I do hope those laid off will find good work soon.

Regarding the line of Star Wars RPG products - I've been saying good-bye to it for a while now. The long running (2+ years) FFG SW game I've been running weekly is winding down which just happens to coincide with the lines winding down. I'm by far the most enthusiastic for this system at my table, most are neutral with one player not liking it (but still willing to give it his all for 2 years) so this is probably the last time this particular group will run using this system. It's been a good run, I really enjoy running in this system, would have loved to get a chance to run a PC, but after 2 years I'm ready to let go (the glories and warts of this system fresh in my mind).

This also quashes any rumors/hopes for a new edition of the Star Wars line...

25 minutes ago, Jedi Ronin said:

This also quashes any rumors/hopes for a new edition of the Star Wars line

Maybe, maybe not.

Layoffs like this are usually more about restructuring the company. RPG products run off a "gig" style system like film making and video production. You've got a tiny cadre of full time people working for the studio, and then you hire and layoff various contractors and freelancers to work specific productions.

So... it's really going to depend on who's out of work, how the lay out the workflow, and what Asmodee is doing.

17 hours ago, Andreievitch said:

I wonder if Asmodee will keep the games going, but develop in France instead?

I'd be very surprised if it happens. Asmodee stopped publishing RPGs around 10 years ago. They were one of the major RPGs publisher there at this time and that decision came suddenly, without warning, and surprised everybody. Since that Asmodee never went back to publish RPGs in France by themself. When I learnt they bought FFG I thought perhaps they'll be back as RPGs publisher, but it didn't happened. Now, I'm not far to believe Asmodee wants to get ride of RPGs in any company they own.

As I said in the other thread in the Genesys subforum, I've a bad feeling of déjà vu with this news.

2 minutes ago, Ghostofman said:

Maybe, maybe not.

Layoffs like this are usually more about restructuring the company. RPG products run off a "gig" style system like film making and video production. You've got a tiny cadre of full time people working for the studio, and then you hire and layoff various contractors and freelancers to work specific productions.

So... it's really going to depend on who's out of work, how the lay out the workflow, and what Asmodee is doing.

We'll see. FFG has always used a lot of freelancers in the SW RPG line.

2 minutes ago, Jedi Ronin said:

We'll see. FFG has always used a lot of freelancers in the SW RPG line.

And Genesys.

And L5R.

I am curious about something that may be coincidental (?).

The State of California passed a law last year (taking effect Jan 1, 2020) where they banned "piece work" in the state. The intent was to eliminate Uber and Lyft drivers, but the law has already impacted industries like Trucking and Staff Writing positions in Cali. (Vox recently fired their entire freelance writing staff in response to the new law too).

So, I'm wondering if this law had any impact on this decision? I wouldn't think so as FFG appears to be located in Minnesota (? not sure on this fact. If I'm incorrect, I would appreciate that correction). But if you're a freelance writer living in California it is time to move to another state . . .

Still an interesting development at FFG, but I don't know that their RPG lines were doing that well. Sure the Star Wars line did okay (for a bit) but I'm not going to act shocked or surprised by this announcement.

On a personal note my Star Wars RPG will be unaffected. I've got a great group of players and we just picked up two new players over the holidays. It's a great group and as long as I can keep spinning out great content, we'll be good for a couple of years.

It's also possible Disney is shopping the license around, too, maybe. I suppose we'll find out.

2 minutes ago, StarkJunior said:

It's also possible Disney is shopping the license around, too, maybe. I suppose we'll find out.

Some of FFG’s other Star Wars lines are getting new announcements (X-Wing just announced at least one new ship today), and they’re part of the same tabletop gaming license as the RPG, so who knows.

RPGs have always been brand loyalty products for larger hobby companies. At best, they break even in terms of sales vs. production costs. They don't take the resources to produce that a board game does but it's unusual for their sales to outpace something like a collectible card game, which is the industry's bread-and-butter. Pathfinder and D&D sell a lot of books but Magic: The Gathering smashes them both.

Before Disney, the line was tapping into sources from the various Expanded Universe/Legends materials. Post-Disney, everything we've seen is directly tied to what's in the movie theater or on television (not even with the new novels or comics) or a compilation of existing RPG material. It's been pretty clear that licencors are strictly dictating what can be produced which leaves very little wiggle room for developers. After a ships-and-vehicles book, what else could they realistically produce? An Ep. 7-9 + Resistance book? I'd love a book that covers the Aftermath novels up to The Force Awakens but that might mean negotiating with Del Rey who are outside the Disney umbrella.

We got three complete lines plus five general books. That's better than a lot of RPGs publishes do, especially with the traditional "splat book" model. I'm not following this license to another publisher, especially not WotC or someone similar. I sensed the line was winding down long ago but I've got two FFG SW campaigns coming up in the near future so I'm not done playing. Not by a long shot.

23 minutes ago, Concise Locket said:

I'm not following this license to another publisher, especially not WotC or someone similar.

Winner Winner Chicken Dinner! Unless the next version of the game is ******ed amazing, it'll be FFG all the way for me. I'll probably get whatever books come out for the line - I have all the WotC books for the data within but never touched the engine even once - but as far as actual playing? Naw, no thanks.

25 minutes ago, Concise Locket said:

Before Disney, the line was tapping into sources from the various Expanded Universe/Legends materials.

Just a point of clarification, EotE hit shelves in 2012, which is the same year Disney purchased LFL. While development time prior to publication obviously occurred, there is effectively no time the line existed “before Disney.”

For me, I have a full set of FFG books and a fair stack of WEG books. I'll buy more FFG books if they print them, and will keep picking up WEG books now and again, but I don't need a third system. I can run games for the rest of my life based on what I have now.

One more nugget from the insider:

Quote

Xwing and Armada are doing fine and likely will continue to do so (Armada doesn't sell a ton but it's super steady)

I wouldn't worry about those two at the very least

Which - if the RPG and Mini licenses are indeed tied together as we suspect - might be a flicker of light?

13 minutes ago, Desslok said:

One more nugget from the insider:

Which - if the RPG and Mini licenses are indeed tied together as we suspect - might be a flicker of light?

Here's hoping.

It’ll be interesting to see what happens with the SW live-play they have scheduled later this month. I was hoping it was meant to herald new initiatives for the game, but that seems unlikely now. I wonder if they will just cancel the broadcast.

Could be awkward.

http://www.d20radio.com/main/layoffs-at-fantasy-flight-uncertainty-about-rpg-future/

D20 Radio claiming to have confirmed the RPG section was laid off...

I'm hoping FFG PR will put out a statement soon to at least give us a glimmer of what's up.

9 minutes ago, Ghostofman said:

I'm hoping FFG PR will put out a statement soon to at least give us a glimmer of what's up.

How long can you hold your breath?

1 minute ago, Vondy said:

How long can you hold your breath?

My hope is eternal.

This is also my personal view creeping in, as I'm in public information myself and am a proponent of being pro-active even about bad news. But I'm weird, I know of several organizations I work with whose PR departments are unlisted to avoid dealing with it unless absolutely required.

10 hours ago, DarthDude said:

Actually, as a 3.5 groupie I was quite fond of the SAGA approach (minus how the force was handled), the D20 predsessor was indeed awful. What I would fear most with a WotC approach would be a dumbed down 5th ed version.

The Conan/Infinity 2D20 version of Modiphiüs (btw, a Jay Little child) could be appropriate, because it is non level and even more free form than the specialization Trees.

I boycotted SAGA. The "best" version of the D20 SW RPG was the RCRB . D6 was still, overall, a better system since it was skill based, rather than level based. IF FFG does lose the license in the future, I'd hope that the next company to try for it would be R.Talsorian. I'd love to see how they'd handle the SW universe in the Fuzion system.

7 minutes ago, Ghostofman said:

My hope is eternal.

This is also my personal view creeping in, as I'm in public information myself and am a proponent of being pro-active even about bad news. But I'm weird, I know of several organizations I work with whose PR departments are unlisted to avoid dealing with it unless absolutely required.

I learned Similar when I did IT at a PR company. What was made clear to me is keeping the public in the dark will result in the worse being what is assumed.

7 minutes ago, Ghostofman said:

My hope is eternal.

This is also my personal view creeping in, as I'm in public information myself and am a proponent of being pro-active even about bad news. But I'm weird, I know of several organizations I work with whose PR departments are unlisted to avoid dealing with it unless absolutely required.

I agree that's the best way for them to proceed!

My experience is that FFG is more likely to employ standard operating procedure of "radio silence."

Let us hope a spirit of engagement overtakes them.

Just now, Vondy said:

I agree that's the best way for them to proceed!

My experience is that FFG is more likely to employ standard operating procedure of "radio silence."

Let us hope a spirit of engagement overtakes them.

Radio silence is a bad policy.

2 minutes ago, Daeglan said:

Radio silence is a bad policy.

Indeed!

Just now, Vondy said:

My experience is that FFG is more likely to employ standard operating procedure of "radio silence."

That is the older method. I blew away a lot of people when I went to a crisis and emergency management training event and during the actual game scenario start pumping out news releases instead of waiting for high profile national level media to call me first.

10 minutes ago, Ghostofman said:

That is the older method. I blew away a lot of people when I went to a crisis and emergency management training event and during the actual game scenario start pumping out news releases instead of waiting for high profile national level media to call me first.

Which tends to get news media on your side. You get a lot more slack from your fans if you tell them what is going on.