The MMORPG TitanReach aimed to be a modern RuneScape. The developers had already released a playable demo that looked promising. However, the online role-playing game had to be completely discontinued. A YouTuber now claims that the head of TitanReach has gambled away money and allegedly bought himself a Tesla.
How was the development of the game?
- Even before the first Kickstarter campaign, the developers of TitanReach presented a playable version. This is more than nearly all MMORPGs on Kickstarter could showcase.
- The demo was rudimentary, but it showed some potential, especially in crafting.
- Although a lot of money was raised right at the start on Kickstarter, the campaign failed, and the money was returned to the users.
- The developers then opted for a different funding principle and were able to raise $175,000 from fans. However, this was not enough, which is why development was initially put on hold.
- At the end of 2021, an unknown investor helped out, and development was supposed to continue.
- In early February, the head announced that TitanReach was finally dead. The Discord server for the game has already been deleted, and the website is no longer accessible.
Money for MMORPG went to cryptocurrency and Tesla, says YouTuber
What is the head accused of now? The well-known MMORPG YouTuber KiraTV claims that the head of TitanReach, who appeared on Discord as “Unravel”, gambled away $150,000 in cryptocurrency and allegedly used the remaining money to buy himself a Tesla.
The YouTuber supports this with screenshots of private conversations between him and Unravel.
Where did KiraTV get this information? In a video, the YouTuber explained the entire situation between him and Unravel. Since the Kickstarter campaign in 2020, both have been in close contact. Kira claimed to have had hopes for the new MMORPG. Private matters were also said to have been discussed.
Unravel also told the YouTuber about the investor who rescued the MMORPG at the end of 2021. He is said to have taken care of the entire financing without imposing any conditions on the developers. They could implement their planned MMORPG, which, however, was supposed to become a cryptocurrency game at the head’s own request.
- In February, Unravel allegedly stated that he invested $150,000 from the company budget into the cryptocurrency Wonderland/TIME. Most of it is said to have been lost.
- After he told the investor about this, the investor stopped payments for TitanReach.
- Unravel asked KiraTV not to report on this situation and thereby destroy TitanReach. In return, he promised the YouTuber tokens – and thus money – and a place on his team.
Kira declined the offer, but did not go public with the situation. Until February 14.
What happened then? In several conversations, Kira found out that the head may have embezzled more money than the $150,000. Former developers of TitanReach claim that he bought himself a Tesla with company funds.
Moreover, the head is said to have disclosed the name of the investor to the other developers – Andre Cronje. This allegedly forced Kira to go public with the entire story. He stated that he initially kept it secret because he did not want to ruin a person’s life.
The complete course of events and further screenshots from the conversations can be viewed in this video:
We from MeinMMO tried to contact the founder Unravel. We also requested a statement from investor Andre Cronje regarding this matter.
Switch to crypto-MMORPG did not go well
What else did KiraTV say in the video? Besides the accusations regarding the embezzlement of money, the YouTuber also reported that the idea of turning TitanReach into a crypto game and the sudden end of the development was not well received by many supporters of the MMORPG.
The head of the game is also said to have dealt with threats and doxxing (the publishing of private information such as name or address). This was one of the reasons why the social media around the game were shut down so quickly.
What type of game was TitanReach actually? TitanReach was supposed to be a modern RuneScape. The game does not rely on classes and instead focuses on 3 gameplay styles: melee, ranged, and magic. Accordingly, there were various equipment and attributes that players could improve.
A major focus was on additional skills like fishing, mining, or smithing, which players should be able to improve over several levels. The game also promised varied quests, dungeons, and raids, PvP in certain areas, and a player-controlled economy.
What do you think about the course of development? Would you have liked to see TitanReach as a fully-fledged MMORPG?
Other MMORPGs that were financed through crowdfunding have also faced allegations of fraud, including the game Oath, which was announced in 2019:
MMORPG was able to convince hardcore fans on Kickstarter, but will likely not be released
