Maestro Media partners with international tabletop game consulting firm All About Games for global expansion

Maestro Media, the strategic product and business development firm specialising in innovative tabletop game publishing, has officially announced its partnership with All About Games, a consulting company dedicated to international tabletop and board game markets, to help expand Maestro Media’s international reach, sales, localisation, manufacturing and distribution, and to assist in further scaling the company to create a larger impact in the tabletop gaming market.

All About Games initially partnered with Maestro Media to help source localisation partners for Maestro’s hugely successful The Binding of Isaac: Four Souls Requiem Kickstarter campaign, which generated over $6.7 million, becoming one of the top 20 performing Kickstarter campaigns of all time. All About Games secured placement of the game in eleven territories, generating an additional $1 million in sales. Due to the success of that initial partnership, Maestro Media and All About Games have decided to expand the partnership to help continue Maestro’s international growth and expansion.

“Because of the amazing and experienced team behind All About Games, we were able to achieve international growth we would not have seen otherwise around The Binding of Isaac: Four Souls Requiem,” says Javon Frazier, Founder and CEO of Maestro Media. “The success of our initial collaboration is just beginning, as our massive partnership will include many exciting projects launching globally every year, and the most important part to us – quality working relationship and collaboration – has already proven to be unparalleled. Our two teams have already started ramping up on future projects with the goal of elevating Maestro as a true staple in the global tabletop gaming industry.”

The partnership will focus on international expansion of Maestro Media through marketing growth as well as strategising and executing global manufacturing and distribution of Maestro’s games catalogue. As part of its upcoming slate of projects, Maestro Media will work in conjunction with All About Games to continue to expand popular game IPs, including Umbrella Academy, Tapeworm, Sugar Heist and The Binding of Isaac, with many more in the works. The Binding of Isaac: Four Souls Requiem is set to release in 2022.

 

 

Maestro Media partners with international tabletop game consulting firm All About Games for global expansion

Maestro Media, the strategic product and business development firm specialising in innovative tabletop game publishing, has officially announced its partnership with All About Games, a consulting company dedicated to international tabletop and board game markets, to help expand Maestro Media’s international reach, sales, localisation, manufacturing and distribution, and to assist in further scaling the company to create a larger impact in the tabletop gaming market.

All About Games initially partnered with Maestro Media to help source localisation partners for Maestro’s hugely successful The Binding of Isaac: Four Souls Requiem Kickstarter campaign, which generated over $6.7 million, becoming one of the top 20 performing Kickstarter campaigns of all time. All About Games secured placement of the game in eleven territories, generating an additional $1 million in sales. Due to the success of that initial partnership, Maestro Media and All About Games have decided to expand the partnership to help continue Maestro’s international growth and expansion.

“Because of the amazing and experienced team behind All About Games, we were able to achieve international growth we would not have seen otherwise around The Binding of Isaac: Four Souls Requiem,” says Javon Frazier, Founder and CEO of Maestro Media. “The success of our initial collaboration is just beginning, as our massive partnership will include many exciting projects launching globally every year, and the most important part to us – quality working relationship and collaboration – has already proven to be unparalleled. Our two teams have already started ramping up on future projects with the goal of elevating Maestro as a true staple in the global tabletop gaming industry.”

The partnership will focus on international expansion of Maestro Media through marketing growth as well as strategising and executing global manufacturing and distribution of Maestro’s games catalogue. As part of its upcoming slate of projects, Maestro Media will work in conjunction with All About Games to continue to expand popular game IPs, including Umbrella Academy, Tapeworm, Sugar Heist and The Binding of Isaac, with many more in the works. The Binding of Isaac: Four Souls Requiem is set to release in 2022.

 

 

Board game pioneer CMON teams with Monsoon Digital for new foray into NFTs

The hit board game publisher, CMON Ltd has partnered with Monsoon Digital to launch a new series of digital products and promotional material using Monsoon’s soon-to-launch NFT trading platform.

Slated to go live later this year, Monsoon will become the exclusive platform for CMON digital collectable items, cards, artwork, and games. The first offerings will strive to expand upon CMON’s reputation as a leader and pioneer in the gaming space.

“The overall potential of NFTs adds a brand-new dimension to the hobby, game and collectible markets, one that we’re extremely excited to explore with Monsoon Digital,” said Chern Ann Ng, CEO of CMON.

“The goal of Monsoon is to provide collectors, art fans, and gamers with a stable and secure online home where they can organize, display, buy, sell and trade their digitally owned blockchain. It’s designed from the ground up to be tailor made for these particular fanbases, so that creators can design and launch products that are innovative and consumer-specific.”

Monsoon Digital will launch the public beta of its platform later this year, with CMON’s first wave of digital collectible packs set to be the site’s flagship product. Details of the first wave are being kept under wraps.

“While this is absolutely a breakout year for NFTs, we were determined to do something different and unique with the blockchain technology,” said Geoff Skinner, CMON’s SVP of Marketing and Entertainment.

“As it is with our tabletop games, our focus is on the customer. The goals we set for this new collector experience are simple: it has to be easy to use and accessible, it has to offer a special, personalized experience, and most importantly, it has to be fun. To these ends, we’re working with our top game designers, graphic designers and artists to create our first blockchain product on Monsoon’s incredible platform.”

CMON has earned a reputation as a trendsetter in the gaming industry since successfully launching its first crowdfunded game on Kickstarter in 2012. The company remains the number one fundraiser across all categories, having raised over $72 million from 48 successful campaigns.

To celebrate the launch, CMON will be giving many of its more than 100,000 Kickstarter backers the chance to receive free NFT airdrops when Monsoon goes live. In addition, each of those backers will eligible to receive a “CMON Backer” promo NFT that will never be offered again.

Asmodee Entertainment teams with Event Merchandising to launch online gaming merch stores

Asmodee Entertainment has entered into a new licensing partnership with Event Merchandising Limited to launch a series of ‘one-stop-shops’ for fans of Fantasy Flight Games Studio’s Arkham Horror, Legend of the Five Rings, and Twilight Imperium across the world.

Just the latest example of Asmodee Entertainment’s current push to expand the merchandise offerings available to fans of some of its biggest hobby game brands, the partnership will see the launch of new online stores, sporting the latest in licensed merchandise for the gaming brands.

“These are exciting times for us and for fans of these brands. For over two decades these three rich and fascinating universes have gathered fans who cherish diving into adventures in these worlds – they are a true passion for many and part of their identity,” said Alexander Thieme, licensing manager for consumer goods and publishing at Asmodee Entertainment.

“It’s about time that we enabled them to express their fandom beyond the games. Novels from Aconyte made a start of this expansion, merchandise now follows. And we couldn’t have found a better partner for this than EML.”

Initially opening in the UK in Q4 2021 these online stores will feature specially designed apparel, accessories and homewares such as pillows and mugs. The first of these launches is planned for Q4 2021. Fans can expect more products to be added to the stores regularly after launch.

 Jeremy Goldsmith of Event Merchandising, said: “Asmodee has created amazing, captivating content and artwork and we are delighted to be designing and operating the online store for Arkham Horror, Legend of the Five Rings, and Twilight Imperium along with a selection of key product lines.”

Games Workshop sees full-year profits spike 69 per cent as staff receive £5k bonuses

A big spike in profit over the last year, confirmed plans to expand in China, and a bonus of £5,000 to each member of staff compound another successful end of year for the UK-based tabletop gaming brand, Games Workshop.

In its trading update issued this week, the tabletop figures retailer confirmed that each of its around 2,600 staff will receive £5000 in shares under its profit-share scheme following a profits spike at the company of 69 per cent to hit £151 million.

The share bonuses, issued to staff in May this year, are in total worth £12 million, marking a £10 million increase on the £2 million awards given to staff in the previous year. Meanwhile, senior executives will share an extra £1.1 million bonus pot, marking a £300,00 increase on the year before.

Games Workshop has been at the forefront of a surge in demand for tabletop gaming and RPG gaming over the last few years. While it was forced to close its 523 stores during lockdowns due to the pandemic, its online engagement, online events, and online sales helped buoy the company through the tough trading period.

As a result of consumer demand for escapism during the pandemic’s various lockdowns, and the retained audience that had turned to the hobby sector for entertainment, Games Workshop has seen its full-year pre-tax profit rise 69 per cent to nearly £151 million, while revenue came in at £353 million.

With another successful year under its belt, the retail brand has begun eyeing international expansion, detailing its plans to roll out hundreds of products across China, following delays at the border.

Chief executive, Kevin Rountree said that while China and Japan are ‘not significant contributors’ to the company’s performance yet, the firm ‘remains focused on sharing our passion for Warhammer to more people in these countries as well as the rest of Asia.’

Exploding Kittens launches first licensed title Exploding Minions with Illumination and Universal Brand Development

The hit tabletop games publisher, Exploding Kittens has launched its first licensed game, Exploding Minions, developed in collaboration with Illumination and Universal Brand Development.

The new game is a Minions-inspired take on its flagship Exploding Kittens card game, drawing on the appeal of one of the most successful animation franchises of all time, to bring an ‘easy to learn, quick to play’ game for kids and adults to enjoy together.

Read the full interview with Exploding Kittens’ Joeri Hoste here or in the Spring/Summer issue of ToyNews.

“We’re excited to combine one of the biggest card games with Illumination’s global pop-culture phenomenon, the Minions, to create a new family game night essential,” said Elan Lee, co-creator and CEO of Exploding Kittens. “Exploding Minions marries these two universes to create a simple yet strategic game for all to enjoy.”

Aimed at players aged seven and upwards, Exploding Minions is a family-friendly spin-off of the core Russian Roulette-style game that includes new card types and fun illustrations of Minions as imagined by The Oatmeal. Participants take turns drawing cards while trying to evade the Exploding Minions.

Players can avoid exploding by using clever strategies and favourite cards such as ‘Defuse’, ‘Nope’ and ‘See the Future’, as well as the new ‘Clone Card’. The last player who hasn’t exploded is declared the winner.

The partnership with Illumination and Universal Brand Development marks the first licensing partnership for Exploding Kittens who, until now, has seen most of its licensing activity take the form of outbound licensing, expanding its own IP into the likes of video games for the Nintendo Switch.

In an exclusive interview with Licensing.biz’ sister title, ToyNews, Exploding Kittens’ director of international sales, Joeri Hoste revealed that should the partnership prove to be successful, then further licensing options will be an avenue the firm will continue to explore for its titles.

FanSets and Asmodee bring magic to the collectable pins space with first KeyForge line-up

FanSets LLC has partnered with the tabletop gaming giant, Asmodee to bring a dose of magic to the enamel pins space, with the launch of a series of collectables based on the popular card game title, KeyForge. The range will be launched to fans and collectors across the US, Canada, and the UK.

The series will feature KeyForge characters from every house, including the newly premiered house Unfathomable, and will be available in Summer 2021. The new deal is the latest in Asmodee Entertainment’s continued expansion into licensed opportunities for its portfolio of popular board game and card game titles.  

For FanSets, meanwhile, this deal expands their collector-focused product line and is the team’s first tabletop brand partnership. 

“We are excited to announce this new partnership just in time for fans to explore the newly released KeyForge game set Dark Tidings,” said Alexander Thieme, licensing manager for publishing and consumer goods at Asmodee Entertainment. “FanSets’ fantastic enamel pins provide our fans a way to represent their allegiance to their favorite houses. We’re thrilled  to work alongside the talented team at FanSets to bring such a great, sought after collectible to our fans!” 

KeyForge is the world’s first Unique Deck Game. Fans play as the mighty Archons and, using  their team of vault warriors, race to forge keys to unlock the secret vaults of the Crucible, a  world in which anything is possible and nothing is predictable. Fans of KeyForge all have favorite cards and houses, either because of the colorful and dynamic artwork featured or  because of the card’s power on the table, and now they can represent their favorites with  equally dynamic enamel pins. 

“Our customers are collectors, hobbyists, and passionate fans,” said FanSets co-founder Lew Halboth. “We love tabletop games and are putting every ounce of that passion into developing these KeyForge pins. We know fans will love them because we love them. We are excited to add Asmodee Games as one of our key licenses going forward and we look forward to working with their passionate team.” 

The first of these releases is planned for Q3 2021 and pins will be available at hobby and specialty shops and online. 

Games Workshop to give all staff £5000 share bonus amid another strong year of sales

A boost in the hobby and hobby gaming sector over the past year and throughout the pandemic has led to another set of record results for the UK’s miniatures and tabletop gaming specialist, Games Workshop, who is set to hand £12 million worth of share bonuses to staff following the success of its current financial year.

The share bonuses will be paid on an equal basis to each member of staff, handing each around £5,000. It’s a significant increase on the bonus received by staff members in the previous year, when the UK firm paid profit share bonuses amounting to £2 million.

Games Workshop has detailed particularly strong sales in its current financial year, one that it expects will end at no less than £350 million in the year to May 30th 2021. This marks a leap of some £80 million on the year prior, fueled in large by increase demand and engagement with the hobby scene over the course of the pandemic, as well as an evolving and growing licensing arm now spanning some of the biggest entertainment franchises globally.

The hobby specialist is also expecting its full year pre-tax profit to come in at not less than £150 million, up from £89 million in the prior 12-month period. This will includes royalties receivable from licensing which are estimated to be around £15 million.

The Retail Bulletin reports that, when announcing the company’s half year results back in January, Games Workshop chief executive Kevin Rountree said the business had put in a “cracking” performance with sales rising to £186.8 million in the six months 29 November compared to £148.4 million in the corresponding period in the previous year.

In addition to its Games Workshop  website, the company operates the Warhammer chain of stores across the UK.

Aconyte Books partners with Fantasy Flight Games to launch new Arkham Horror and Legend of the Five Rings titles

Asmodee Entertainment publishing imprint, Aconyte, has teamed with Fantasy Flight Games to release four new omnibus collections of the well-loved Arkham Horror and Legend of the Five Rings novellas from this autumn.

Originally published as limited edition hardbacks, this is the first time these intriguing stories have been available in a mass-market edition.

The first title, Arkham Horror: Dark Origins features the Investigator tales Hour of the Huntress, The Dirge of Reason, Ire of the Void, and The Deep Gate. All bring glimpses of the eldritch terrors lurking beneath that most mysterious and blighted New England town.

Written by a quartet of notable tie-in fiction authors, Dark Origins will be published in the US and Canada on October 19th and on December 18th in the UK.

Fantasy Flight Games is excited that Aconyte is collecting our novellas for the first time in trade paperback format and is offering these stories to a wider audience,” said Katrina Ostrander, FFG’s creative director of story and setting. “The Dark Origins collection is the perfect introduction to the investigators from the acclaimed Arkham Horror board and card games, and all of these novellas were crafted with input from the FFG designers on the Arkham Horror story team.”

The Legend of the Five Rings setting brings fans The Great Clans of Rokugan, collecting three published novellas together for the first time, as well as a brand new and keenly awaited unpublished novella. The volume features the Clan stories Ice and Snow, The Sword and the Spirits, Whispers of Shadow and Steel, and Across the Burning Sands. Written in conjunction with the ongoing storyline of Legend of the Five Rings: The Card Game, they bring tales of samurai, assassins and wild magic from across the fantastical lands of Rokugan.

Written by mixture of established Legend of the Five Rings fiction authors and members of  FFG’s story team, The Great Clans of Rokugan will publish in the US and Canada on November 23rd and on January 21st 2022 in the UK.

These first volumes will be available in trade paperback and ebook formats. Unlike FFG’s original limited-run novellas, these story collections will not contain game cards. Two further collections are planned for spring 2022. A variety of translated editions are being planned with Aconyte’s European publishing partners.

At the beginning of 2019, Aconyte was announced as Fantasy Flight Games’ fiction partner for original novels, creating new adventures based around its most famous and imaginative games Arkham Horror, Twilight Imperium, Legend of the Five Rings, Descent: Legends of the Dark, and KeyForge.

More announcements are expected as Aconyte’s range of world-expanding fiction expands further.

Aconyte Books now teams with Atomic Mass Games to launch first Marvel novel series based on tabletop title Crisis Protocol

This week marks another licensing partnership for Asmodee Entertainment’s fiction publishing arm, Aconyte Books, which has now partnered with Atomic Mass Games to launch a new trilogy of Marvel novels inspired by the popular tabletop miniatures game, Crisis Protocol.

The first of the series – Target: Kree – is scheduled to land this summer and tells the action adventure of Iron Man and Ms. Marvel clash with a cast of familiar faces from Guardians of the Galaxy.

Written by multiple award-winning author and comics editor, Stuart Moore, Target: Kree will be published in the US and Canada on July 6th 2021 and on September 16th in the UK. This first book in the trilogy will be available in trade paperback and ebook formats, with an audiobook version expected to follow shortly after.

A variety of translated editions are being planned with Aconyte’s European publishing partners.

Marvel: Crisis Protocol is a tabletop hobby miniatures game set in the Marvel Universe. Players assemble, paint, and collect highly detailed miniatures representing iconic Marvel characters. Players choose characters from their collections to form their own Marvel inspired dream team, and then pit their chosen forces against each other on an interactive tabletop space.

Will Schick of Atomic Mass, said: “One of the cornerstones of Marvel: Crisis Protocol is how it allows players the opportunity to create their own stories on the tabletop together within the Marvel Universe. While super powered, cinematic battles are part of fun, it’s the narrative that emerges as players control their squads of iconic Marvel characters to complete their games objectives that truly sets the game apart from any other tabletop game of its kind.

“With this in mind, we are extremely excited to be partnering with Aconyte to bring players and fans of the Marvel Universe all-new stories set amid the climatic confrontations of Crisis Protocol.”

At the end of 2019, Aconyte was announced as Marvel’s newest fiction partner for original prose novels, creating new adventures based around an exciting roster of Marvel’s comic book characters including Legends of Asgard, Heroines, Untold, and Xavier’s Institute.

More announcements are expected as Aconyte’s range of world-expanding fiction expands further.