PuffPals: Island Skies had so much potential. It was a cute life-sim coming out at a time when cozy games started to grow in popularity. It raised over $2.5 million dollars from more than 42,000 backers during its Kickstarter campaign, smashing its goal for $75,000. Behind it all was Fluffnest, a company known for making high-quality plushies with a cult following online. The game was supposed to be released in January 2023 on PC, mobile, and Nintendo Switch. It felt like a dream project for backers, but unfortunately, not all dreams come true.
Secrecy and Silence
From the start, Fluffnest presented the game as an in-house project with a talented, diverse team. In reality, almost all development was outsourced to Room 8 Studio. That fact wasn’t disclosed to backers, who believed they were funding Fluffnest’s own creative vision.
Even worse, communication would become inconsistent over time. Updates were sporadic with vague promises for the release of Alpha 2. Backers were funneled into a private Discord that required NDAs, effectively preventing people from criticizing Fluffnest. Nothing close to a finished game existed. Behind the scenes, Fluffnest was defaulting on loans, failing to pay contractors, and racking up lawsuits.
Eventually, Fluffnest shut down both its plushie business and the game project. Websites were wiped with their domains going up for sale. Nearly all employees were laid off, only founder Lily Yang and the CEO remained. By 2025, the company was gone and so was the $2.5 million.
Scam or Just In Over Their Heads?
So was PuffPals: Island Skies always a scam? Maybe at first, it wasn’t. Room 8 Studio seems to be genuinely passionate about the project. They’ve even expressed interest in finishing the game on their own, since they handled the first alpha build.
At the same time, what made Fluffnest, a plushie toy company, think they were ready to create a video game? Game development is a long process where it is crucial to have the right people involved. Even that’s not enough to prevent delays or complications.
The evidence points to something more malicious. Room 8 Studio sued Fluffnest and its CEO David Pentland for $1.9 million in unpaid invoices. Other contractors, artists went public about unpaid wages. Banks and creditors pursued legal action for defaulted loans. Whether you call it a scam or reckless mismanagement, the result is the same. Over 42,000 backers paid for a cozy life-sim that never came.
PuffPals is a Cautionary Tale
PuffPals: Island Skies is a cautionary tale on how volatile crowd-funded projects can be at times. The makers have no legal obligations to finish their projects. Getting a refund is not guaranteed.
Also, sometimes it’s best to just stay in your lane. Fluffnest tried to leap from plushies to video games without the infrastructure, expertise, or transparency needed to handle a project of this scale. I’m not saying you shouldn’t step outside your comfort zone or try new things. Just make sure you know your limits and be transparent with others.
Dream projects can be intoxicating. If the people behind them can’t be honest with their backers or themselves, no amount of hype will save them.
