Desura Filed for Bankruptcy

[phoenix_rossy]

Great, huh? That means that hundreds of developers like me probably won't be seeing our accounts pay what they're owed.

 

[Kes]

That is awful.  I posted a link the other day about them not paying their devs since they were bought out last October.  This has to be one of the quickest destructions of an acquisition in a long time.

Payments to creditors will depend how much the business is ringfenced.  It could be that the holding company will be held liable for all debts incurred since acquisition, so there ought to be some payout - unless, of course, the parent company is going bankrupt too.

EDIT

Just went and checked - it's the parent company, so unless there are some ringfenced funds, that will be it.

 

[Hudell]

I think the parent company is going bankrupt too.

 

[Engr. Adiktuzmiko]

I guess so

Just went and checked - it's the parent company, so unless there are some ringfenced funds, that will be it.

 

[cabfe]

I was unfortunately right when I feared the recent payments problems issue was their swan song...

That's sad.

 

[Esrever]

Yep, it is the parent company, Bad Juju Games, Inc. which has filed. Below is the case number.

Bad JuJu Games, Inc.
Bankruptcy Case #: 8:15-bk-12823

Previously, Desura was developed by Linden Labs (same people behind Second Life). It was bought back in November 2014 by Bad Juju, and for the last month or so, there have been increasing reports of developers selling their games through Desura not receiving payments. This will also mean that Indie Royale is affected as they share the same parent company. It is being suggested that any Steam keys bought through Desura be used as soon as possible since it is unknown how long they remain valid and/or available.

It might be worth noting that Desura is open source and someone may fork it for a new service at some point, but itch.io and IndieGameStand will probably be the better places to go if you're looking for alternatives.

 

[phoenix_rossy]

And yet, both Desura AND IndieRoyale continue to sell other people's products. Will we get paid from these ongoing transactions? Not likely.

What's worse, if the staff had no idea, and the CEO filed behind their backs, leaving the head of PR to deal with a complete sh*storm of abuse. Poor woman. She'd been defending Desura for months over late payment issues, and she finds out via Twitter of all places that she no longer had a job.

 

[Esrever]

From what some of the staff have been stating (whether true or not I do not know), they were completely unaware.

Graeme Boxall - Indie Royale / Organizer

Lisa Morrison - Desura / Developer Relations

All devs can really hope to do is use social networking to get the word out and to assist with customers as much as they reasonably can until transitioning their games away from Desura can be finalized. Really unfortunate.

 

[cabfe]

Lisa Morrison looks completely caught by surprise. She even twitted this:

"If everyone can help RT please, I can't use company accounts, we are locked out. I can't answer my email there anymore"

 

That's scary.

 

[phoenix_rossy]

I think that it's pretty normal for the liquidator to seize control of all company accounts. Probably to stop any employees from seeking revenge by liquidating those assets themselves

 

[Clord]

Steam overlords consume yet another competitor under their mighty foot (what?) This also will help Valve as this scares people from buying PC games via their competitors unless it's a steam key.


At this point all we can do is laugh and enjoy the show. I hope that developers get paid however as those are who really lose in this situation.


But yeah, this is yet another reason to only buy digital PC games that work on Steam service as their competitors drop like flies.


Currently I either use GoG.com or Steam pretty much.


Also I assume that the gamers will lose their Desura libaries, this sucks as I have some games on there.

 

[Ralpf]

Steam overlords consume yet another competitor under their mighty foot (what?) This also will help Valve as this scares people from buying PC games via their competitors unless it's a steam key.

At this point all we can do is laugh and enjoy the show. I hope that developers get paid however as those are who really lose in this situation.

But yeah, this is yet another reason to only buy digital PC games that work on Steam service as their competitors drop like flies.

Currently I either use GoG.com or Steam pretty much.

Also I assume that the gamers will lose their Desura libaries, this sucks as I have some games on there.

Anyone that does should download them now if they can and haven't already.

 

[Indinera]

I never liked badjuju, their new layout, their logo etc.

Guess for once my intuition was correct.

IndieRoyale is probably going to be discontinued after the current bundle is over, but if you've got pending games, make sure to ask Graeme not to release them.

 

[Esrever]

I'm sorry, but this is not Steam consuming another competitor, this is Bad Juju Games running companies into the ground. Desura already had issues prior to the buyout to Bad Juju, but at least under new ownership it had the opportunity to change. Desura has not adapted (front-end and back-end) to the changing climate of online gaming boutiques for years now and had lost its edge to other, more innovative, competitors.

Desura started off as a great way for indie devs to get their games on an online distribution platform, as when it launched, Steam Greenlight (and eventually Early Access) did not exist. Even when it did exist, it took some time to become decent and worth the time for devs to even bother with it. Once it became a good alternative however, this was pretty much the end of Desura. It no longer held it monopoly on unheard ofs and lesser-knowns. As the years went by, we saw the likes of the Humble Store, GOG, Greenman Bundles, and more. Desura was literally doing nothing but sitting there at a time when innovation was needed most to keep up. Desura really offered nothing that players couldn't find elsewhere, and when the players left, so did the devs.

 

[Clord]

It doesn't change the fact that Valve will benefit from this. Most thriving "competitors" are official resellers or those that specialize to sell different games than Steam and its resellers.


GoG and adult sites pretty much are thriving due Steam don't generally sell those titles (AO rated adult visual novels, etc.)

 

[Esrever]

Decent point about the resellers (such as Greenman). Not that I am a fan of EA, but Origin is another platform with exclusive titles.

EDIT: I suppose Unisoft's uPlay can also be counted.

 

[mlogan]

It doesn't change the fact that Valve will benefit from this. Most thriving "competitors" are official resellers or those that specialize to sell different games than Steam and its resellers.

GoG and adult sites pretty much are thriving due Steam don't generally sell those titles (AO rated adult visual novels, etc.)

Valve/Steam benefiting from something that happened is not the same as them causing something to happen. I've not seen anything to indicate that Valve had anything to do with the destruction of this site/company.

And BadJuju - what an apt name.

 

[Shelby]

I never liked Desura, their service was bad compared to many other sites, I will not be sad to see them go, and if we don't get our payout then I still think it's worth it to see them go away for good! As far as Steam goes I have a love hate relationship with them.

 

[metronome]

Desura goes bankrupt and Steam will let buyers to make refund whatever the buyers' reason are as long as it is in 14 days.

Bad days ahead?

May be. May be not.

Truth is, this is the first time I have ever heard something called Desura.

How big Desura is compared to Steam?

 

[Indinera]

How big Desura is compared to Steam?

ant to elephant?