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Earlier this week, we broke the news that boutique publisher 33 Games had failed to pay its staff, contractors and licensees, with money to the tune of several thousand pounds being owed.
Since our investigation went live, 33 Games has taken its site offline, and Time Extension understands that Steven Gauntley is in the process of liquidating the company.
One of the projects 33 Games was working on was a reissue of Gremlin's cult classic strategy title Utopia: The Creation Of A Nation for the SNES. As part of this venture, 33 Games enlisted the original artist, Danny Flynn, to create new box art for the re-release.
Flynn has given us his own statement on this matter, which we've published in full below.
"In early June this year, I was privileged to be asked by boutique games company 33 Games to create a reimagined version of the game box art for a special collector's edition of Utopia - The Creation Of A Nation. I spent all those long, hot summer months working on the art, only for 33 Games to surprisingly and alarmingly withhold payment on completion. I understand 33 Games has hoodwinked many other people involved in the game, not just me.
My art and name were used widely for the game’s pre-publicity, so naturally there was no reason not to trust 33 Games... yet it appears I made a big mistake. I discovered that signed limited-edition prints of my artwork for Utopia: The Creation of a Nation had been included in a product being offered for pre-sale on 33 Games’s website, before any agreement was put in place with me for their production or the signing of the prints. For anyone who purchased one of these prints thinking it was all ok, regretably you may well have been caught out too.
Utopia has a special place in my career. I painted the original artwork for the game more than 30 years ago. It has been wonderful to discover just how much affection there still is for Utopia among retro-gaming fans. So rather than dwell on what has happened with 33 Games, I've decided to do something much more positive.
Signed and numbered limited-edition Utopia prints are now available directly from me through my own website at www.dannyflynn.com. Each print is personally signed and numbered, and comes with a Certificate of Authenticity, from strictly limited editions in three sizes.
So... if you would like a genuine signed Utopia 2026 print, you can now buy it from the person who actually painted the original.
And a heartfelt thank you to everyone who has supported my work over the years. It means rather more than you might imagine at the moment."
We've got more positive news in the aftermath of 33 Games' collapse; PIKO Interactive, which intended to licence Stone Protectors and First Samurai to 33 Games, has announced that it is in "direct contact" with Gary Harrod, who was employed by the company to create its branding and other design elements, and the artist RIKI, who was working on bespoke art for Stone Protectors.
The artwork already created for Stone Protectors will be incorporated into a Kickstarter campaign for a new comic series based on the IP.