Cult Favorite Fortune’s Run Faces Uncertain Future as Developer Loses Game Control

The saga of the boomer-shooter immersive sim, Fortune’s Run, has taken a troubling turn. Once a cult favorite, the game’s development was halted when its lead developer, Dizzie, faced a year in prison. Now, it appears the project may be “cancelled” altogether due to her claims that Steam is allegedly making payments to a former colleague whom she accuses of domestic abuse. The game is currently facing review bombing, reportedly instigated by Kiwi Farms, and has seemingly been removed from sale.

Content warning: this article includes references to sexual abuse.

Dizzie’s main allegation against her former partner is that Valve is “refusing to let me take legal control of the project.” She asserts that the company is withholding $9,000, insisting it can only be paid to the individual Valve recognizes as the owner of the game, whom she refers to as Kim. Complicating matters further, Dizzie was recently rearrested and spent an additional 25 days in prison.

In her latest personal update on Steam, Dizzie shares, “Hi everyone. Things got even worse.” This marks her first communication since her release in April, where she details a series of serious allegations. “Kim abused me and stole all of the project’s money,” she claims. “She lied about everything. She was doing drugs and cheating on me with Grindr dates, making thousand-dollar ATM withdrawals with my bank card. She drained all of my accounts, including Patreon and PayPal.” The accuracy of these claims remains unverified.

The post continues with further accusations of abuse, while Dizzie acknowledges that her statements “could be described as defamation in court,” adding, “That’s because the law protects narcissists and domestic abusers. Fuck this planet.”

Dizzie’s situation is undeniably complex. Currently on parole and residing in a halfway house, she states she cannot apply for ID “because the police won’t let me out long enough to apply for the god damn paperwork,” while also being required to pay taxes on Steam revenue she hasn’t received. Additionally, she claims that when she attempted to report Kim for “fraud, death threats, and sexual abuse,” the police dismissed it as a civil matter, and she accuses her parole officer of using this as justification for her recent return to prison.

Despite these challenges, there is a glimmer of hope for the game’s future. In discussions on Discord, Dizzie mentioned that while she’s struggling with the issues surrounding Steam, she might be able to claim ownership and continue development on GOG and Epic. However, these platforms generate significantly less revenue. She notes that Fortune’s Run has earned about $200,000 on Steam, compared to only $5,000 on GOG during the same timeframe. This suggests she may be shifting away from the idea of the game being a commercial success, but she still aims to release a substantial update.

In another Steam post, Dizzie shares a screenshot of a message from Valve’s Steam Support, where a staff member expresses confusion over the ownership transfer process, questioning how Dizzie is attempting to transfer the game from what seems to be Kim’s Steam account. The support representative notes that the signee of the Steam Distribution Agreement must initiate the transfer and provides a link for proving account ownership.

Dizzie mentions her intention to set the game’s price at a dollar, but as of now, it appears that purchasing it is not an option.

Fortune’s Run is currently experiencing some review bombing, albeit on a smaller scale. Its “recent reviews” are categorized as “Mostly Negative,” with only 63 reviews, contrasting with its “all reviews” rating of Mostly Positive from a total of 599 reviews. Dizzie claims on Discord that this surge of negative feedback is being driven by Kiwi Farms.

While many have accused her of having a “public meltdown,” Dizzie insists she is merely “matter-of-factly” recounting “the incidents as they occurred.” She states that when she informed Valve about the alleged abuse by the current account holder, the company requested written permission from them to regain access to her accounts, calling the situation “silly.”

We’ve reached out to Valve to inquire about their potential responses to complicated situations like this and whether Fortune’s Run will be available for purchase again.