Steam Shooter Fortune’s Run on Hold Because the Developer Is Going to Prison

The developer of well-received Steam Early Access first-person shooter Fortune’s Run has ceased work on the game after receiving a three-year prison sentence.

In a shock announcement on the Fortune’s Run Steam page, sole developer Dizzie explained “why the development is imploding.”

“First of all, I have some stuff going on I need to make public as it’s going to interrupt development,” Dizzie said.

“I’ve been sentenced to prison for the next three years. It’s a long story, but I’ve lived a very different life before I was a game developer, and I wasn’t living very well. My case is about five years old now, I have been going through the legal process the whole time I’ve been working on this. I have finally been found guilty and sentenced, and I’m going away next month.

“It’s a shame, but it’s the consequences of my actions. I was a very violent person and I hurt a lot of people in my life. Unfortunately, the sentence isn’t going to help with that at all, but I guess we all know that.

“So the game isn’t totally dead, but unfortunately due to even further bad things happening, it’s unclear what will happen.”

Fortune’s Run launched in early access form on Steam in September 2023 and met with a “very positive” user review rating. Its blend of quick-fire first-person shooter elements with immersive sim mechanics inspired by the likes of Deus Ex and Thief caught the attention of PC Gamer, which called Fortune’s Run “one of the best shooters you can play right now.” Dizzie was one of just two developers working on the game, the other being their wife, Arachne, although she recently left the project.

Dizzie refused to reveal the exact nature of the sentence or the charges, but insisted they did not commit “a sex crime.” “What I did was wrong and that’s all you need to know,” Dizzie added.

Dizzie also told Fortune’s Run fans that the case dates from “before I met the other dev,” which is a reference to Arachne. “She is not related to it in any way,” Dizzie added.

It appears to be the case that Arachne left the project following a significant surgery last summer. “Like I said, the other dev was recovering from a botched surgery,” Dizzie said. “If you want to accuse me of something, accuse me of stressing her out with my legal problems and my crazy work schedule.”

“The other developer has left the project,” Dizzie’s message continued. “Once she recovered, she decided that she was no longer interested in game development. She was in charge of [quality assurance] and a few level segments, all of which [have] been abandoned and I’ve been forced to get by on my own for the past while. It’s been very difficult to do alone but I actually managed, by basically not sleeping, to complete all of the work in time so that it could be released before I’m sent away.”

As you’d expect, the prison sentence puts an end to Fortune’s Run development, although Dizzie insisted it will begin again upon release.

“Since we [Dizzie and Arachne] decided to part ways, development will be completely interrupted until I’m released,” Dizzie said.

“I know many of you will be upset and disappointed but please understand that there’s absolutely nothing I can do. These wheels were in motion long before I started making this game and it’s just been slowly unraveling in my face the whole time.

“I want to underline that I’m no longer in financial dire straits since our game actually sold okay, so I should be able to afford rent once I get out, so there’s a chance that if you wait a few years I’ll be able to cap off the release. In fact, there’s not very much content left to work on; I’ve been making stubs and prototypes of the missing levels in my spare time.

“I am extremely passionate about this stuff and I’m never going to stop making games. I’d like to finish this one, but I don’t know what will happen. I’m going to do my best, because I love this game and I want to finish it. Seriously, I just want to finish it. Finish it already, Dizzie!”

In a separate post on Steam, Dizzie published patch notes for a new Fortune’s Run update and mentioned an upcoming post that will detail work set to take place next month before his prison sentence begins.

Wesley is the UK News Editor for IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at [email protected] or confidentially at [email protected].