MidBoss, studio behind Read Only Memories, files for Chapter 7 bankruptcy with $823K in debt

MidBoss — the indie developer and publisher behind 2064: Read Only Memories and its 2024 sequel Neurodiver — has filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy. A voluntary petition filed this past June reveals the studio holds just $2,560 in assets against $823,272 owed to creditors.

The debt breaks down across several categories: four separate loans totaling $138,980, a $64,000 revenue share owed to one individual, royalty shares to roughly a dozen people adding up to $87,985, $36,099 in credit card debt, and $7,000 owed to Chase Bank. The largest single line item is a disputed equity claim of $404,538 owed to Tom Kaitchuck. Matt Conn — one of MidBoss' original founders — is listed as interim CEO on the filing and signed off on the bankruptcy. He is also owed a shareholder loan repayment of $70,922 and a royalty share of $13,748, and still holds a 40-percent stake in the studio. Conn founded MidBoss out of the GaymerX community in 2013, but stepped down in 2018 after former employees publicly accused him of abuse and sexual harassment. Cade Petersen took over as CEO at that point and remained until 2025, when he quietly departed. Alexander Mehrer briefly succeeded Petersen — his LinkedIn describes restoring the dormant studio and reopening revenue streams before leaving in August of last year — after which Conn appears to have resumed control.

Read Only Memories built a devoted following as a point-and-click adventure with strong LGBTQ+ representation, and its long-awaited sequel Neurodiver finally shipped in 2024 after four years of delays. The reception was middling, which likely did little to stabilize the studio's finances. Both the Read Only Memories IP and MidBoss' Gaming in Color documentary are listed as assets in the filing, though neither carries a stated value — meaning their fate in the bankruptcy proceedings is uncertain.

Two unannounced titles, All AI Must Die and The Artificial Artist, are still listed on MidBoss' website, but their status is unknown. Kotaku reached out to MidBoss for comment and had not received a response at time of publication. Whether the Read Only Memories IP survives in any form will likely depend on how the Chapter 7 liquidation process plays out.