I said I would take some time off, but given the gravity of recent events, I feel it is my responsibility to inform the community. Zeal recently uploaded a video to YouTube titled "i have killed myself," which was deleted approximately 5 minutes later.
As you can imagine, the video is a farewell message and a supposed response to the serious public accusations made by REN. However, over the course of an hour, Zeal fails to provide any evidence that clears his name or defends him in any substantial way. He limits himself to pointing out three minor inconsistencies that are easily explained given the context of the abuse. In his own words, because of how quickly his team and the community cut ties with him, there was "no reason to keep going."
Most disturbing is that he once again claims his relationships with REN were consensual and mutual, going as far as to apologize for "being bad at sex." This statement, besides being disgusting, completely downplays the nature of the assault allegations. He even refers to those episodes with nostalgia, as if they had been positive experiences, only to then label REN a liar and claim he doesn't understand why they did this.
Later, he apologizes to his work team (programmers, animators, artists, and external collaborators), lamenting that he ruined their reputations and "wasted" their talent and the time they dedicated to Pressure. He also speaks in what appears to be Danish for about 7 minutes to address his family. The video concludes with Zeal crying and constantly repeating his intentions to take his own life, expressing fear regarding the outcome of this entire situation.
It is vital not to be deceived. What we are witnessing is an emotional manipulation tactic aimed at both the general public and REN. They specifically stated that they did not want Zeal to hurt himself, and the fact that he is using self-harm as a response proves that, once again, he has no real consideration for the victim’s feelings or well-being.
While the community was processing this, the user who re-uploaded the video reported that Zeal was allegedly in the hospital. Hours later, a new statement emerged, this time attributed to "Zeal’s mom," threatening to take legal action against REN for supposedly damaging the developer's reputation, career, and mental health.
It is important to understand that this is another form of intimidation; legally, a defamation lawsuit would crumble in the face of the overwhelming amount of evidence presented, and a "damages for emotional distress" argument would hardly succeed when the truth is the primary defense. The real goal of these threats is usually to financially drain the victim, clean the accused's public image, and force a narrative shift from "aggressor" to "victim of harassment."
However, the most recent update suggests that all of this might be a sham to buy time. Zeal's account was detected as active on Roblox, presumably playing Arsenal, while he was supposedly hospitalized. Furthermore, a deeper investigation has raised suspicions about the authenticity of his mother's account, which appears to have been created for this purpose and shows signs of being an alt managed by him.
Finally, i want you to know, REN, that you have our full support and solidarity. It is devastating that you are being subjected to these fear-based power plays after showing such immense courage, but you are not standing alone. Your truth matters, and we will continue to uphold it against every attempt to distort the narrative.
To the community: stop playing Pressure and withdraw all financial support. Continuing to engage with the game now means actively enabling an abuser. Do not feel guilty for your past support—you didn’t have the facts then; however, now that the truth is out, the responsibility is to act.
This goes beyond Zeal. People like Wil, Kat, and Zerum, who were aware of the situation and chose silence to protect their profits, are accomplices. Choosing money over human lives is inexcusable, and they must be held accountable as well. No piece of entertainment is worth the cost of a person's safety and dignity.
Please take care of yourselves and try to take a break from this situation as well; I know how heavy and difficult it is to process. I will keep you updated if anything else comes to light. In a few days or weeks, I will decide the future of this fan-project, but for now, it will serve its role in spreading awareness.
This is Lucy, my smol (not smol actually) trenchbleeder baby.
She walks around all proud and stompy, shaking the entire seabed like a giant underwater puppy and acting like a total menace that scares off every single fish in the abyss. She’s glowing all blue bc she gets excited when she finds something cool in the dark. I think she was posing for me here… or maybe just wobbling. Hard to tell with Lucy.
