Duality SA, Playway SA and Madmind Studio

[Max Is Back]

Hi guys, incredibly interesting project you have here, I'm blown away by the concept of an entire world created in the beautifully twisted vision of Tomasz Strzałkowski. The potential here is huge and I'll be keeping a very close eye on it.

However, it's very important for me (and for other potential customers I expect) to know a bit more about the key players in this project. I understand that Duality SA is owned primarily by Playway SA (50% sharehold) and Tomasz & Piotr Strzałkowski. Playway SA is listed as the game's publisher so no surprises there.

Additionally, Madmind Studio is also listed as a publisher. This is surprising since Madmind Studio isn't (currently) a publisher nor do they appear to have any direct relation to the corporate structure of Duality SA.

Would it be possible to briefly tell us in what way Madmind Studio are involved in this project? Are you collaborating with them on development or are they strictly publishing? What form does their publishing role take, are they shareholders of Duality SA?

I'm genuinely excited about this game but it's very important for me to have some of these questions answered. I suspect it's also very important for a lot of potential customers and I honestly think that the future will be brighter if you clear this up as soon as possible.

Thank you very much for your time, good gaming!

[Oscillations]

How does Madmind studio, claiming financial problems, have the budget to help publish a new game?

[(ADORA)ble 🌈👊]

As someone who mostly believes Madmind never intended to screw anybody over, this just reeks. A known terrible publisher AND an inexperienced developer turned publisher fresh off a pretty big controversy? Not looking good.

[Max Is Back]

I know exactly how you guys feel but let's not be too quick to judge - this game isn't being developed by Madmind Studio and even their involvement in publishing is very unclear since most of the current funding is coming from Playway. All we know at the moment is that Madmind Studio is involved enough to be listed as a publisher and we want to know exactly why that is.

I really hope that a developer or representative for Unholy can get on here and clear this up because it's not a question that's going to go away. The sooner we have this answered the better.

Cheers, good gaming!

[(ADORA)ble 🌈👊]

It's really not madmind that concernes me so much as Playway.

[Phobos]

Originally posted by Max Is Back:

I know exactly how you guys feel but let's not be too quick to judge - this game isn't being developed by Madmind Studio and even their involvement in publishing is very unclear since most of the current funding is coming from Playway. All we know at the moment is that Madmind Studio is involved enough to be listed as a publisher and we want to know exactly why that is.

I really hope that a developer or representative for Unholy can get on here and clear this up because it's not a question that's going to go away. The sooner we have this answered the better.

Cheers, good gaming!

Might want to change that said publisher(s) to someone decent. Hopefully this not a pile of agony.

[Max Is Back]

I think it's absolutely reasonable to have some concerns over Playway as well, we have to assume that their role had a significant part in the downfall of Agony. However, for me there's a very important distinction between Playway and Madmind Studio which is that Playway never lied to me. Playway never promised something they failed to deliver and they didn't try to deceive me about it - all of that rests on the shoulders of Madmind Studio.

I totally understand that it was most likely Playway's restrictions that led to the Agony debacle. If Madmind Studio had complete autonomy to do whatever they wanted then I'm sure they would have released the Unrated edition. But the thing is, they never had that autonomy. Madmind Studio was majority owned by Playway long before Agony came out (they own 78% share capital as far as I'm aware). The requirements upon Agony in terms of a console release, M rating, etc. were set in stone a long time ago and Madmind Studio knew those requirements perfectly well. They had promised something they couldn't deliver and they continued to promise it right up until release day, then they made a string of false statements about it in the inevitable fallout. The responsibility for that is on Madmind.

At this time, the developers of Unholy haven't made any promises that they can't keep even with Playway as their publisher. And let's not forget that these are different developers, we've only seen Madmind Studio turn up in a publishing credit so far. I really want to give them the benefit of the doubt because these guys haven't done anything wrong yet and there's a huge amount of talent here. There's far more industry experience in Duality than there ever was in Madmind Studio and, IMO, a far stronger creative direction. I don't want to tar them with the same brush based on a publishing credit.

However, I do firmly believe that Madmind Studio and its CEO Tomasz Dutkiewicz should be made to suffer the consequences of their actions and I will strictly avoid anything created with their direct involvement. So I really want to know what Madmind's involvement is in this project and I don't think I'm alone. I'm hoping that a direct approach will be the easiest one and they may just give me a forthright answer to the question :)

I guess we'll have to wait and see....

Cheers, good gaming!

[Oscillations]

I refuse to support Madmind in any way, after how they handled Agony.

[Tracido]

I had this on my wishlist, ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥..

[Phobos]

@Max Is Back, sure and there is hope at least this might be better. Time tells no lies.

[Max Is Back]

It seems surprisingly quiet around here....?

So, Madmind Studio's CEO Tomasz Dutkiewicz commented on another thread to say this:

Originally posted by Madm4n:

Hi, We - Madmind Studio, are not involved in the development of this title. Unholy is a new horror game in the portfolio of our investor- Playway S.A, and it's developed by the Duality Studio.

Madmind Studio is just a steam publisher of this title.

I suppose this is good? I'm not even sure yet. Presumably Tomasz Dutkiewicz is rather more aware than Duality of how damaging his association may be, considering Dutkiewicz is here trying to disassociate himself while Strzałkowski and co from Duality remain silent.

I'd like to ask Duality again to speak up and confirm the nature of Madmind Studio's involvement with Unholy. Madmind's statement above hasn't clarified anything. It was already assumed that Madmind Studio were not involved in the development of Unholy but rather the publishing. Dutkiewicz has now confirmed this publishing link but the nature of it remains completely unknown.

I urge Duality to break their silence and say something on the matter.

Thanks, good gaming!

[Phobos]

I guess no one is going to talk; I mean that is how you treat your fanbase nawadays sticking head in ground and lets play pretend. ha ha?

Or just blame your fanbase like with some of the recent movies

[Madm4n]

Hi,

As I mentioned in the previous statement, Madmind is not involved in the production of Unholy.
We do not have any rights to this brand nor to the duality studio managed by Tomasz Strzałkowski.

I know only about the game how much Tomek told me - and based on this information, I think it is worth waiting for this game :)

Madmind is listed as a publisher (on steam), mainly because thanks to that Unholy has a greater visibility - which works, of course, both ways.
That is why it is a nice and positive arrangement for us.

Being already a proven publisher on Steam, the release of a new game on our account costs us almost nothing and can only help Duality Studio.
This is a purely friendly arrangement that Madmind does not have and will not have any financial benefits.
I can also confirm that the Madmind team is not involved in Unholy production, has no stake in the company, and does not invest in a Duality Studio.

I hope it's a satisfying answer enough.

I am also looking forward to the next Unholy materials, and reveals of its very intriguing plot!

And now I'm going back to hell. Take care :)

[(ADORA)ble 🌈👊]

MadM4n, only you guys know what actually happened with the Agony controversy. I like to believe that you guys genuinely wanted to send out that patch and believed you would be able to but I can't know that for certain.

I hope most people will judge this new game based on what is released but there are a LOT of people that believe your company blatantly lied and have no interest in supporting you in any way, shape or form. ESPECIALLY financially. That means some people might take the view that supporting this game is supporting Madmind. Hopefully the increased visibily your company brings this game attracts more customers than it loses but, not being a business person myself, I would very nervous about having Madminds name on the store page if I was the developers.

[Max Is Back]

@Madm4n - Thank you for taking the time to provide a thorough answer to this, I appreciate it (and so should Duality since they haven't said anything themselves). Personally, that's enough for me; all evidence suggests this is more an arrangement of convenience than a meaningful collaboration so I have no reason to doubt you on that.

I won't judge the title based on this, I'm genuinely looking forward to it, but I'm left with similar thoughts to Usmovers_02 above me. I have to wonder what effect the association will have on the game - they say there's no such thing as bad publicity, this may make a case study.

Thanks again, good gaming!

[Oscillations]

Sounds like more lies from MadMind studio.