Jeff and Annie Pressure, the homeowners of writer Prytania Media, are suing NetEase over claims of "defamation, unfair commerce practices and interference with enterprise relations," Polygon reports. The brand new lawsuit runs counter to the couple's earlier declare that leaks shared with Kotaku led to them shutting down their studios Crop Circle Video games and Risk Area, earlier than Prytania Media itself closed.
Per Polygon's reporting, the Strains declare that NetEase "unfold false and defamatory statements that brought on the demise of Prytania Media," and particularly, that the Chinese language firm urged Prytania Media was engaged in monetary fraud, scaring away different buyers.
Prytania Media shutdown Crop Circle Video games with out warning in March 2024, earlier than closing Risk Area a month later. Risk Area was notable for the number of expertise it had engaged on its first AAA title, together with former Waypoint editor-in-chief Austin Walker, Watch Dogs: Legiondesigner Liz England and Jane Ng, the lead atmosphere artist on Firewatch. On the time, the Strains urged that info shared with Kotaku about an in-development title known as "Undertaking Vonnegut" led to an unnamed investor backing away from providing additional funding. If the brand new lawsuit is to be believed, that was not the case.
The lawsuit is headed to federal court docket. For extra colour on what the Strains declare NetEase did, learn Polygon's report. Nonetheless issues play out, it doesn't change the truth that lots of people had been laid off and Prytania Media did little to make issues proper. "Severance by no means materialized btw," Walker shared in a Bluesky thread going over the small print of the lawsuit.
This text initially appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/jeff-strain-is-suing-investor-netease-claiming-internal-gossip-caused-his-game-company-to-shut-down-202342126.html?src=rss