NFT developer Dynasty Loop owes employees $2 million in paychecks

According to a recent report from Polygon, developer Dynasty Loop hasn’t paid its employees in months.

Anonymous employees speaking to the outlet claim the Montreal-based studio owes its employees and contractors over $2 million in lost wages, bonuses and expenses. They have since filed complaints with Montreal’s Commission on Workplace Standards, Fairness, Health and Safety (or CNESST).

The lack of pay extends to everyone on the Dynasty Loop team, including management who had to field questions from other employees. One person told Polygon commented that management was “trying their best. They sounded tired, and it was difficult for everyone involved.”

Dynasty Loop was founded in 2020 with the goal of developing both video games and NFT projects. Developers claim that management and studio founder/CEO Rania Oueslati told employees in November 2022 that payments would be delayed following a change in financial software.

While employees and staff were paid for the lost period in January, it is claimed that no one has been paid since then. In February, management told employees that due to Oueslati’s immigration status, the studio’s funds had been frozen indefinitely.

One employee said the time in the studio was “demoralizing. We just had to keep working through it as if everything was fine.”

Dynasty Loop’s employees just want payment, but it has become an ordeal

In late February, a lien agreement was reportedly brokered by management between Oueslati and Dynasty Loop employees. Under the agreement, anyone who signed it would be paid when funds became available, and liens would be placed over the company’s assets and bank accounts.

However, this agreement also meant that employees had to wait six months before taking legal action (such as filing a complaint with the CNESST), and talking about it with potential employers or the press. More importantly, it didn’t even guarantee that people would get paid.

At the time of writing, the lien has not yet been registered under Canada’s Personal Property Security Act. Earlier this week, Oueslati reportedly told employees via Discord that she would not pay the registration fee, and management released everyone who had previously signed the agreement.

With nothing to show for their work, former Dynasty Loop employees must now add filing for unemployment to their list of tasks. According to an email from company management, even that has hit a snag, as employees are said to be missing important documents needed to complete taxes and apply for unemployment.

A separate employee said that their time in the studio “reduced my faith in humanity. Apart from putting my finances in a precarious position and straining my personal friendships because of finances, I have become even more pessimistic.”

For Polygon’s full report on Dynasty Loop’s financial woes, including how staff had to turn in their work equipment and were briefly locked out of their office building, read it here.