After linking to Paizo.com as the place to pick up My Little Cthulhu and Angry Limited Edition My Little Cthulhu, should your FLGS not have it in…
…folks have been greeted with news that a “Major Announcement” would be coming down the pike.
Moments later, the announcement’s been posted.
I knew about this a little bit ago, but it’s a real shocker.
FROM THE PUBLISHER
Dear friends,
Today, Wizards of the Coast and Paizo Publishing announced the conclusion of Paizo’s license to publish Dragon and Dungeon magazines. The magazines will cease publication following the release of the September issues, which ship to subscribers and newsstands in August. The final issues will be Dragon #359 and Dungeon #150.
Wizards of the Coast will be moving the kind of content currently found in Dragon and Dungeon to an online model. Both companies remain on good terms and continue to discuss future opportunities for publishing partnerships.
Today also marks the official announcement of Pathfinder, a new monthly 96-page, perfect-bound, OGL-compatible full-color softcover Adventure Path book printed on high-quality paper for use with the world’s most popular roleplaying game. Over the last several months, the same editors who bring you Dragon and Dungeon have been developing the next evolution in RPG campaigns, and we hope you’ll take some time to look at what we have to offer. Pathfinder will debut in August at hobby retail stores, bookstores, and here on paizo.com, and�though it’s a book, not a magazine�we’ll be offering a subscription service for gamers eager to add a vorpal edge to their campaigns. In fact, you can subscribe to Pathfinder right now and receive a free bonus Player’s Guide to the first Pathfinder Adventure Path: Rise of the Runelords.
Speaking of subscriptions, the discontinuation of Dragon and Dungeon will leave many of our valued subscribers with excess subscription credit. Paizo has set up a special Transition Page that offers multiple options to these subscribers.
We’re sure many of you have questions about this development, so we’ve developed a special Frequently Asked Questions page that covers many of the issues you’ll wonder about. If you don’t see your question listed there, drop by the new Magazine Transition forum on our Customer Service messageboards, which we will be monitoring closely.
If you’re concerned about the future of Paizo, you can relax. We’re very excited about Pathfinder, our GameMastery line of RPG modules and accessories, our Titanic Games line of deluxe board games, and Planet Stories, our recently announced line of classic science fiction and fantasy novels. No Paizo staffers have lost their jobs as a result of this development�in fact, we’re so enthusiastic about our future that we’ve recently hired several new employees. However, if you’re wondering what you can do to help Paizo succeed in our new ventures, please visit our What Can I Do to Help? page.
Dragon and Dungeon have been the backbone of Paizo Publishing for five years since we spun off from Wizards of the Coast’s periodicals department in 2002, and both magazines have been an integral part of the RPG publishing world for decades. Bringing the magazines to you every month has been a true honor, and we in the Paizo family look forward to the continuing honor of serving your gaming needs for years and years to come.
Sincerely,
Erik Mona
Publisher
Paizo Publishing, LLC
April 19, 2007
As to what this means for Dork Tower in Dragon, Erik said in an earlier e-mail that WOTC has “not told me what role cartoons will have in their new site.”
So all in all, a sad piece of news. I’ve always been enormously proud of being in Dragon, always strived to give them my very best work. One of my most cherished possessions — the original artwork from Phil Foglio’s first “What’s New” from Dragon — hangs proudly above my desk. Also, working with the Paizo folks has been nothing short of wonderful. I really think Dragon’s going out on top of its game if, indeed, this means the print version is going out.
Change. Scary. Grrrrr.