Hatoful Boyfriend creator, Hato Moa, has gone on record to express her outrage at the way Epic Games has handled royalties from the sales of Hatoful Boyfriend on their platform. In a fiery blog post and series of Tweets, the Japanese writer and video game designer has highlighted the perceived lack of payment for her work on the game.
“For two full years, I have received no royalties from my work on Hatoful Boyfriend from Epic Games,” wrote Moa in her blog post. “I’ve asked Epic Games for an explanation, but they’ve ignored me. I’m extremely disappointed and frustrated by their failure to compensate me for my work.”
Moa believes that Epic Games should not use “ignorance or bureaucracy” as an excuse for not paying up, noting that other developers have been given royalties without much hassle. She also states that regardless of the legal details of the agreement between her and Epic, she should still be compensated for her work as it overlaps with the time Epic was selling her game.
Epic Games has yet to respond to Moa’s allegations. However, the company has been criticised in the past for its treatment of developers, with many believing the company to be unfair in its dealings with them. Moa’s case is the latest in a series of complaints from developers concerning unpaid royalties.
Meanwhile, the creator of the indie-hit game is remaining optimistic, despite her current situation. In her final words in her post, Moa writes, “I know there are a lot of good people at Epic who care about the right thing, and that eventually I’ll be paid what I’m owed. All I want is to be fairly compensated for my hard work.”