Earlier this week, the developer behind the hit Pigeon-Dating sim Hatoful Boyfriend accused Epic Games of not paying them royalties for the past two years.
For those fowl friends still not in the know, Hatoful Boyfriend is a comedic avian dating sim first released in Japan in 2011 that sets the player up with a high school host of Pigeon PNGs.
Complete with fully romanceable birds and a murder mystery, Hatoful Boyfriend promises to be one of the strangest, hilariously bizarre novels for players to sink their beaks into.
After seeing widespread popularity following an English translation and a remake by Mediatonic, Eurogamer details how Epic acquired Hatoful Boyfriend in 2021 and delisted the breathtaking bird game from every major platform except Steam.
However, in a tweet sending condolences to Mediatonic following their recent layoffs, Hatoful Boyfriend’s developer Moa claimed they hadn’t received any “royalty [payments] for Hatoful Boyfriend from Epic since they acquired Mediatonic back in spring 2021.”
Though it’s not unseen for video game developers to delay or withhold payments, as Gamerant details Genshin Impact voice actors claiming Hoyoverse hadn’t paid them in six months, this is more severe given Epic Games delisting Hatoful Boyfriend from all other platforms, excluding Steam, potentially robbing Moa of their royalties.
Especially after a week of videogame layoffs from Team 17, Ubisoft, Sega, and Epic Games, this alarming news is likely to spell more criticism and uncertainty for the major video game platform.
Is Hatoful Boyfriend Dev Suing Epic Games?
No. Despite Epic Games’s potential misstep, GamesIndustryBiz details that Moa isn’t pursuing legal action as it wouldn’t be worth filing suit over the missing royalties as the money in question wouldn’t justify the cost or effort of legal action.
Though Epic Games has responded, saying they’re “looking into this and the team will be reaching out to [Moa] directly,” there’s been no update on the situation.
Fortunately, GamesIndustryBiz adds that Moa is taking the situation well, letting fans know that they’re fine and wishing they had been “strong and influential enough to support all of nice people from Mediatonic who had always been nice to [them] and Hatoful.”
Further Reading
Looking for another helping of Hatoful or more on Mediantonic? Check out the articles below for more hit indie announcements and news!
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