Chucklefish Responds to Claims of Unpaid Work

Over the weekend, a number of semi-prominent voices in the gaming world (including the one and only Toby Fox) spoke up against semi-prominent independent developer Chucklefish’s founder Finn Brice, who has been accused of basically exploiting free labor in order to get their games (most notably Starbound) published. This included things like writing, art assets, music, and more: you know, the stuff that forms the backbone of almost every single game in existence.

Well, after a wave of backlash, Chucklefish actually found the time to reply to the complaints.

"We're aware and saddened by the current allegations against Chucklefish regarding Starbound's early development. During this time both the core crew and community contributors were collaborating via a chat room and dedicated their time for free. Community contributors were under no obligation to create content, work to deadlines or put in any particular number of hours. Everyone was credited or remunerated as per their agreement.

It's been almost a decade since Starbound's development first began, and from then Chucklefish has grown considerably into an indie studio that has a strong emphasis on good working practices, providing a welcoming environment for all employees and freelancers. Our doors remain open to any related parties who wish to discuss their concerns with us directly."

These claims were, of course, immediately rebuffed by those who were affected, saying that contracts were signed, promises were made and broken, and yes – there were deadlines, if not explicit, then heavily implied.

For what it’s worth, most of what Chucklefish does is publishing: which includes work like Risk of Rain and Stardew Valley. The second game they ever made, Wargroove, has so far eluded any claims of abuse or mismanagement from the people who’ve worked on it, which is good, but it obviously doesn’t excuse the problems of the past.

And I doubt “discussing their concerns directly” will make things any better, either.