FFG No Longer Developing Star Wars Minis Games

www.fantasyflightgames.com/en/news/2020/...r-wars-announcement/

Development of Star Wars: X-Wing, Star Wars: Armada, and Star Wars: Legion Moving from Fantasy Flight Games to Asmodee’s Miniatures Games-Focused Studio

Wow, this is kind of a weird one. I wonder what the plan going forward is for the FFG brand?

Gary Sax wrote: Wow, this is kind of a weird one. I wonder what the plan going forward is for the FFG brand?

Now they can focus on......TERRINOTH!!

Wow, this is kind of a weird one. I wonder what the plan going forward is for the FFG brand?

Sounds like it may involve a cinderblock and a deep lake.

Sort of makes you wonder if the brand is encumbered.

It’s not great. They didn’t just transfer out major pieces of the game catalog, but there was another round of layoffs that included veteran designers and developers of those miniature lines.

I was chatting with a friend who works in that department and was moved to Atomic Mass, and he just sounded down. Said it feels like another round of restructuring and layoffs comes through every six months.

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

When a venture capital firm takes you over, even a European one, there's only one ending.

“I’m altering the deal. Pray I don’t alter it further”

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.

Or they are moving everything that's potentially profitable to the parent company before FFG gets run into the ground.

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.

Msample wrote: “I’m altering the deal. Pray I don’t alter it further”

I now require you to wear this sun dress and clown shoes.

I’m altering the deal. Pray I don’t alter it further.

Rliyen wrote:

Msample wrote: “I’m altering the deal. Pray I don’t alter it further”

I now require you to wear this sun dress and clown shoes.

I’m altering the deal. Pray I don’t alter it further.

I was thinking the same thing...

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 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.

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.