The Skullgirls Situation Is INSANE...

Hidden Variable's Skullgirls Lawsuit Exposes A VERY Messy Legal Battle with Autumn Games

As many of you are already well aware, Skullgirls has a long... and extremely tangled history. Now, it has taken another quite dramatic turn, as Hidden Variable Studios has announced as of January 21, 2025, it is "no longer involved in the development of Skullgirls Mobile, 2nd Encore" due to a "dispute with Autumn Games."

But that... is just scratching the surface of this insanity!

In an official statement on their BlueSky and X accounts, Hidden Variable confirmed that the disagreement has now escalated into a formal legal battle, with the matter lodged in the Los Angeles County Superior Court.

Their full statement from Hidden Variable reads:

"As of January 21st, 2025, Hidden Variable is no longer involved in the development of Skullgirls Mobile, 2nd Encore, or other Skullgirls IP-related efforts due to a dispute with Autumn Games which is now the subject of litigation filed in the Los Angeles County Superior Court. In light of that, we hope you understand that - beyond this statement - we will not be commenting further until this dispute is resolved.

All of us at HVS are incredibly proud of the 10+ years we've invested in Skullgirls in all its forms, including creating and supporting Skullgirls Mobile, bringing new characters and platforms to Skullgirls 2nd Encore, supporting the competitive community via the Skullgirls Championship Series, and helping fans new and old fall in love with the IP through the Skullgirls Webtoon and countless other partnerships.

Most of all, we're grateful to have been able to celebrate and support the incomparable Skullgirls community - many of whom we've been fortunate to meet in person over the years at various events.

Thank you all for everything - you deserve nothing but the best."

Hidden Variable Sues for Over $1.2 Million

According to legal filings, Hidden Variable is apparently now suing Autumn Games for breach of contract, anticipatory breach of contract, and breach of the implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing, as well as goods and services rendered. Hidden Variable claims it fully met the demands of its contract, but Autumn Games had failed to fulfill its financial obligations, withholding a $131,500 payment expected in November 2024. The missed payments continued on November 15, December 1, December 15, January 1, and January 15, as well as an additional $15,000 in expenses.

Further payments of $139,000 were expected on February 1, February 15, March 1, and March 15, 2025, bringing the total amount Hidden Variable claims it is owed to an INSANE $1,227,308.98, PLUS interest.

For those interested, you can read more about the lawsuit details here: Lawsuit Filing.

A Company Built on Controversy?

While some may see Hidden Variable as a wronged party in this case, many within the Skullgirls community have instead, long viewed the studio as the company that stole the Skullgirls IP via a cancel campaign against its original creator, Mike Zaimont (aka Mike Z). Back in 2020, Zaimont faced a coordinated character assassination following a joke about George Floyd’s infamous "I can’t breathe" statement during a Skullgirls tournament livestream:

His joke was wrong speak, and clearly all the ammo certain industry figures needed to take him down. This situation in itself shows just how dark and evil the gaming industry can be...

Suddenly after that joke, an old, dubious sexual harassment accusation was dredged up, and a full-scale cancellation attack on Mike ensued. Under massive pressure, Zaimont was ousted from Lab Zero Games, the studio he founded. Hidden Variable then swiftly swooped in to take over Skullgirls' development, effectively seizing control of the beloved fighting game IP. AKA... STOLEN from the creator.

This lawsuit here is just the latest chapter in a saga full of corporate maneuvering, backstabbing, and ideological battles. For those who want to dive deeper into how the gaming industry turned against Mike Z and how the Skullgirls IP was wrestled away from him, YouTuber and friend of the channel ShortFatOtaku has done an excellent breakdown of the entire situation, which can be found here: ShortFatOtaku's Video. I watched it today and cannot reccomend it enough for those looking for a solid recap of the entire saga up to this point... because my goodness, is it some deep, DEEP lore...

The Lore Runs Deep

This lawsuit may just seem like a simple business dispute on the surface, but no - the Skullgirls saga is much deeper than most people realize. From corporate betrayals to cancel culture takedowns, metoos and insane accusations, it’s a wild story that exposes the gross and ugly underbelly of the modern gaming industry. So crazy that even this "Bunny" character was involved in a potion of the take down attempt, before ultimately thinking better of it and deleting much of her original accusations against Mike Z. Again, this is all further detailed in ShortFatOtaku's much longer video above, about what she did and said... was a rabbit hole for bunny in it's own right, for those who want all the details:

And given the massive sums of money at stake in this legal battle, it's clear that Skullgirls is far from being free of any drama...

What will happen next? Will this lawsuit result in another major shake-up for the Skullgirls franchise? Only time will tell, but one thing’s for sure: this is just another INSANE chapter in a long line of the ongoing Skullgirls drama...

~Smash