I’ve been working in the industry for 10 years, I decided to quit

From a practical perspective, you need to figure out where you stand. You said that you pitched your game and got the green light - congratulations! That's no small feat and I'm glad you got it. I also believe that you're serious when you say that this is the only thing you want to work on, and that you're willing to quit your job to work on it. I won't comment on whether I think that's a good idea, you've already made your decision on the matter and I'll respect it.

First, make your peace - the current incomplete prototype is probably dead in the water. It is unlikely that it will be resurrected if your employer is in dire financial straits - by the time things stabilize economically, your company, the gaming industry, and the entire world around it will have shifted and likely moved on. You'll probably never be able to recover any of the prototype you've been working on - the assets, the code, the documents, any and all of it is probably owned by your employer.

After you've made your peace, you need to figure out who owns the IP for the game now. Do you own the IP or does your employer own it? The answer to this question will determine how much work you need to do to get back on track, as well as the things you are allowed to do legally without incurring potential legal damages to your employer.

If you own the IP and the project is the only thing you can stand to work on, you can always quit your job and go independent. You can continue to build the game yourself and then try to find funding or publishing yourself. If you don't own the IP, you can take just the game mechanics (which cannot be copyrighted) and rebuild all new characters, setting, story, etc. Rebuild the same sort of game but with everything else being different. Your employer doesn't have to sue, but they can certainly choose to, and they have a whole lot of documentation and an incomplete prototype to prove it. Better to protect yourself.

I wish you luck. It takes a lot of courage to try something like this, especially in a scary economic situation like the world today. I hope your game does well. We could all use some more fun in our lives.

[Join us on Discord] and/or [Support us on Patreon]

Got a burning question you want answered?

• Short questions: Ask a Game Dev on Twitter
• Short questions: Ask a Game Dev on BlueSky
• Long questions: Ask a Game Dev on Tumblr
• Frequent Questions: The FAQ