Quirky indie project on ice after partnership disintegrates An independent game that captured a lot of attention back in 2014 is likely dead after a falling-out between the developer building it and the business partners managing the fledgling studio.
Eric Tereshinski, 25, said farewell to Ant Simulator and to ETeeski, the venture he cofounded with two childhood friends, in a YouTube message that accused them of misusing development funding. In an interview with Polygon, Tereshinski also charged that ETeeski’s business manager pressured him into selling an early-access beta of the game, and was deceptive about efforts to get a PlayStation 4 software development kit.

“It’s not a problem of being out of money," Tereshinski told Polygon, though other reports have fixated on his allegation that partners Tyler Monce and Devon Staley "secretly spent the overwhelming majority of both our Kickstarter money and the Ant Simulator investment money on liquor … and even strippers."
If those two did misuse ETeeski’s funding, Tereshinski said the most that could have been lost was in the low thousands. ETeeski was begun with seed money from a Kickstarter that raised $4,459, and that was for Tereshinski to produce a series of YouTube tutorials on game development.
Ant Simulator had been a 48-hour game jam idea that rose out of a video promoting the video series, and when it drew a lot of attention in 2014, Tereshinski had to divide his efforts between delivering the tutorial videos and now building out a full game.
ETeeski took a small private investment from another friend, and opened a donation portal on the studio’s website that accepted contributions toward Ant Simulator’s development. But, Tereshinski says, "I think seven people preordered it."
An unusual indie game is caught up in a falling out among childhood friends
More troubling to Tereshinski is the loss of about 10,000 hours worth of development, all of it uncompensated. Tereshinski supported himself off savings and a part-time job as he worked on Ant Simulator, with contractors lending support on some portions of development.
Ant Simulator is owned by ETeeski, not Tereshinski, and as such, that work is on ice unless his former partners relinquish it.
Tereshinski said his decision to leave the studio goes back to October, and that since then he has been in discussions about getting Ant Simulator back, but these seem at an impasse. Whatever the case, Monce and Staley have no development experience, so unless they hire someone to finish Ant Simulator or give it back to Tereshinski, the game is gone.
Polygon reached out to Monce and Staley but did not receive a reply to Tereshinski’s allegations as of publication time. This story will be updated with any reply received later.
Tereshinski accused Monce specifically of being deceptive about his efforts as ETeeski’s director of operations. After a trip to Game Developers Conference 2015 turned up a promising lead with Sony, Tereshinksi says Monce did not follow through on plans to submit the game to the console maker in order to receive a software development kit. Tereshinski said Staley even lied about conversations with Sony, saying the company wanted to see more polish on the game and using that to hustle Tereshinski’s work.
He said Monce and Staley also overspent on setting up an office in the basement of Monce’s mother’s home. The three had worked out of their homes in the 18 or so months ETeeski had been active. Tereshinski said that Staley also pressured him into the early-access release, saying the firm needed to show sales in order to keep its status as a limited liability corporation, for tax-filing purposes.
Tereshinski suggested in the video he would try to find ways to refund money to the few who did back Ant Simulator. But he’s through with his two former friends, whom he has known since middle school.
"The problem is these guys clearly demonstrated to me I should have no part of them" Tereshinski said. "The clearest thing was I should get as far from these guys as possible."

Metal Gear Online, the competitive online multiplayer mode for Metal Gear Solid 5: The Phantom Pain, is getting a big dose of downloadable content next month, including the addition of a playable Quiet.
Quiet is coming as part of a batch of paid DLC for the Metal Gear Online, which also includes three maps — Azure Mountain, Rust Palace and Cradle of Spirits — and a set of new emotes called “appeal actions." According to Konami, Quiet is a scout class character in Metal Gear Online and will come with her butterfly sniper rifle and the ability to cloak herself in combat. She’s "super powerful," according to Robert Peeler, online community manager for Metal Gear.
Konami hasn’t announced pricing for the March downloadable content.

In addition to paid DLC, Konami will also release new options, tweaks and balance changes to Metal Gear Online in March. New background music from series like Boktai and Zone of the Enders are coming to the game, as are adjustments to rocket launchers and a combat knife that can be used as a secondary weapon.
Konami is also introducing a new ranking system that appears to be based on player skill. A new Survival Mode, inspired by a similar feature from Metal Gear Online for PlayStation 3, is also coming. Peeler also teased a new gameplay mode will be added to Metal Gear Online sometime in March.