CMON hands The Adventurers to Top Games as losses near $23m

On September 28, CMON and Top Games announced a deal under which Top Games will fully fund the remaining production and fulfillment of The Adventurers and, in exchange, take ownership of the game. CMON launched The Adventurers as a Gamefound pre-order in March 2025, estimating delivery by December of that year. The campaign covers new editions of The Adventurers: The Temple of Chac and The Adventurers: The Pyramid of Horus, along with a new entry, The Adventurers: Tomb of the Pirate Queen. The original series dates to 2009, when AEG and Dust Games published the first title; Dust Games and Fantasy Flight Games published the sequel in 2011. CMON will remain involved through delivery but transfers the IP when the transaction closes.

CMON carried nearly $23 million in losses before the deal

BoardGameWire reports that CMON carried almost $23 million in losses across 2024 and 2025, with revenue falling to $9.9 million in 2025 from between $37 million and $45 million in each of the previous four years. The company halved its workforce and halted new crowdfunding campaigns as part of a restructuring. It entered August 2026 with just $368,000 in cash before completing a $19 million capital raise. That new funding is needed for more than clearing its project backlog. About 40 percent is earmarked for working capital over the coming 12 months. Another 20 percent goes toward repaying borrowings, with 25 percent set aside for expansion into new and existing markets. In January, CMON listed selling or licensing intellectual property as options it was exploring to get outstanding campaigns fulfilled. Those campaigns include eight crowdfunding projects that raised more than $14 million and four pre-order campaigns.

Top Games will own the game; manufacturing stays its focus

Top Games is already a manufacturing partner for CMON, having worked on more than a dozen of its titles including games in the Zombicide and Cthulhu: Death May Die lines. The Dongguan-based company has operated in tabletop manufacturing since 2009 and opened its own plastics facility in 2018. Both companies say in the joint announcement that manufacturing is the core of Top Games’ business and that its goal with The Adventurers is specifically to complete and deliver the campaign. Production is finished and games are packed at the factory. Fulfillment partners for the US, EU, UK, and Canada have been confirmed, with shipments for those regions targeted to be loaded for ocean freight before the end of September. Remaining regions were targeted for shipment by the end of October.

Steamforged backers are waiting with little to go on

Steamforged Games cut about a third of its workforce earlier in 2026 and shifted its focus toward Warmachine, its miniatures line. That left nine crowdfunding campaigns with outstanding fulfillment obligations that raised almost £19 million between them. The largest, Monster Hunter World: Iceborne, raised nearly £6.3 million from close to 15,000 backers and was originally due in November 2024. Steamforged said in January it aimed to deliver to all regions by July. Since then, backers have received two updates: one in April noting that production was “back up and running following Chinese New Year,” and one at the end of July apologizing for the lack of a formal update and citing pending information from partners. Hearts of Iron: The Board Game, which raised £1.2 million against a June 2026 delivery estimate, is in a similar position. Its most recent Gamefound update, posted July 29, says the team is still finalizing the timeline. At the start of September, Companies House began compulsory strike-off proceedings against Steamforged and its parent company over accounts that had been due since June 30. Steamforged said on Facebook the notice was routine and that all business activities were continuing as normal; the proceedings were discontinued four days later, though the accounts were still listed as overdue. Backers across Steamforged’s campaigns report waits of weeks or months for refund responses, with some turning to PayPal disputes and credit card chargebacks. Paradox Interactive, which owns the Hearts of Iron IP, told BoardGameWire it is in talks with Steamforged about getting the game completed but is not ready to commit to a specific course of action.

Renegade and Hasbro renew their licensing agreement

Renegade Game Studios announced October 1 that it has renewed its licensing agreement with Hasbro. The deal covers brands including Transformers, G.I. JOE, Power Rangers, M.A.S.K., My Little Pony, JEM and the Holograms, and ROM the SpaceKnight, along with classic tabletop lines including Axis & Allies, Acquire, Diplomacy, Heroscape, Robo Rally, and Ikusa. Renegade is also developing 2nd Edition Transformers and G.I. JOE roleplaying games, updated for the latest version of the 5th Edition rules. Further announcements for the partnership are planned for Renegade Con in October.