Kerbal Space Program is one of those weird indie darlings that seems like it never should have worked on paper, yet the game was incredibly successful long before it ever left Steam Early Access. KSP has an extremely dedicated fan base, but that community has been shaken this week by accusations from a former developer on the game against the studio behind it.

The game’s former media director, who went by the screenname “PDtv”, said on 4chan that during his time with Squad (Monkey Squad, S.A. de C.V.), the Mexico-based company behind KSP, he earned only around $2400 per year despite working full time. In his rant against the company, PDtv accused Squad of forcing employees to work long hours for little pay and then firing them as soon as they no longer needed them.

“Welcome to Squad we pay you like shit then fire you when your work is finished so we can just take over and maintain it,” PDtv wrote in his original comments.

Of course, layoffs after a project has been completed is hardly a new concept in the video game industry, nor is it even particularly uncommon. While large game studios like Ubisoft might have enough projects to keep developers on long term, many smaller studios expand when a project begins and shrink when it ends.

In the case of KSP, now that the game has left Early Access, the bulk of the development of the game is already completed, which could explain why Squad has decided to “take over and maintain it,” as PDtv described it.

While much of the KSP community has reacted in outrage to PDtv’s claims, the studio itself has yet to comment on the situation.

Image courtesy of Squad