Why the forum is still left unmoderated

[Kheul]

I understand the situation between HvS and Autumn Games, but my only sources have been the Twitter/X and Discord posts. Why hasn’t there been any official statements about it on the Official Skullgirls Mobile Forums?

Additionally, many threads, from Bugs and Known Issues to Official News and Announcements, have been left unattended by the devs for months. Leaving these threads unmoderated for such a long time is really detrimental for the reliability and longevity of this forum. We still haven't got an actual Custom Fighter thread either.

Come on devs, show us that you care about the forum as well. Cheers!

 

[BallotBoxer]

This forum was maintained and moderated by Hidden Variable staff. Their absence is because of Autumn Games. Let's review what we know:

Hidden Variable Studios says they have been booted from all Skullgirls projects since the end of January 2025:

https://twitter.com/x/status/1897528842597593104

That dispute with Autumn Games they cannot speak about? Well, court documents are public records.

Autumn Games owes Hidden Variable $1.2 million​

source: https://trellis.law/doc/240911937/complaint

It appears that the issue involves a payment dispute. Autumn Games appears to have not paid Hidden Variable for their work on Skullgirls Mobile during November 2024 onwards to January, with approximately 1.2 million dollars left unpaid. This was after an agreement was signed in October 2024 for a payment schedule. Hidden Variable believes that Autumn intentionally chose to not deliver payments by specifically searching for a new developer for SGM while also entering into this payment schedule. This all seemingly occurred after Autumn Games attempted to be sold off.

Since this is an active court case, I don't recommend coming to definitive conclusions yet, but I will say that it definitely appears to be that communication between Autumn Games and Hidden Variable broke down to a degree that is irreparable.

- LuchaGirl on Reddit

A lawsuit is not a good start for "passing the torch" for Skullgirls stewardship. Bad business, hostile takeover nonsense.

Meanwhile, Autumn Games took control of the Skullgirls Mobile Twitter account to say this:

https://twitter.com/x/status/1897742300588962251

The only thing they can promise is Guilds, and that's a big "so what?"

Do you think the "unwavering backbone" that can't pay its bills will be able to finish the work HVS was doing?

C'mon Autumn Games, let's see you:

• make 2 new fighters a month
• add Roxie as a Guest Star
• host Twitch stream giveaways like Mr. Bones and Juju Blu
• run Twitter and TikTok accounts like Cellsai and Juju Blu
• finish the Valentine cross to throwing star revisions
• make more Guest Stars
• make new characters?
• do some fighter tuning
• do character kit updates/reworks
• redesign the main menu
• add more game modes
• add new origin stories
• complete the fully-voiced story modes for Season 1 Pass characters in 2nd Encore

 

[Thesmellofman]

This forum was maintained and moderated by Hidden Variable staff. Their absence is because of Autumn Games. Let's review what we know:

Hidden Variable Studios says they have been booted from all Skullgirls projects since the end of January 2025:

https://twitter.com/x/status/1897528842597593104

That dispute with Autumn Games they cannot speak about? Well, court documents are public records.

Autumn Games owes Hidden Variable $1.2 million​

source: https://trellis.law/doc/240911937/complaint



A lawsuit is not a good start for "passing the torch" for Skullgirls stewardship. Bad business, hostile takeover nonsense.

Meanwhile, Autumn Games took control of the Skullgirls Mobile Twitter account to say this:

https://twitter.com/x/status/1897742300588962251

The only thing they can promise is Guilds, and that's a big "so what?"

Do you think the "unwavering backbone" that can't pay its bills will be able to finish the work HVS was doing?

C'mon Autumn Games, let's see you:

• make 2 new fighters a month
• add Roxie as a Guest Star
• host Twitch stream giveaways like Mr. Bones and Juju Blu
• run Twitter and TikTok accounts like Cellsai and Juju Blu
• finish the Valentine cross to throwing star revisions
• make more Guest Stars
• make new characters?
• do some fighter tuning
• do character kit updates/reworks
• redesign the main menu
• add more game modes
• add new origin stories
• complete the fully-voiced story modes for Season 1 Pass characters in 2nd Encore

I do think it's important to keep in mind the challenges that come with implementing some of these ideas, especially the guest stars. While they can be fun for some players, the experience with Skullgirls Mobile shows how difficult it can be to balance these kinds of additions. The inclusion of guest stars, while initially exciting, ended up straining the game's resources, caused player frustration, and ultimately contributed to the decline in engagement. It's important to consider how much effort it takes to create high-quality guest characters and whether they align with the core interests of the player base.


The high costs of developing guest stars and their niche appeal (many players only use them in a limited number of fights) makes it difficult to justify their inclusion on a regular basis. After the November update, there has been a noticeable slowdown in community activity and game updates, which further shows that these additions may have had unintended consequences.


Instead of focusing too heavily on guest stars, it might be more worthwhile to prioritize character tuning and balance changes, which are a very important part of keeping the game fresh. Regular updates that adjust characters and introduce new balance tweaks not only keep the game engaging for existing players but also show that the devs are listening to feedback. This is something that can help the game feel dynamic and rewarding over time.


Additionally, adding new game modes, updating the main menu, and developing more diverse content like origin stories or story mode revisions can help keep the game alive and appealing to a broader audience, without over-relying on features that might not resonate with everyone.


Ultimately, the goal should be to strike a balance between exciting new content and sustaining a solid and engaged player base. Focused, meaningful updates that are aligned with the core gameplay experience are likely to have a more lasting impact.

 

[Kheul]

Honestly, I don't care what is going on within the company, that is some inner politics I don't want to get into. All I care is the result, the future of this game, I hope the side who actually cares about this game wins the case.

While I have no idea what role each of the Skullgirls Mobile developers have undertaken (Autumn Games, Lab Zero and Hidden Variable Studios) since the launch, I can list some ups and downs for myself.

Ups:

+ Incredibly fun, ageless gameplay.

+ Really chill game, not really grindy unlike some other gachas.

+ Didn't need to pay a dime to get to late-game and as the game felt really rewarding and f2p friendly, I wanted to support developers by getting some packs every month to thank them for making such a fun game.

+ You really can feel you are improving everyday, both stat-wise and knowledge-wise.

+ Getting to late game takes effort, but really rewarding as many things get easier from that point on.

+ Daily Skips, the saviour.

+ Move Retakes

+ Filter update and easily checking the stats on moves.

+ Shiny Units.

+ Occasional 5x bonus on Theo to Coin conversion. I don't really buy this but when I need some coin it helps a lot.

+ Removal of yellow energy (for story and daily events).

+ You have a +20% chance at getting the monthly featured diamond unit for free.

+ Brain Drain x3 Gamespeed is a great QoL.

+ Various gameplay styles and really fun synergies.

+ Shard Exchange Store... As a late game player I couldn't have asked anything better than this.

+ One free Prize Fight streak save and way lowered prices for the next usages.

Neutral:

* Having no gacha pity for any diamond makes them feel really valuable.

* Opponent Guest Star activations feel a bit too random.

* Guest Stars can be really fun to use and synergise your characters with, but there are so many implementation flaws.

Downs:

- Most updates feel lackluster.

- Annual balance changes.

- There is a huge gap between character kits (not as in variants) in terms of utility.

- So many bugs left unfixed for years.

- Guest Stars are added yet we don't really have a way to sustain their cost in terms of coins and materials.

- Guest Stars using Universal Retake to reroll.

- Unfun Rift experience for most players and boosting.

- Nothing new on Story Mode for years.

- Still missing Guilds (Just don't make this another rift incident c'mon devs)

- Parallel Realms could use some new artifacts or something to spice the experience up.

- Prize fight lower streaks are dreadful.

- We got a Replay function yet the recordings are a coin toss.

- Could use new accolades.

- Increase Parallel Realms rewards instead of resetting it daily in case of an event or a new update.

- Chat could get a update, like language-based or topic-based chatrooms.

- Training mode is incredibly outdated.

- We should be able to save rift base layout for each element.

---

These would be my personal ups and downs for the game so far. Maybe I'll add or remove some stuff later on.

I just hope devs would actually care what players want instead of throwing random updates at them.

 

[ZeoW]

I think the point is that HVS have left. Autumn Games will need to step in to take over this forum. Only time will tell how and when that will happen - there's more important stuff to tackle first, I reckon.