Game studio owner suddenly lays everyone off and blames a Kotaku report that hasn't been published (Possibility Space)

Yeah, everything about this strongly suggests that Kotaku found something really damning. In the OP article it says the stated reason for the closure is that after learning what was about to come to light from Kotaku, the studio's financial backer basically pulled out completely. Clearly they felt that this discovery was bound to tank the project regardless (or they were personally disgusted by it in some way). The whole "stepping away from the games industry to spend time with his family" part really clinches it. I mean, that is basically the universal term for "hide until people stop being mad about the terrible thing I did (approx 2-3 years)."