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 experiences. 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 House, earlier than Prytania Media itself closed.
Per Polygon’s reporting, the Strains declare that NetEase “unfold false and defamatory statements that prompted the demise of Prytania Media,” and particularly, that the Chinese language firm urged Prytania Media was engaged in monetary fraud, scaring away different traders.
Prytania Media shutdown Crop Circle Video games with out warning in March 2024, earlier than closing Risk House a month later. Risk House 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 Canines: Legion designer Liz England and Jane Ng, the lead surroundings artist on Firewatch. On the time, the Strains urged that data shared with Kotaku about an in-development title referred to 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 shade on what the Strains declare NetEase did, learn Polygon’s report. Nevertheless issues play out, it would not 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 main points of the lawsuit.
