IMPORTANT: The Future of Sileo & Our Patreon
Hello everybody, hope you’re all doing well.
If you’ve followed this project for a while, you’ll be aware of the ongoing difficulties relating to creative burnout and the continually slowing rate at which new content is being produced. It’s a lengthy tale, but the short version is that I’ve been completely creatively exhausted for quite some time now which is largely why things have been moving at such a glacial pace. I’ve long known that the correct action to address this issue would be for us to take a significant break from the project and only return once we’re feeling recharged and excited to get stuck back in.
Back in 2021, my employment at the time dissolved as a consequence of Covid-19, and thus Sileo became my full-time job. Unfortunately, it wasn’t long after that point that the creative burnout began to creep in and our progress began to slow. I tried a downright ridiculous number of things to tackle the burnout issue and get things back on track, but nothing worked. And because Sileo was the sole thing putting a roof over my head at the time, time off was simply not an option. I had little choice but to keep squeezing blood from that creative stone. And sadly, I think that stone has long bled dry.
Then, in recent months, Patreon made significant changes to their policies regarding NSFW content. I won’t go into the nitty gritty as these things have been discussed at length already by creators in the fandom and I’m certain almost all of you already know what it’s all about, but these changes have put us in a position where it feels as though we’re waiting for a guillotine to drop. Many of the changes necessary to comply with these new policies would severely compromise the kind of experience we want Sileo to be and the kind of content we want to deliver, and several of the other new policies are practically impossible to comply with at all.
Many other creators in the furry space have already been banned from Patreon as a consequence of these draconian policies, and terrifyingly, those creators have all lost access to any and all funds remaining on their Patreon accounts. This has resulted in financial ruin for a bunch of creators in this space already, and so, Sileo’s existence on Patreon has been living on borrowed time.
With circumstances being what they are, it became clear that my top priority needed to be breaking my financial dependence on the Patreon platform and Sileo as a whole. Thankfully, these efforts bore fruit, and I’m now back in regular employment. The threat of a sudden ban or continued burnout no longer threatens the roof over my head, and so I can breathe a sigh of relief. Phew. It also means that taking a much-needed break is now possible.
And so, that brings me to the crux of this post.
Effective immediately, our Patreon will be frozen. No more payments will be taken, and no new members or subscriptions will be accepted.
The Patreon will remain up for approximately a couple of weeks. You can use this opportunity to take copies of any previous Patreon-exclusive posts and content should you so wish. We will then be shutting the Patreon down for good. I'll post up-to-date collections of the artwork over the coming days for those who want them.
Please also know that you will still receive the final Patreon update as promised. Please ensure that the email address associated with your Patreon subscription is up to date prior to the Sileo Patreon Page going down. Everybody who has subscribed at any time since the last Patreon build was released will receive the final Patreon build via email upon its completion.
The Final Patreon Update will be the largest update we’ve ever released, but please understand that we cannot offer any kind of ETA at this time. Our first priority going forward will be taking a much-needed break to restore our creative energy so that we can come back refreshed and recharged when the time is right. When that time comes, we will work on this update behind the scenes and only reveal and release it once it is ready to go. The way I see it, the scale of such an update means that if we can’t pull that off, then we’re not ready to return. And if we are ready to return, then pulling this off will be the best possible proof that we’re back in action!
On the future of Sileo following the shutdown of our Patreon and this extended break, I want Sileo to go back to being a passion project and not something I need to do to pay the bills and what not. When doing what you love becomes a necessity to your survival, your relationship with that thing can change and twist into something very different indeed. I haven’t loved making Sileo like I used to for several years now, and there’s nothing I want more than for that to change. With that in mind, I strongly doubt we’ll pursue avenues of funding similar to Patreon in the future, though we’ll make any specific financial decisions together as a team at that time. Personally though, the idea of finishing Sileo because I want to and because I love what I do and not out of necessity for survival sounds pretty good to me.
So, with everything said, I want to thank you all so, so much for your support of us and our project. It has genuinely meant the world to me that so many of you love what we do enough to chip in and help us make the best visual novel we can. I’m sorry we’re in this situation and I take full responsibility for that. Things like making Sileo my primary source of income back in 2021 were decisions made with the best possible intentions, and choices that seemed right at the time. Of course, you know what they say about hindsight. Mistakes were made, and lessons were learned. I’ve always said that the last thing I would ever want is to leave Sileo unfinished, and that sentiment remains. This is not the end, we will return when the time is right, and we will come bearing gifts!
Thank you all once again.
With Love,
Xevvy~
Get Sileo: Tales of a New Dawn
Sileo: Tales of a New Dawn
A Gay Furry Visual Novel (R18!)
Status | On hold |
Author | Xevvy |
Genre | Visual Novel |
Tags | Bara, Dating Sim, Erotic, Furry, Gay, LGBT, NSFW, r18, Romance, Slice Of Life |
Languages | English |
More posts
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- Sileo 0.59 Updates Now Available!Jan 31, 2024
- Sileo 0.58 Update Now Available!Nov 29, 2023
- Happy Halloween!Oct 31, 2023
- 0.57 September Updates Now Available!Sep 19, 2023
- Sileo 0.56 July Update Now Available!Jul 30, 2023
- Sileo 0.55 June Updates Now Available!Jun 07, 2023
- 0.54.1 Update Now AvailableMay 05, 2023
Comments
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Just thank the stars that y'all didn't quit good luck.
I hope you have a fulfilling break and can pull yourself from the creative funk. Im not able to subscribe however I am a fan of your work and so must ask. Once all is said and done and your able to continue sileo without issue, where would we be able to find and download any further updates to it. I am merely curious if you have figured that out and do not wish to rush or add unnecessary stress.
When development resumes, you'll find updates right here on Itch. Only our Patreon is going away, everything else will stay.
...............not going to lie, itch completely slipped my mind XD, thanks for clearing that up, looking forward to seeing what you can do when your rested and motivated again!!!
I am not a Patron subscriber of yours, but I have absolutely loved your story, hence why I started doing a Let's Play of it on my channel. I completely understand needing to take a step away for a while. Burnouts can and do happen, and, in your situation, I would feel it too. Whenever you return to doing the story, I look forward to seeing what comes of it. Your well-being is important, and if that means you need a break, then take a break. I support that 100%. There's plenty of content to enjoy already. *hugs and love*
Thanks, we'll be back to finish what we've started!
I look forward to whenever that day comes. As I said, your well-being is important.
Thank you for everything so far and best wishes going forward we will forever be grateful for the story as it has helped us through some dark times thank you again for everything
<3!
I wish the very best for you and your team Xevvy. It's no surprise platforms choose to disappoint/backstab creators for making them what they are now. Take all the the time you need to rest up. Hope you'll make a comeback one day. 💖
From what I understand of it, it's payment processors like Visa and Mastercard throwing their weight around to enforce some kind of insane, ignorant and nearsighted agenda they seem to have. It's a sad state of affairs, but this route was likely the right one for us regardless of that whole situation. I want this to be a passion project again, so divorcing it from financial necessity feels like the best way to achieve that.
I think Sileo being a passion project is a good idea.
I assumed as much...patreon has been pretty whack for the last few years. See you later on substar or where ever
I don't think we'll be monetizing Sileo any further. Can't say for certain at this stage, but it is my hope that we can come back after a good long break and finish this thing as a passion project without financial influence. Keep an eye on this Itch page, if anything happens, you'll see it here!
oh that certainly galvanizes my hopes. Do be well
That's too bad, but I'd lie if I said I didn't expect this. Well, hope you will come back one day to finish the other routes. For me, Sileo was the best FVN since OG Morenatsu.
Anyways, will we get to see naked Lukas & Axel sprites at least? :3
That's high praise, thank you! Morenatsu was the key inspiration which led to Sileo's creation. In an abstract sort of way, Sileo is a big homage to Morenatsu. Without it, Sileo definitely wouldn't exist.
In terms of the nude sprites, the bad news is that Lukas is a ken doll at the moment, and Axel's 'equipment' is little more than uncolored and unapproved lineart. Later on I began insisting that character sprites were fully featured from the get go as that made things easier when the time came to show those characters in the nude, but earlier characters didn't get the same treatment unfortunately.
I can however offer a consolation prize.
1) Lukas' has a large horse cock.
2) Axel has a smaller, human-style uncut penis.
3) One such character that is fully featured but has never been fully nude ingame is Roux. And here he is.
Hey, thanks for the eye candy!
Aw, too bad you don't have Axel, he's my fav. Tell me, were you planning to make his insecurity a plot or character point in his route?
Anyways, thanks for all you did. I will hold Sileo as well as other things (like your livestream when you played Bloodborne, had so much fun that time) dear in my memory.
I'm sure it wasn't an easy decision so I have to commend you for stopping before the burnout harmed the project. No sweet water can come from a poisoned well. Just know that whenever you decide to come back there will be people who are waiting for you.
Axel's anxieties regarding nudity and sex are part of that route, yes. Players pursuing him would have to content with that, along with any other challenges along the way.
Once we return from this break, it shouldn't be too much longer until you can see all of this for yourself!
Thank you for the update, and take all of the time you need. It is such an amazing VN that any future updates will be well worth the wait, and it will be all the more amazing to enjoy with knowledge that it is not a source of stress and burnout for you.
Thank you! We'll be back!
Good luck, all! Thank you for the insight and warning. Please take all the time you need to recover from the creative burnout and wishing you all the best. :)
Thanks! Stay tuned, when we return, we'll have something exciting to show off!
Take all the time you need. I'll be patiently waiting for this amazing story to continue with awesome content. it's good to take breaks
Breaks are a necessity, and burnout is very real. We'll take the time we need, and then get back to a steady pace of sizable updates!
Wishing the whole team luck, will be waiting for the return 🙏
Thank you, stay tuned!