Artists have been furious with board games publisher Cryptozoic Entertainment and for good reason. Allegedly, the publisher has not paid some of their artists for months on end. The issue has reached a boiling point for some of them, like Brazilian artist Marco Tamura, who published an open letter to Cryptozoic Entertainment on June 12 via Twitter, originally reported by BoardGameWire.
The Twitter post has received a lot of attention online and is still circulating to this day. Apparently, most of the artists affected by the pay delay are from Brazil, with a few exceptions. Tamura alleges that “all illustrations were delivered within the deadlines”. The artist spent three months trying to get in touch with Cryptozoic Entertainment in regard to his pay for the three months spent on an upcoming project.
A Heartbreaking Reason or a Repeat of Past Events
So far there has been no official statement from Cryptozoic Entertainment in regards to this situation. However, per leaked emails allegedly sent by the publisher, claiming that the pay delays were due to the shocking death of their CEO John Sepenuk in February, which left a huge vacuum within the company. While this is a heartbreaking and understandable reason, Cryptozoic Entertainment has been accused of similar actions in the past.
For instance, not two years ago, the publisher issued a public apology in regard to the delayed payments for Middle-earth and Crisis on Infinite Earths artists. The full apology is still available on Twitter for all to see. On that particular occasion, Cryptozoic Entertainment blamed the pandemic, delays in licensor approval, and internal staff changes.
The tendency of not paying employees is concerning, especially if the more recent allegations are proven to be true. As Tamura himself has stated “many artists count on this money to pay rent, medical bills, food and provide for their families”, which only adds fuel to the growing fire that is creeping towards Cryptozoic Entertainment. However, as there is no official statement released yet, nothing is certain at this time.