Penny Blood Director Files Lawsuit Over Unpaid Kickstarter Funds

Matsuzo Machida, the director of Penny Blood, has filed a lawsuit against indie publisher Dangen Entertainment. The lawsuit alleges that the publisher has not paid the studio funds from the game’s Kickstarter campaign.

The lawsuit was revealed in a short statement from Studio Wildrose that the lawsuit had been filed in May 2024. The statement revealed that the lawsuit was filed against Dangen Entertainment and its co-founder Ben Judd, who allegedly have not paid the studio their production funds from the Penny Blood and Armed Fantasia Double Kickstarter.

Penny Blood was first revealed as part of the Double Kickstarter, alongside Armed Fantasia. Both games are spiritual successors to PS2-era RPGs from their original creators. Machida, creator of Shadow Hearts, is leading Penny Blood, while Wild Arms creator Akifumi Kaneko is working on Armed Fantasia. However, while the Kickstarter was a huge success and development on Armed Fantasia appears to be going well, Penny Blood has shown signs of trouble.

Many of Machida’s recent updates have focused on difficulties in securing a publisher rather than progress on the game itself. This can be seen in the most recent update, where backers have shown frustration in the comments. However, if the team has not received development funds from the Kickstarter campaign, as the lawsuit alleges, this would explain the lack of progress on Penny Blood.

Further details on the lawsuit are not currently available, and Dangen Entertainment has yet to issue a response.

Penny Blood and Armed Fantasia are currently in development for PC, PS5 and Xbox Series X/S. A spin-off game, Penny Blood: Hellbound, is out now in Early Access for PC.