From stuttering screens to high ping, loading issues, and clunky gameplay, Wuthering Waves had a less than ideal launch, with performance issues being the top concern among players. While the developers did an excellent job communicating updates to the playerbase and providing generous compensation, one can only imagine what goes on behind the scenes.

A Reddit post recently discussed a rumor about how Wuthering Waves' Unreal Engine Specialist, Jiff (王宏波), was reportedly fired just two months before the game was released. The blog post, written by Jiff and translated by the community, alluded to terrible working conditions and profiteering practices. Another Reddit post translated a conversation that revealed a rumor about how Kuro Games had previously fired 100 probationary employees (zero to six months with the company) without compensation, further highlighting the company's inability to nurture new talent to grow in the gaming industry.

Additionally, Kuro Games entered into an attractive deal with Tencent, a multimedia conglomerate with huge influence over the Chinese gaming industry. In 2023, they invested in Kuro Games with a 14.3% stake. While some netizens believe that it could have helped Kuro Games bring Wuthering Waves to the global market, it likely did nothing to improve the seemingly terrible HR practices at the company (if the allegations against Kuro are to be believed).

Jiff’s resignation came at the most unsettling time. Kuro Games had invested heavily in Wuthering Waves, which was expected to bring the company a large profit. With the year-end bonuses just around the corner, some netizens have claimed that the large layoffs could have been made to reduce the company’s profit-sharing costs, but this remains speculation.