Desura -- problems paying devs??

[steve58]

...saw this over on Blues News.  While I am hopeful this is not an indication of deeper problems that may ultimately result in the site's demise, I did go and make sure I grabbed Steam keys for the few games I have in my Desura collection.  Just a heads up...

..and more info over at RPS.  Seems the payment issues have been going on for a while.  ...also did not know that Desura was behind the Indie Royale bundles.

[Martok]

Damn, I had no idea this was happening.  Here's hoping Desura gets their act together and catches up on their payments to devs PDQ. 

[Staggerwing]

This talk of grabbing steam keys before it's too late had me trying to log in to Desura, only to find out that it's is one of the very few online store I've never bought from. Must be my fault they are in financial troubles...  :-\

[DennisS]

I would be very leery about putting any money into Desura at this point. Rock Paper Shotgun also has a nice article on their ... issues.

If they're not paying the devs their cut, then if we were to give them money, and they elected to not release the program to us..we would have zero recourse.

This is frequently what a business does, just prior to going out of business..collect all the cash they can, then leave town, figuratively.

[Pete Dero]

http://www.gamasutra.com/view/news/245334/Desuras_parent_company_has_filed_for_bankruptcy.php

From Bluesnews :

Bad Juju, parent company of both Desura and Indie Royale, has filed for bankruptcy protection, reports Gamasutra, with the news coming just a couple of weeks after reports of missed royalty payments to developers. The situation is a bit cloudy at the moment, as they state that Bad Juju's head of developer relations says she learned of the news through Twitter, and that the company's CEO told her he was instructed by lawyers not to answer any questions right now. They also note that the developer of Project Zomboid is recommending that players who haven't activated Steam keys purchased via Desura do so "as soon as possible."

[jomni]

Well the name Bad Juju doesn't sound safe anyway.

[BanzaiCat]

I have Project Zomboid. Bought it during the Steam Christmas sale, installed it, and never played it.

[Nefaro]

I have Project Zomboid. Bought it during the Steam Christmas sale, installed it, and never played it.

It's pretty fun IMO.  If you can figure out how to do some things (like cook stuff). 

Been in development for eternity and still slowly going.

[Nefaro]

I alpha-funded numerous games on Desura, and purchased a few like the Dominions series there.

Fortunately they offer DRM-free installers for all their stuff so if they disappear, then I'll still have my games.   O0

[Nefaro]

Looks like there was an updated statement from Desura awhile back:

There is a lot of news coming, so I'm going to bullet point these and then expand on it. We have been far from idle over the weekend, and this is what I can tell you today:

*  Tony was released from the hospital late Sunday, and while still having to confront ongoing serious health issues, he and I are working closely to move things forward. It is making things slower than we would like, but progress is being made.
*  Manual developer payments are resuming, and those manual payouts will continue throughout the process of getting automation in place
*  There will be a new forum and news page coming as soon as possible
*  Desura is not going out of business, we are not in financial crisis. We are moving forward and actively working toward partnerships and opportunities for growth.

I want to address several more things which I have seen repeated frequently that require clarification and to stop the spread of rumors. The rumors that we never paid developers (as in, since buying the site nobody has ever been paid), or that buying from Desura means developers will never see money, are false. Payments had slowed down, and there are past due accounts, but there has not been a time where no payments were going out. These issues are being addressed, but that is a far sight different from having "run off with developer money" or never being willing or able to pay out. The timeline on some of these accounts dates to before we acquired Desura, and this is where the situation became so complicated.

The second rumor, that we are going out of business, is also false. We are in fact exploring some very exciting new avenues in terms of partnerships and growth opportunities. The payout issues are not an indication that we don't have the funds to pay. Bringing in the changes to the payout system, as well as new contracts being lowered to a $250 threshold will both help prevent this from being a recurring problem in the future.

Many took my previous statement as "excuses", or as being the explanation for why payments were late. What I explained last week was the reason Tony was not here next to me answering developer emails and sending out those payments. Lack of automation is the heart of why the delayed payments arose, as is the very complicated accounting situation due to the acquisition. Additionally, contracts have always had a $500 minimum payout threshold, and when an account does not reach that limit, it does not trigger for payment. This has caused some accounts to go significant lengths of time without being paid. When I said Tony's hospitalization and our moving offices compounded things, I meant that in the literal sense, it further threw wrenches into an already existing situation.

I have been contacted by several developers concerned that we were going to focus on automation and that they would not be paid out till that happened. This is not the case. Manual payments will be ongoing through the entire process, and past due accounts will be brought current...

etc

http://www.desura.com/news/may-27th-update

[Huw the Poo]

That was posted before they filed for bankruptcy, by the look of it.

[DennisS]

That was posted before they filed for bankruptcy, by the look of it.

...yep, along with "some very exciting new avenues in terms of partnerships and growth opportunities." Yeah. Sure. 

[Huw the Poo]

Come on now.  The PR mouthpiece may well have known nothing about it.  Bankruptcies are by definition last resorts, so even a week or two beforehand, they may well have been doing just what they said they were doing.