Gunzilla Games contractors are publicly airing grievances over months-long payment delays, with VFX artist Paul Creamer claiming he hasn't been paid since October 2025 despite working through December on repeated assurances from upper management. Creamer, who spent a year at the blockchain studio behind Off The Grid, detailed his experience on LinkedIn, where other former contractors echoed similar delays—some longer than his. The complaints surfaced after Gunzilla acquired Game Informer, prompting questions about the studio's financial priorities amid claims of profitability from CEO Vlad Korolev himself.

Korolev fired back on X on April 9, dismissing the uproar as a 'narrative from haters' spreading FUD against the 'biggest web3 game ever created.' He drew a line between full-time employees—whose salaries he says have never lagged more than a week in six years—and contractors, admitting payments are 'scheduled in a way that works for the company’s cash flow.' A tacked-on apology for 'any inconvenience' followed, alongside boasts of 3,000 daily new players for Off The Grid and an offer for critics to buy access to a live dashboard for 100,000 GUN tokens. One recent contractor, he noted, was paid immediately upon completion.

The distinction rings familiar in an industry rife with contractor exploitation, where web3 promises of innovation often mask cash flow crunches. Gunzilla, backed by Neill Blomkamp and touting Off The Grid as Web3 Game of the Year twice over, now faces scrutiny over silenced questions and removed posts, per Creamer. As LinkedIn threads and gaming forums light up with support for the contractors, the CEO's defense underscores a broader truth: obligations get honored on the company's timeline, inconvenience be damned.