Fantasy Flight Games layoffs

Dr. Mabuse wrote: Damn, sorry all, feel free to delete my post to avoid any confusion.

No, I'm very happy you posted this as it made me realize we had buried an important thread in a completely different unrelated topic and *I* should have already split it out!

Looks like the RPG layoffs have sparked panic buying among Star Wars RPGers. I'm not sure that's necessary. I'd guess FFG will keep those in print for a while, and they were already winding down to making compendium books (collections of vehicles, etc.), so the line was pretty much done.

Josh Look wrote: Not sure how many folks read the full story, but this was their digital outlet. The made and released one game, the digital version of the LOTR LCG. Not to sound insensitive to those out of work, but pursuing that project was a head scratcher from the get go. I feel bad for those who lost their jobs, but I’m hardly surprised by any of this.

I'm getting my info from a current employee who was surprised to survive the mass layoff. It wasn't just digital, it was rpgs, customer service, and the manager of the event team who was also my supervisor there 16 years ago. They also no longer have an employee tending their social media accounts. Also, Asmodee will no longer be sending out free review copies of their games.

Again, VERY venture capital.

That sucks. But other than star wars did any of the other stuff hit big? I'm kinda surprised they never rolled out a full scale terrinoth RPG (or if they did I totally missed it). I feel Star Wars is burning itself into the ground (though The Mandalorian might actually pave a way to enjoy it in time) and FFG attached themselves to that property in a major way.

What about the apps for descent and stuff? I suppose it has been archived somewhere and some fan will probably always keep them alive as platforms change but if they cut those guys then it doesnt bode well for that direction of board games.

jason10mm wrote: That sucks. But other than star wars did any of the other stuff hit big? I'm kinda surprised they never rolled out a full scale terrinoth RPG (or if they did I totally missed it).

www.fantasyflightgames.com/en/news/2018/...realms-of-terrinoth/

There's a fair bit of excitement around the Genesys RPG system, which is (more or less) a refined Star Wars RPG stripped of that IP and generic enough to handle sourcebooks for a range of settings.

In related news they just announced the end of Star Wars Destiny with the next (and last) release.

Msample wrote: In related news they just announced the end of Star Wars Destiny with the next (and last) release.

Must not have hit their target ROI.

Msample wrote: In related news they just announced the end of Star Wars Destiny with the next (and last) release.

That surprises me, those things seemed to be in high demand for the first year of its launch.

Gary Sax wrote:

Msample wrote: In related news they just announced the end of Star Wars Destiny with the next (and last) release.

That surprises me, those things seemed to be in high demand for the first year of its launch.

They were; like Dicemasters there were some early product outages; partially due to the dice manufacturing being new and complicated and partially due to low initial buy in from retailers. After that though it was and is easy to find.

It is/was a good game, and the only one I've ever played, however briefly, in any kind of league. (My wife's job/schedule changed, so we couldn't as easily go out to the store after work once a week, and I did what I often do, which was go all-in and burn out some. Plus, I wasn't that good at it. ). I've kinda thought about buying some more periodically--because I guess I'm not selling now!--but it's probably just more bulk to have around, and there's the dice storage. I'm kind of surprised it hung on this long--something like nine booster waves--because it's a bit of a weird one with the cards and dice. I think it got a real boost when Amazon started selling the two-player starters at cut-rate prices in 2018, but these things tend to go hot and then cool, which might as well be cold in this market.

I liked the game a lot, but didn't play it enough to in any way keep up with new releases. But I'm wondering if a potential issue with a collectible game based on an IP such as Star Wars is that you eventually run out of stuff. I know they can make new versions of iconic characters, but how many versions of Vader can you make? Or, rather, how many different versions of Vader do I as a consumer need? If you are not playing a game competetively, then getting a new specific character is cool because you want Vader, Boba Fett, and ice dragon, Mace Tyrell, or whatever in your deck. But if all you get is a new mechanism with an old name, then maybe it's not as interesting anymore.

I applied for a job with Asmodee North America in fall of 2018. I was surprised that I didn't hear anything from them, as I had previous experience working at FFG and 30 years of experience in my career. Christian Petersen even offered me this same job many years ago and I declined because the pay was about $10k less than what I was seeing from comparable employers. I talked to my contacts from FFG and Asmodee and re-applied six weeks later. I interviewed for the job, but they passed on all the candidates. I found another job and eventually Asmodee hired someone.

Since then, I have stayed in touch with one of my Asmodee contacts, and heard increasingly bizarre accounts of how they were running the business. Firing experienced people nearly every week and replacing them with recent graduates. Asmodee has a sales manager who recently turned 23. Andrew Navarro left FFG, and Plaid Hat Games negotiated a buyback so they could leave as well.

Finally, I realized what is likely going on at Asmodee. The venture capitalists currently running the place are predictably looking to maximize profitability so they can sell for a big profit in a few years, which is typical. What is atypical is that they have left the sales team run amok, probably because the sales team promised them the moon and the stars. When the sales team runs a company, things like budget, organization, and logistics get thrown out the window, and that is what seems to be happening at Asmodee. The whole company got re-organized around the sales team last year. Sales gets whatever they want, and other department heads have been reduced to yes-men. The creative types are becoming disgruntled, but sales doesn't care because they will just sell whatever there is to sell.

That is very depressing to hear.