• Mythical Games has filed a lawsuit against three former executives for breaching fiduciary duty and stealing plans for raising capital.
• The lawsuit requests that the executives return the stolen funds, as well as compensatory and punitive damages.
• Mythical Games recently laid off 10% of its staff due to the crypto winter.
Mythical Games, a Web3 gaming studio, has recently filed a lawsuit against three of its former executives for allegedly breaching fiduciary duty and stealing plans for raising capital. The lawsuit names Senior Vice President Chris Ko, Chief Operating Officer and Head of Games Matt Nutt, and co-founder Rudy Koch as defendants and seeks to recoup $150 million stolen by the executives and funneled into their new firm, Fenix Games.
In late 2019, Ko, Nutt, and Koch were tasked with acquiring investors for Mythical’s venture capital wing, Mythical Ventures. After announcing their departure from the firm in November, the executives announced that Fenix Games had received funds from Cypher Capital, a lead investor the executives had previously been working with to obtain capital for Mythical Ventures. As a result, Mythical Games has filed a lawsuit on 10 counts, including fraud and breach of contract, as well as requests for restraint against the stolen funds’ use, compensatory damages, and punitive damages.
In addition to the lawsuit, Mythical Games has recently been facing further financial difficulties due to the crypto winter, leading to the firm laying off 10% of its staff. Last year, Mythical had raised $150 million in a Series C round led by crypto VC Andreessen Horowitz (a16z). In a statement, head of communications at Mythical, Nate Nesbitt, said that “We believe very strongly in the protection of our intellectual property and corporate assets. In this instance, it was necessary to take these steps to rectify this situation and protect the company’s corporate interest, as is our duty to our employees and investors.”
The lawsuit against the three former executives marks a major milestone for Mythical Games, as the firm seeks justice and accountability. However, the financial difficulties the firm is currently facing will likely continue until the crypto market recovers. Fenix Games did not respond to CoinDesk’s request for comment by publication time.