Blue Box Game Studios has denied rumours that it is cancelling upcoming horror game Abandoned, while studio founder Hasan Kahraman has addressed claims that a musician was left unpaid for their work on the game.
Yesterday (March 31), Blue Box Game Studios shared a statement on Twitter that said it has been “bombarded with requests and questions regarding the development status for Abandoned.”
Responding to rumours that Abandoned had been cancelled, the studio labelled them as “false” though said it has been delayed due to the team “underestimating our development roadmap.”
Our response to the Cancellation rumours: pic.twitter.com/EuiY8Squ52
— BLUE BOX Game Studios (@BBGameStudios) March 31, 2022
“Therefore we have delayed the reveal and the release for Abandoned: Prologue. We will release Abandoned: Prologue when it’s stable, good and ready,” added Blue Box, which offered “sincere apologies” to fans.
The statement was issued after Blue Box Game Studios deleted a range of marketing posts surrounding Abandoned, which prompted speculation that the game had been quietly cancelled.
This has also brought to light a dispute between musician Christopher Schierbock and Hasan Kahraman, founder of Blue Box Game Studios.
Schierbock claimed that his band, The Eyes Inside, approached Kahraman to ask if he would be interested in using one of their tracks for Abandoned. In emails verified by NME, Kahraman then requested different versions of the song, and later added “we will use the soundtrack in the game and maybe in the teaser” – though it’s unclear if this was conditional to the studio agreeing to use the song.
Schierbock says that his band “worked like 50-60 hours” to create a song to accommodate Kahraman’s requests, and provided NME with a copy of said song. After submitting the piece, Schierbock claims Kahraman became difficult to get in touch with, however today (April 1) the pair discussed the matter over a phone call.
Speaking to NME, Kahraman shared that “I did mention [to] him that it might be used for the game but after all the song was too dark for the game,” and said the issues raised by Schierbock were “a result of my own miscommunication.”
“To be clear he never made music for the game, we [were] just talking about it. But he was waiting too long for an answer,” added Kahraman.
Since speaking today, Kahraman says he has “offered [Schierbock] and his friend a fee” as well as an offer for Schierbock to work as a “graphic designer” on Abandoned. Schierbock has confirmed that he received an offer for work, though said the fee Kahraman offered is to be paid “when the game is released.”
Back in 2021, Kahraman sat down with NME to explain what players could expect from Abandoned.
In other gaming news, four US Senators have accused Microsoft of “protecting” Activision Blizzard CEO Bobby Kotick, who has faced repeated calls to resign from employees within the company.
The post ‘Abandoned’ developer addresses cancellation rumours and missed payment allegations appeared first on NME.
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