FFG No Longer Developing Star Wars Minis Games

Msample wrote:

fightcitymayor wrote:

sornars wrote: I'm under the impression that LCGs are fairly successful and I would assume, pretty profitable. Perhaps they'll be focussing on those? If the wider strategy is to acquire IP rights then an LCG for every IP means they can be the Funko Pop of card games.

LCG's/CCG's are actually fairly developmentally intensive, and thus aren't something FFG could just toss off for any given hot-at-the-moment IP. Designing game mechanisms, developing a card-pool, organizing those cards into sets, determining what cards are released when, commissioning art, arranging production & distribution of dozens of packs/decks/expansions, promoting a competitive play environment, connecting with the end-user community of players. It takes a lot more work than just one-offing a boardgame. And to do it well takes $$$ to pay people who can reliably get it done.

Yeah they seem to be winding down the LCG model from what I can see. There was a time when FFG had quite a few of them putting out product at the same time . Now, I think the only ones being supported with new content are Lord of the Rings and Arkham - and both are getting long in the tooth, relatively speaking.

Edit - and Marvel Champions. But the other two are likely much closer to the end of their life cycles than the beginning IMO. And I don't see any IPs om their portfolio spawning a new one. I think they were/are great for impulse buying in a brick and mortar retail environment, but with that being an uncertainty while the pandemic lasts, it may not be as lucrative as it once was.

I think the competitive LCG model is definitely winding down with L5R last man standing from a high point of Netrunner, Thrones, Star Wars and Warhammer Conquest all being active at the same time, but the cooperative games feel like a great fit for the model. Playable in quarantine, and they need minimal OP support to keep players happy.

And I just learned that two veterans of the OP team were also let go. If nothing else, it seems clear that Fantasy Flight is leaving the tournament games realm.

DarthJoJo wrote:

ChristopherMD wrote: I wonder if this signals the end of all of FFG's totally-not-boardgames Star Wars board games like Rebellion, Imperial Assault, Outer Rim type stuff. It's my understanding they published these as miniature games to avoid running into Hasbro's SW boardgame license. I assumed if the license was ever renewed or amended someone would push to close this loophole. Only time will tell I guess.

Imperial Assault is officially done. A Mandolorian expansion would probably sell alright and some more support for the app would be great, but both feel like longshots. Then again, they did make a Targaryen expansion for the Game of Thrones board game three years after second edition dropped.

There are some fan based variants on BGG for a Mandalorian character for IA. I think Outer Rim may be an easier/more suitable game to add in his character; the fan versions being proposed in IA seemed a bit OP. In an interview this summer, some FFG dude said there was some Outer Rim expansion content in the works; the game even has gaps in the card numbering system so its clearly been prepped for it.

I am kind of surprised we haven't seen some standalone Mandalorian boardgame .....yet. I can only assume its a matter of time. I am not counting the Monopoly/Trouble reskins.

DarthJoJo wrote: And I just learned that two veterans of the OP team were also let go. If nothing else, it seems clear that Fantasy Flight is leaving the tournament games realm.

I gotta imagine OP has taken a significant hit during the pandemic, which probably helped them make the decision.

DarthJoJo wrote: I guess Christian Petersen and Andrew Navarro got out just in time.

Christian Petersen left the way he wanted to leave. He negotiated the selling price of FFG, was kept on salary for one more year to help with the transition, and got paid an additional sum for a non-compete clause. And now he has started his own venture capital firm:

www.strangestars.com/2019/02/13/greeting...edge-of-the-unknown/

I was 100% thinking only of their coop LCGs (Arkham and Marvel) when making my previous statement. Those two seemed to share enough mechanical DNA that I assumed a palette swap to other IP wouldn’t have been too difficult. Heck make they could make a generic game engine and focus on making cards in the respective settings.

I don’t think they’ll actually take that approach; asset stripping the company seems far more likely but I was trying to guess what strategy they could be pursuing.

Shellhead wrote: And now he has started his own venture capital firm:

Maybe they'll invest in Asmodee.

Msample wrote: Edit - and Marvel Champions. But the other two are likely much closer to the end of their life cycles than the beginning IMO. And I don't see any IPs om their portfolio spawning a new one. I think they were/are great for impulse buying in a brick and mortar retail environment, but with that being an uncertainty while the pandemic lasts, it may not be as lucrative as it once was.

It's a little hard to see how Champions, irrespective of quality, can endure that long considering that its pieces are largely fungible.

I think something weird is going on at FFG, I would not want to be working there right now. Apparently they just suddenly announced they're not sending out very many copies of the hotly anticipated TI:4 expansion for months... which has got to be one of the few things outside of their LCGs which has decent sales potential.

www.reddit.com/r/twilightimperium/commen.../possible_pok_delay/

Hope it's just a hiccup.

I think what we are seeing here is Asmodee creating 3 specialist studios. Atomic Mass will be their miniature game studio, Edge will be their RPG studio, and FFG will be there boardgame/ LCG studio. I agree that it looks bad from the outside but since FFG was holding all the cards it was bound to be split up a bit. I just think FFG is too big and trusted a brand, no matter what we may personally think about them, for them to be jettisoned.

Why give them the benefit of the doubt? Petersen is gone, Navaro, Lang, and Davy are gone. I would be hard pressed to name a developer they have on staff currently. All of the line managers and license coordinators I knew are gone. I have a hard time believing that whomever is actually overseeing operations now is concerned about much more than seeing SKU deliveries fulfilled and meeting whatever sales numbers the Mouse named in the agreement.

Yeah, it was tough to hear them cutting costs by getting rid of a lot of their senior design and development talent.

I think that era of game publisher is gone. Now you're either huge, or you're micro. There's a couple left in the middle, but I think they're a dying breed.

I mean, welcome to the American economy in general, I guess. Still sucks.

thegiantbrain wrote: I think what we are seeing here is Asmodee creating 3 specialist studios. Atomic Mass will be their miniature game studio, Edge will be their RPG studio, and FFG will be there boardgame/ LCG studio. I agree that it looks bad from the outside but since FFG was holding all the cards it was bound to be split up a bit. I just think FFG is too big and trusted a brand, no matter what we may personally think about them, for them to be jettisoned.

Asmodee mk 2 also has funneled all of FFG's accessories and supplies into their Gamegenic imprint based out of Germany. Though, tbh, I do appreciate that they sell sleeves in reasonablyish-priced 200 packs now.