Brandon Popovich says that he was „maliciously” removed from Ember Lab.

Popovich is a veteran in the gaming industry, and he previously worked at Insomniac Games, too. He was working on Kena: Bridge of Spirits, a PlayStation 5 title, at Ember Lab, but they have parted ways since. He told VGC, sharing his story, and another contractor also contacted the site (who also said that the studio didn’t keep its promise of a full-time job and that Ember Lab didn’t pay for overtime).

Popovich said that he created 95% of Kena: Bridge of Spirits’ code until he left Ember Lab. The studio then disputed this claim, saying that Popovich made „several false accusations,” adding that he worked on the game for just seven months. They disputed his claims of unpaid work and low compensation offer, stating that the offer was „above market value.” VGC says the emails they received paint that Popovich was influential in the dev team of Kena: Bridge of Spirits. He was offered the lead designer role in January 2017.

However, the studio was in a tight financial situation, and yet, Popovich continued to work on the game even with low pay, but he had to take up a second job to make ends meet. Over time, Ember Lab couldn’t get out of its financial hole, and there was no financial deal either, which meant that Popovich ended up in debt. He claimed that his salary was cut by 50 thousand dollars (for the year, mind you – it’s also effectively half of his previous pay), and he had to either accept the pay cut or leave. He was pushed out of the team.

„This was the project that was meant to make me a big deal and suddenly it was over. I was depressed, emotional, and felt an urge to self-harm. I had hoped the game would never be announced or released, and then I saw the PlayStation 5 announcement. The grief and terrible feelings welled up inside,” Popovich said.

Ember Lab claims that Popovich was appropriately compensated for his work, adding that the accusations are „hurtful.” Getting properly paid for work doesn’t hurt, though.

Source: PSL

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