Here is the text posted in the Discord:
bosslogic
— 01/18/2022
Hi Everyone,
We’re excited to join you this week during the AMA; thank you for carving a moment out of your day for some BLU realness.
First and foremost, I want to acknowledge each and every one of you. The BLU community is composed of people from all walks of life, across all four corners of the globe, and bearing witness to your relentless passion is one of the great privileges of my life. I am a kid just like you. I’m just a fan just like you. And getting to do what I do is only possible because you’ve given me the opportunity to play. I can never repay that great gift. I can only attempt to earn it each-and-every day.
This evening, we wanted to do something a little different. Instead of breaking straight into the AMA, we came prepared with a ‘State of the Union’ of sorts. Many of you have been asking for very specific updates the last several weeks, and we are hoping to use this session to address what we can, as transparently as we can.
First, on the matter of my health…
Generally speaking, I am a private person when it comes to my personal life, and I don’t see that changing any time soon. That said, as many of you are aware, several weeks ago, just before the holidays, I suffered an episode that knocked me on my ass for a few days. Being in hospital was a major wake up call that there were imbalances in my life, and body that needed to be addressed. And whilst getting on my feet took a few more weeks than I had initially hoped, luckily through the strength and support of my friends and family, I have not only found that footing again, I have found renewed purpose.
As some of you have seen on Instagram and elsewhere, I have made new commitments to staying healthy. I have a lifetime’s worth of art left in me, and I intend to realize all of it. That said, again, thank you all for your kindness, support, encouragement, and patience. It truly means the world.
Second, on the matter of recent staffing changes, and ongoing investigations…
This section is a bit tricky, I’m not going to lie. I would love to share everything that has happened behind closed doors, but at the advice of counsel, and peers, some things have to remain obscured for the time being. This is to protect myself, and my team. This is also to protect ongoing investigations, which depending on the outcome, could lead to criminal action.
What I can share is that (roughly) for the last two months, both myself, and select members of my inner-most team, have been looking at the books. What we found were inconsistencies, and the misappropriation of funds; neither of which were ever condoned or encouraged by myself. As you can imagine, these actions by parties unnamed were not only surprising, they were heartbreaking; a personal betrayal of trust to me who had invested my time, money and energy into these individuals, and a betrayal to each of you, our beloved BLU community. This was especially difficult as some of these learnings came in the midst of my recovery, which was a layer of stress I did not need at the time. Nevertheless, I muscled through.
As of today, what I can share, is that the individuals involved in these actions are no longer part of the BLU in any capacity, at any level. Further still, we are in negotiation with these individuals to claw back the misappropriated funds, and any invested monies, with the intent of returning 100% back into the BLU treasury for development. The next few weeks will be a sensitive period in closing these discussions. We look forward to sharing more at the next scheduled event.
@everyone
Have to continue in another post….
[5:59 PM]In the interim, as shared on the Discord, I would like to once again formally welcome Douglas, aka BelsheBits as the new face of our Community efforts. I would encourage each and every one of you to get to know Belshe for the stand up guy that he is. You’ll be seeing a lot of Belshe as he takes on a number of duties, not the least of which is making sure you’re all fed with the latest/greatest. Give him time to get adjusted to the new responsibilities.
Welcome Douglas!
Thirdly, and finally, on the status of Verse-U…
We know this is the ‘big one,’ and likely why you’re attending here tonight! On this, I have a number of very exciting developments. As you know, the BLU was never ‘exclusively’ just a game. Somewhere along the way the narrative of gauntlet ownership pivoted towards game development and game integration. And while that is absolutely cool, it’s a relatively narrow path to tread.
The BLU is something I’ve carried inside me for literal decades. Respectively, no one game could truly contain the power, and music inside me. So tonight, exclusively for the BLU fam, I am excited to announce that the execution of BLU is getting so much bigger.
Over the last several weeks, in working with the team at Lineage Studios, our roadmap has evolved considerably. To be clear, Verse-U (the game) remains our North Star, and we have made incredible strides in its early development. That said, we know how frustrating it is for you, the fans, to wait for updates. Games take time. Great games even longer.
So with you in mind, we’ve changed the entire paradigm of our roll out and what we think it means to be part of the BLU. We want Gauntlet Ownership to be a badge of honor that grants you exclusive content, world immersion, and more. Not a game tomorrow, an exclusive and open door to new worlds now. What this means for our roadmap, essentially, is more, more, more. More characters, animatics, short stories, art, EPs, comics and even MORE on top of our regularly scheduled game updates. These are not sneak peeks, these are break-the-windows, tear-the-frames down looks inside the team’s imagination; raw, and first, and exclusively for you.
On that note, I am further excited to announce that our comprehensive IP bible is not only drafted, it is complete, and will serve as the backbone for everything we do from this point forward.
But wait, there’s one last thing… AVATARS!
Avatars are a much anticipated part of The BLU. We are very aware in the delay that these have had and we appreciate your patience with the whole process. Characters and Lore of The BLU are fundamental on the longterm plan. These Avatars will represent these characters that will be found in all aspects of The BLU, including VerseU. Specifics with the Avatars will be shared during the AMA.
One item that I would like to share with you now to clear up any confusion, is that the Avatars will be Airdropped! In order to help make others aware of the Avatars being airdropped, we will make sure we do a very thorough job of letting people know a time frame when they are going to be dropped so that the community at large can be aware.
BLU believers, thank you. We love and respect you all! We will happily take a couple questions to help close things out during the AMA. Belshe will be monitoring the hangout in real time. If you have a question, please raise your hand during the AMA. Again, in hopes of keeping the AMA discussion productive and focused on BLU creative, please refrain from asking about sensitive matters.
@everyone
