Interview with CEO Ron Eckhart
Our CEO, Ron Eckhart, brings over 25 years of diverse business experience to Morally Bankrupt Game Studios. Born into a modest upper-class family, Ron learned the value of hard work early—his parents insisted he wait until his eleventh birthday before receiving ski lessons, teaching him that good things come to those who persevere.
Ron’s entrepreneurial journey began when he made the bold decision to leave university after just three months to pursue his vision full-time. With a modest seed investment of £10 million from his mother, he founded The Eckhart Yacht Company, quickly establishing himself in the luxury maritime sector. After two dynamic years, Ron made the strategic decision to step away from the yacht industry to explore new opportunities. While some publications dwelt on financial technicalities surrounding the company’s closure, Ron was ultimately not found liable for any irregularities, which he considers a resounding vindication.
Following a well-earned four-year period of reflection and personal development, Ron has returned to the business world with renewed vigor, ready to bring his unique perspective to the games industry. We sat down with him to discuss his vision for Morally Bankrupt Game Studios.
Thanks for joining us, Ron.
“That’s Mr Eckhart to you, Felicity.”
Fiona. So, what are you hoping to achieve with Morally Bankrupt Game Studios?
“Great question, Frances. I heard there was considerable unhappiness within the gaming community, and as an experienced entrepreneur, I naturally saw this as an opportunity. Drawing on my experience in the yacht industry, I could clearly see that the complaints gamers had about developers weren’t the actual problem—no customer of my yacht company ever quibbled over a few hundred pounds one way or the other. Are you going to tell me gamers are different? The solution they need is simply a business that speaks to them honestly, just like I did with my clients.”
But don’t you think customers buying a game might be more price-conscious than those buying a yacht?
“Are you telling me that yacht owners don’t play games, Frankie?”
I mean, more that not all gamers are yacht owners. We can’t all—
“Please, Faye. If so many gamers don’t own yachts, why weren’t they banging on the doors of my yacht company’s showroom? Did you know that a vanishingly small percentage of people are buying yachts these days? The only logical explanation is that everyone already owns one.”
I don’t thin- Let’s move on. At your launch announcement, you mentioned the company was seeking acquisition and valued itself at $4.2 billion. Have there been any offers?
“Well, Francesca, I have to say I’m as surprised as anyone that the offers haven’t been…flooding in, as such. We’ve been a company for nearly three weeks now, which in startup terms is basically a legacy institution. I’m checking my email constantly—sometimes as often as every twenty minutes.”
And…nothing?
“I wouldn’t say nothing. We got one email asking if we’d be interested in extending our car warranty, which I thought showed promise until our lawyer explained what it actually was. But I remain optimistic. These Saudi consortiums are probably just doing their due diligence. Very thorough people, I’m told. I’m sure an offer is imminent. In fact - oh! A new email has just arrived. Let’s see here… well, didn’t I tell you there would be interest? A Nigerian Prince wants to talk to me.”
Perhaps the Saudis are concerned by your total lack of products, revenue, or assets?
“Fern, that’s exactly the kind of old-fashioned thinking that’s holding the industry back. We’re not selling products—we’re selling potential. We’re selling the idea of products. That’s worth far more than actual games, which frankly require an exhausting amount of work to create and can be quite disappointing when finished.”
Since you bought up the topic of games, can we expect to see you releasing any this year?
“Well Faith, as a company that prides itself on honesty, and specifically honesty about how we’ll disappoint people, I’m thrilled to answer yes…and also no.”
Yes…and no?
“Absolutely. Yes, you can expect to see games released this year. You can expect just as much as you like—we’d really like to encourage high levels of expectation. But no, we won’t be releasing anything.”
Isn’t that just a very wordy way of saying no?
“That’s a naive way to think about it, Flo. All the developers here—yes, we have developers now—they know very well we’re not finishing our game this year. To be entirely honest, we might not even announce it! But that’s inconvenient from a company perspective. If the game isn’t releasing soon, it’s harder to get people hyped about it, and therefore significantly more challenging to get them to give us money. So we’d really love everyone to believe we’re going to release it soon.”
But…you aren’t?
“Oh, definitely not. Not a chance.”
What about your development team? How many people are working on the game?
“Well, we have…people. More than one person, definitely. At least, if you count me. Our staff are very talented, I’m told.”
You’re told? Don’t you work with them?
“Francine, I’m a CEO. I work above them, not with them. There’s Derek in programming, or possibly Daniel. Or was it Steve? I don’t recall. The important thing is that they are extremely replaceable if our future owners want to bring in their own team.”
One final question. What do you say to gamers who are skeptical about yet another studio making big promises?
“I’d say their skepticism is entirely justified, and that we deeply admire their pattern recognition skills. But here’s what makes us different, Phyllis - We’re being completely transparent about our intentions from day one. Other studios make lofty promises, and when they inevitably fall short, players feel betrayed. They organize boycotts, they review-bomb, they demand refunds. It’s all very dramatic. But when we disappoint you — and we will — what are you going to do? Boycott us for being honest? Review-bomb us for doing exactly what we promised we’d do in very large font on our website? We’ve essentially eliminated the one tool players have to hold us accountable. It’s remarkably efficient, from a business perspective.”
Thanks for speaking with us, Ron.
“Mr Eckhart.”