Hi Backers,
This update is coming to you a lot later than intended. I know that there is a significant amount of anxiety, confusion, anger, and curiosity around what is happening with Inside the Box, the fulfilment of pledges, and communication about this. I am posting this update to confirm that I know this, and because you deserve what I promised at the end of August.
The delay in getting this to you is because I simply don’t have anything solid to report. I know that I’ve been a poor communicator in the past, communicating information that to the best of my knowledgewas solid, but was either jumping the gun, or later turned out to be inaccurate. So without solid information and a tangible update on fulfilment, I have just not known what to say. I can see from comments that some news, even if it is to say that I don’t have news, would be preferable than silence. So I will stick to the monthly updates, regardless of what there is to actually tell you about the arrival of games - even if that means to say that there is no news that month.
Going forward, I won’t make any commitments to you that I cannot evidence with concrete, clear information. The lack of information about fulfilment in this update does not mean that things are not being worked on behind the scenes. I’m not always going to be able to go into the details of this - but I am still doing my utmost to fulfil pledges.
In response to feedback I have seen raised:
All pre-order links have been removed from Kickstarter whilst there isn’t concrete information on fulfilment.
All pre-order store functionality has been disabled from Backerkit and pledge manager for all projects.
I am setting up an automated email responder with a standard response to ensure everyone gets consistent information.
I will be sending out this same update to those who have pre-ordered, rather than pledged via Kickstarter.
I want to clear up discussions regarding the availability of games that have not been fulfilled on Kickstarter in some games stores. A while back, some units of Crypt X were made available in Australia. It was somehow possible for the freight agent acting on behalf of the Australian distributor to get hold of their allocation of stock before it was formally released by the factory - I’m still unsure how this was allowed to happen, but as a result of this, those units made it to market.
For Crypt X, Aquanauts and Sub Terra II, the initial print run factored in the Kickstarter pledges as well as some allocated to distributors which was due to be released after Kickstarter fulfilment had been completed.. As the Kickstarter fulfilment has been extremely delayed, the original buffer between the fulfilment period and release to retail was eliminated, meaning that Asmodee group distributors were able to pick up that stock directly from the factory and have made those available to their retailer customers.
I’ve seen people worry about a change of address from the one they gave when they pledged. Upon commencing fulfilment, addresses will be locked, as previously outlined - until that point, you can login and amend your address via Backerkit. At the point of fulfilment, I will remind everyone before closing that option to ensure you have a chance to change it with any last minute amendments.
I will keep posting updates in the relevant channels, but without a team, and with the business situation as it is, along with the personal toll this is all taking on me, I can’t commit to being able to respond to people individually.
I completely understand the negative feeling from the community and it’s a huge regret of mine that this has been the outcome of years of hard work. I would like to thank people for their kind words, particularly the empathy regarding my personal situation, in spite of what is happening with pledges. I don’t expect that, but it has really meant a lot.
For those who are angry, I understand it and I expected it. The thing that has been the hardest to take has been the accusations that I’ve intentionally set out to fail to deliver. I can’t stop people from drawing their own conclusions but one thing I can clarify is this - Inside the Box has not made me rich - for many years I did not take a salary, or took the bare minimum to survive on, in an attempt to offer good wages and create more opportunities. We have never had flashy offices - our first and second office was part of my flat and our office after the pandemic was a small unit in a workshare building.
I may have made mistakes - out of naivety, a desire to make excellent games, and at times I will admit, ignorance of the realities of running an international company. I don’t overlook these, and I am working to come to terms with them privately. But categorically I can say that any savings I have ever had have gone into Inside the Box, and financially I am in a dramatically worse position than when I started back in 2015. It is the idea that I have wilfully misled people into supporting games without any plan to fulfil them that is the most hurtful, and that I know to be untrue.
Finally, I know my silence has inspired people to find updates for themselves. A few of these messages have been intimidating - like discussions of turning up outside my mother’s home. I have taken onboard feedback that I need to communicate; so please do not continue to do this. Your next update will be posted at the end of January.
I am hugely sorry to everyone who put faith in me and the company by backing a game that they have not yet received. If we do reach a point where I know that this is definitively not going to happen, I will be frank and tell you here.
Peter