It’s been far too long since I’ve posted about inner dealings in the game industry, so I have many small items to share:
• Designer Gil Hova has shut down Formal Ferret Games and notes that he “will not be actively designing games for the foreseeable future”. Adds Hova:
There is a new game of mine coming out this year where I did most of the design work, but that was mostly done by the end of 2021. I am not directly involved in its publication. It’ll be my last game for a while.
I’ve always enjoyed talking with Gil at shows and in our chance airport meetings, and I wish him good tidings in seeing these projects through and moving on to other things.
• Funko Games has signed distribution deals with Big Wheel Toys and Let’s Play Games to make its games more readily available in Australia and New Zealand.
• Big Potato Games and Buffalo Games have signed a deal to distribute one another’s titles, with Big Potato titles now being handled in the U.S. by Buffalo Games (aside from its Blockbuster titles, which will still be distributed by Spin Master) and with Buffalo Games titles — which include the brands Gamewright and Chuckle & Roar) — now available in the UK through Big Potato.
• Titles from Oink Games are now distributed in the UK through Hachette Boardgames UK.
• Starting in 2024, the GAMA Expo trade show will be hosted in Louisville, Kentucky instead of Reno, Nevada, with the show taking place there early in March each year through at least 2026.
• Flat River Group will now distribute titles from Pendragon Game Studio, which was previously distributed in North America by Ares Games.
• After ten years with ABACUSSPIELE, Hanabi publisher Cocktail Games has signed a distribution deal for the title with Asmodee Germany. At the same time, Asmodee Germany will start distributing titles from ABACUSSPIELE.
• In December 2022, Asmodee parent company Embracer Group was approved for trading on Nasdaq Stockholm, which is essentially a recognition of its growth as previously it was trading on Nasdaq First North Growth Market, which Nasdaq describes as “our market for small- and medium-sized growth companies”.
The press release is a fascinating window into a world of financing that I barely have a grasp on. Excerpts:
The listing of the Company’s class B shares on Nasdaq Stockholm is an important step in the Company’s continued development and has been a long-standing ambition of the Company’s board of directors and management. In addition to the fact that the listing on Nasdaq Stockholm provides a quality stamp for the Company, the listing is also expected to make the Company’s class B shares even more attractive as a means of payment, which may facilitate future acquisition discussions. Furthermore, the listing on Nasdaq Stockholm is expected to better reflect the maturity of the Company from a capital market perspective and enable more institutional investors to invest in the Company’s class B shares. The Company also welcomes the additional requirements for corporate governance, transparency and disclosure which follows with being listed on Nasdaq Stockholm.
• Eagle-Gryphon Games has hired Ken Hill and Scott Tepper, both formerly of Rio Grande Games. Hill, who developed Beyond the Sun and Space Station Phoenix, among other titles, IS EGG’s product development manager, overseeing development of new projects while also being responsible for localization of EGG titles worldwide. Tepper will serve as EGG’s director of public relations.
In a press release announcing the hires, Rick Soued, president of Eagle-Gryphon Games, said: “EGG is very pleased and fortunate to be able to add Ken and Scott to our team. It’s rare to be able to hire one, let alone two, highly-experienced and accomplished executives in the obscure business of board games publishing, and we expect both Ken and Scott to have an immediate and positive impact on both our product development and public relations.”
