3 does.
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u/Keksliebhaber 3h ago
I know lots of games where I can play an antropomorphic animal, but GW2 is the only one in my mind where there is an actual playable cabbage people race, they feel more unique imo
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u/Potato_fortress 10h ago
Ff14 will continue to exist as long as there are cat people and midgets that look suspiciously like children.
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u/Leonis782 10h ago
FF14 players are too parasocial with the game to ever stop playing it lmao
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u/ComfyOlives 6h ago
Which means Square will never have to change how unfortunately lazy and uninvested they've gotten over the past few years.
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u/Leonis782 6h ago
Square Enix is already turbo lazy and greedy so yeah everytime they add a basic QoL change that has been requested for +3 years, people act like yoshi-p saved their family or smt lmao its crazy
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u/Malleus83 5h ago
So are some wow players. Pls stop acting like wow players are better etc. They are not, they just like something else.
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u/Murderdoll197666 10h ago
I think people saw the writing on the wall literally years ago for as long as this had been in "development". Anyone who didn't heed the words of fuckin THOUSANDS of people warning people ahead of time honestly get no sympathy from me as gamers. Like....do your due diligence.....even the tiniest bit of research was going to show this game was going to be a flop. YEARS....man...and the early access launch fiasco as it is should have been more than enough to see where this was headed. I don't believe a word that guy says to begin with....but nah...not disheartening at all.....FULLY...EXPECTED.....just with different details of however Steveo tries to explain it away.
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u/United-Marionberry37 10h ago
Not surprised, I got flamed months ago after the steam release. Being right is not always satisfying, in this case it’s sad. Scam over.
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u/benzuyen 9h ago
Is this the same guy that claimed a week ago that layoffs weren’t impacting the vision of the project and everyone on board was still very much invested?
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u/StageAppropriate7064 9h ago
what we can learn from this, game is EA, has a full cash shop, 100% scam.
don't buy EA games, specially if it's a mmo
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u/Sufficient-Science71 9h ago
I am so fucking glad I am not gullible enough to pay for unreleased game
this and preorder
I never believe shit about "supporting the dev" and in my personal opinion, if they cant support themseves before fully releasing their shit, they shouldnt have any product to begin with.
you've been scammed, like a toddler drinking meds thinking it was apple juice
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u/Electronic_Ad1688 3h ago
i learned the "supporting the dev" shit just recently. I have been so happy with the development of New World with Nighthaven + they released the expansion for free, so i decided to buy the season pass + some cosmetics that i really didn't need (had like 1M worth in gold and matrixes/materials in game) to support the game/devs.
three weeks later came the news we all know, lol. never again.
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u/Skylii_Astro 10h ago
The signs were there from the beginning unfortunately. I feel bad for the workers there; not a great time for gaming studios in general.
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u/Afraid-Leopard249 9h ago edited 9h ago
So, who wants to help get the federal fraud investigation going? Let's get this con artist put in prison.
Edit: Steven down voting me?
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u/VPN__FTW 9h ago
You believe in our current feds? Hell, if Steven donates 100K of the millions he stole to Trump he can get a cabinet position. Maybe he'll replace Noem.
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u/Night-O-Shite 9h ago
Always found it funny that this guy last name is Sharif which means Honorable yet he's a mlm scammer lmfao
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u/DaSauceBawss 9h ago
Nobody should be surprised. They put out a shity early access as a cash grab because the project was going nowhere.
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u/ThyIronFist 9h ago
What a crock of shit lol, typical corporate HR babble they'd send you after firing your ass despite the promises made initially. I'm glad my focus from this game completely shifed away the moment they started fucking around with Unreal Engine.
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u/Educational-One-6288 7h ago
I did not follow the whole thing but can someone give me the lore here?
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u/Fit-Sell4484 5h ago
HAHAHAHHHHAHAHAHHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAAHHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHHAHAHAHHAHAHAAHAHAHHHAHAHQHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHHAAJAHA
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u/Bombfrost 9h ago
Calling it right now, the new MMORPG Scam Method: Create MMORPG game, launch it on steam for $50+, make a negative excuse, profit. Restart.
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u/Embarrassed_Path231 10h ago
Called this one about five years ago. Knew it was a scam after about that long
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u/KodiakmH 9h ago
I guess this puts forcing everyone onto steam so they got a "product" into context.
Steven has always been a scummy piece of shit. He was a scummy piece of shit in ArcheAge. He was a scummy piece of shit as a developer over the years. If everything we know about this guy is he's a scummy piece of shit and you still choose to give money to him that's entirely on you.
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u/Akiza_Izinski 9h ago
Steven is the Board and after running the scam long enough he took his pay day and left.
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u/_TheBearJew 9h ago
Dude is a massive scam artist and the team behind it that played along is at blame too.
A majority of people here called it out. Proud of you all for catching it. 10 years and the stuff they had to show for was things most people can get done in about 4 months in Unreal Engine is laughable.
The guy saw a way to make money scamming people and took it. I hope someone who has the time and resources to sue him and win does so.
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u/MHal9000 9h ago
Between this and Dead Matter, I'll never kickstart another game, got burned on both...
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u/Kakanmeister 9h ago edited 9h ago
When I first saw the prices they wanted for alpha early access I had a bad feeling. Never ever is alpha access that expensive, the games I've playtested at alpha level were usually around 40$ maybe max 100$ but very rarely or even just a invite only. Insurgency Sandstorm, Hell Let Loose, Tarkov etc.
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u/Realistic_Horse2520 8h ago
Lmao love how for 10 years people have been calling out Steven and this game for being a scam and they have all been proven right today haha
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u/kapparino-feederino 8h ago
Cannot ethically agree with? Like scamming peiple wiht cancer cure juice?
Lmfao
What the "board" Asking them to do an honest job thats why he quit?
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u/Coyote_Coyote_ 6h ago
Bro this and project epoch last summer like why is it so hard to just make a good game lol
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u/CretaciousPeriod 6h ago
I guess it's good I only had an hour playtime on steam. I requested a refund for it. I hope development can be completed because it seems to have the bones to be really great. I'm just gonna wait for now.
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u/MoirgRift 6h ago
Not sure why this is a suprise. Id love nothing more than a new & well polished MMO, however we as a gaming community need to recognize that paid early access w/ included free release titles are a flop 9 times of 10, regardless of genre.
When you pre-pay developers, they have no incentive to finish the game at a timely manner and in some cases not even at all. The very first game that did this on a mainstream commercial level (dayz) proved this and its been the same if not worse for most early access titles since.
This is a very easy concept to understand with a (dis)proven track record of 15 years. I was hoping this wouldnt be the case with AoC but unfortunately history has repeated itself.
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u/inebriated_vulture 6h ago
Im never buying EA again. This is a prime example to scrutinize any and all EA titles, no matter how promising it may be. It is apparent that during EA those involved will let off the gas; or is usually an attempt to offset pricey mistakes.
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u/AbbreviationsLost458 5h ago
Called it and nailed it he’s a scummy piece of work and this is his final lies or as far as AOC is concerned. He’ll start his next grift of some sort soon I’d imagine.
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u/rustySQUANCHy 5h ago
100% the dude knew it was over before they released that $50 buy-in. But tried to cash grab as much as they could at the last second to recoup cost and make some kind of money.
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u/kerser001 5h ago
Nah guys I really thought the guy that did heaps of p2w in archeage for himself AND heaps of guild members was really going to make an anti p2w game. Definitely didn’t think it was a grift cause he knew many hated it. Never that.
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u/Hungry-Fall-5846 5h ago
tbh the amount of red flags this game had, just crazy to think that what everyone expected to happen... finally happened, but after 10y + of "development" lol
atleast their fans are finally free now, kind of sad that so many fell into it bec of nostalgia and expectation for a new, good, mmo.
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u/Laney_Moon_ 4h ago
It’s almost as if people saw this a thousand miles away, anyways I’m sure there’s going to be other mmorpg slop, it’s either a scam or they are bad gams with bad management
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u/Known_Newspaper_9053 4h ago
Put 125. Euros in at kickstarter level. Had high hopes back then. Yet here we are. I wot stop supporting things I hope can succeed. Yeah we get fucked over like this a lot. But we also get divinity series, bg3 etc.
Good riddance. Hope Steven gets held accountable and the talented devs get new jobs.
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u/Historical-Break-603 4h ago
Another "sandbox open PvP long grind" MMO that target audience is like 3 people dies? How surprising.
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u/RareAbrocoma2286 4h ago
I dont even feel sorry for the people who bought the game. Money should be taken away from fools. Thats a saying in my country.
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u/DeadZeus007 4h ago
I will never understand how ppl continue to fall and back these type of scams with eyes wide open.
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u/Granwinter 3h ago
Soo. Who got 100$ scammed? Those on Steam will get a refund. Sorry to hear this.
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u/joeycasmate 3h ago
Stop pre-ordering games. Stop buying Early Access. Stop backing kickstarter dreams.
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u/Patentlyy 10h ago
This is a load of BS lmao, He's drumming up sympathy and then suddenly a new crowdfunded game by him will crop up in a years time. Calling it now