The Next Second Edition Set Will Be Delayed

by Ross Fertel, Second Edition Brand Manager

25th January 2017

It is my sad duty to inform you that the next set, code named Project D'Argo, has been delayed.

It came about at a Brand Manager Meeting. It quickly became apparent that D'Argo and Courage, the next First Edition Set, were pretty close in terms of overall progress. This wasn't a big surprise to us as the last sets for each game, Hard Time and The Terran Empire, came out on each other's heels. Ask the departments involved, from Creative through Marketing, and they'll tell you that these were almost on top of each other.

This becomes a problem for a few reasons. First are foremost, it puts a lot of strain on the departments to work on sets one of top of the other. When the schedule was initially set up for releases, part of the rationale for staging was so that things would be spread out throughout the year, helping out with the overall workload. There is also the matter of players who play both games. With the time and resources available, having products come out one of top of another is almost like asking to pick their favorite. To give each time to breathe, it's best if they are spread out. On a related note, it is useful internally to know when things will be coming out. Imagine the Worlds announcement coming out smack dab in the middle of a release! Knowing when big events are happening, and product releases are very much big events, helps staff plan accordingly.

We had a schedule and were off kilter. We needed to get back on track, meaning that one set or the other had to hold off until the April release window.

From my admittedly biased perspective, I wanted D'Argo to have the February release. There were numerous reasons, which I won't be going into here, but from several standpoints and strong reasons, it made sense for D'Argo to have the earlier release.

Then I was told that for that to happen, it would have to be ready in less than two weeks.

Ready as in design, story, and rules signed off on and ready to be put into production. This wasn't insurmountable; those departments have had the expansion long enough to figure out what they needed and could probably have things ready. But then things might be rushed. I'm all for meeting deadlines and having things done on time, but if it means that departments have to work faster than usual, that's not going to work. I also knew that with there being two staff members in new positions on the Second Edition side, taking more time of the first expansion wouldn't be a bad thing.

Add in to the equation that Courage was further along; design had been done and three-quarters of the cards were pretty much ready to go into production, and it quickly became apparent who should wait this time.

In the interests of transparency, this decision, which was not made lightly, was mine and mine alone. While I did take the considerations of my fellow staff into account, they were not present at the meeting and had no say over the matter one way or the other. For what is the first expansion release under my tenure, I appreciate having extra time. Although other departments will benefit from having the extra time, they did not request it and had no involvement with this decision at all. This choice was mine and if there is blame to go out, it is for me and no one else.

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