Asymmetric Publications

Kingdom of Loathing is advertising-free and does not charge subscription fees.

Maintenance and development of the game is supported primarily through donations and players who donate US$10 to the game receive a powerful item known as a Mr. Accessory. Mr. Accessories can be equipped to give stat boosts or spent in the "Mr. Store" to buy powerful items (including special monthly items). Mr. Accessories and Mr. Store items may be traded freely between players. According to an interview with Zack Johnson from 2010, Johnson originally established the Mr. Accessory revenue model as "kind of an afterthought", but it became lucrative enough to allow him to work on the game full-time and eventually to hire several permanent employees.

Controversy

In 2019, Johnson was accused of "physical and emotional" abuse by his ex-wife, U.C. Santa Cruz professor A.M. Darke, towards her and West of Loathing designer Kevin Simmons. She also alleged that he had removed part of the game to avoid crediting her for its development. Johnson denied the allegations of physical abuse, although he admitted "emotional immaturity and anger and cruelty" in a written apology. He later added Darke to the game's credits, claiming she had only provided feedback to the game and did not work on it in a design capacity. An ex-girlfriend of Johnson's, Bonnie Mattson, similarly alleged abusive behavior during a 2005 relationship.