Here at Goonhammer, we know that it’s hard to keep track of all the news happening all the time in the games industry. So much is always going on with games of all sorts, and their related media, it can be a real blink-and-you’ll miss it situation.
That’s why every week, we round up five of the biggest stories in the gaming sphere from the past week in the Games Industry News Roundup. Our trusty news boy, Dan “Swiftblade” Richardson, is at the very real and cool Goonhammer newsdesk with the scoop.
Asmodee Publishes First Annual Report Since Embracer Group Split
The collapse of Asmodee’s former parent company, Embracer Group, was one of the biggest stories of 2024, and for good reason. Embracer’s failed deal with interested Saudi Arabian development groups sent the company into a financial tailspin that cost hundreds of jobs, ended multiple in-progress projects, and ultimately forced the company to split into three parts. Asmodee at the time was the only wing of Embracer experiencing any success, and was saddled with a massive burden of debt as a part of Embracer’s plan to break Asmodee off into its own independent company again. Needless to say, even though Asmodee has hit the ground running with major acquisitions like Zombicide, there’s much trepidation about Asmodee’s future.
Last week, Asmodee published its first Annual Report since leaving Embracer Group, giving us our best look at the company’s finances in the brave new world it finds itself in.
The good news for Asmodee is that it did manage to turn over some profit in the 2024-2025 fiscal year. According to the report, Asmodee managed to post a net profit of €4.69 million. It’s a relief for sure to see Asmodee post any profit at all, but it’s worrisome that it’s such a small number compared to its operating profit of almost €117 million.
Why such a discrepancy between the company’s operating profit and net profit? Taxes and exchange rates take a cut of that pie, sure, but the biggest culprit here is the aforementioned debt from Embracer Group. According to the report, the company paid out about €92 million on financial expenses. These items include interest on a bridging loan and bonds used to service part of the debt laid on Asmodee by Embracer.
So while Asmodee is able to make a profit, the need to spend so much of that profit to service the debts its acquired from its former parent company means it does so on a razor’s edge. Asmodee shows no intention of stopping its plans for major buyouts in the next fiscal year, as it’s a plan that’s worked very well for the company in the past. But the narrow net profit the company operated on in FY ‘25 raises concerns that a bad bet on one of those acquisitions could be disastrous for the company.
Wizards Announces Sonic Secret Lair Super Drop
The past few years have been very successful for the Blue Blur. The nineties platforming icon’s adaptation to the silver screen was a smash hit in the box office, and games like Sonic Mania and Sonic Generations have restored a semblance of goodwill to the franchise’s reputation. Which means Sonic the Hedgehog has finally earned one of the highest hot a pop culture franchise can get: a Magic the Gathering card.
Specifically, Sonic is getting his own Secret Lair super drop release, featuring not just one pack of Sonic themed cards, but three. The first drop, dubbed “Friends & Foes” is themed around the iconic characters of the franchise, such as Sonic himself, Tails, Knuckles, Eggman, and Shadow. Unlike most Secret Lair drops, the cards released in this set are entirely new to Magic. Wizards has clarified that this set will not be legal in Standard, but is legal in Commander, Legacy, and Vintage.
The other two drops are much closer to what we would expect from a Secret Lair release, that being already existing cards with a reskin. The first set is themed around the gear and items used by Sonic and his friends, and is called “Turbo Gear”. The other set, “Chasing Adventure”, features some of the most iconic cards in Magic, like Sol Ring, with new Sonic themed art.
The Sonic the Hedgehog Secret Lair goes live on the Secret Lair online store on July 14th as supplies last, with non-foil versions of these drops set to hit store shelves on August 21st.
Tomb Raider TTRPG Cancelled Due to Creative Disagreements
While one iconic nineties character thrives this week, another struggles. The Tomb Raider TTRPG adaptation, Shadows of Truth, has been cancelled by its developer, Evil Hat Productions, citing “creative differences.”
The announcement can be found on the store page for Shadows of Truth, and reads, “Sad news: we are canceling the Tomb Raider RPG project. Due to creative differences we couldn’t get our vision to gel with the licensor’s, so we’ve chosen to part ways. The stellar team designing this game put their hearts into making this an exciting, dynamic RPG of adventure and exploration.”
The game, announced in 2024, was set to allow for players to take on the role of treasure hunters and fortune seekers, and was based on the Powered by the Apocalypse system. It represented the first collaboration between Square Enix, the current rights holder for Tomb Raider, and Evil Hat, who had previously developed games such as Thirsty Sword Lesbians and Blades in the Dark.
While this is mostly bad news, not all is lost. Evil Hat said in the statement that they’re done with the Tomb Raider license, sure, but they’re not done with Shadows of Truth. “We’re proud of the work they’ve done and we plan to retool the project as a standalone game with a fresh, original setting. You haven’t seen the last of it.”
At this time, there are no further updates on how Evil Hat plans to retool Shadows of Truth into a new game, or if Square Enix plans to collaborate with another developer for a different licensed TTRPG adaptation of the world of Laura Croft.
New York Board Game Cafe Union Workers Secure a Historic Win
The news hasn’t really been great for most places in America lately, but you know what, New York’s been killing it lately. After years of negotiations with owners, workers at several New York based tabletop stores have secured an agreement to ratify their union contract.
Employees at three Hex & Company locations, as well as The Brooklyn Strategist and The Uncommons, are the first union of their kind in New York. Workers at these locations banded together in 2023 to create the Tabletop Workers United (TWU) union, with support from Workers United NY/NJ. The new union was not recognized by ownership once it was formed, leading to an eighteen month period of tense negotiation. During that time, TWU members accused ownership of multiple instances engaging in union busting tactics and not meeting with union negotiators in good faith.
Finally though, ownership relented and came to an agreement with workers to ratify a contract in June. This contract includes increasing the base minimum pay for any position to $22.50, a 19% progressive pay increase for staff, job protections for union members, and holiday and bereavement pay. The contract also mandates that management act swiftly and decisively against sexual harassment and abusive customers.
“I hope that our victory can demonstrate the persistence of truths that some would seek to relegate to the past,” Payton Millet, a worker at The Brooklyn Strategist, told Boardgamewire. “That every workplace needs a labor union, that workers of every age, gender and race deserve just protections, and that as long as owners seek to reap value for others’ labor, we must demand back our fair share.”
Epic Sues Fortnite Cheater for $175,000, Promises to Donate the Money to Charity
There’s that old saying that cheaters never prosper, which sadly feels like a bad joke nowadays. Every once and a while though, you do hear about those rare times where people who break the rules get punished for it, and this week we have one of these heartwarming stories thanks to everyone’s favorite game: Fortnite. Epic Games announced last week that a player who used cheating software to win multiple tournaments was successfully sued for $175,000, and banned from the game for life.
The cheater in question used software to dummy his account on multiple devices, and then used both cheating software as well as software designed to mask his cheating software to win over 800 cash tournaments during a four month period. The player used these methods to win an estimated total of $8,650.
Once Epic discovered the player, the company opened a lawsuit against them. According to the court document, Epic decided on the amount of $175,000 by fining the player $200 for each of his tournaments where they used the software. Once court and attorney fees were added on, it totaled to the $175,000 amount.
The player reportedly chose to ignore the lawsuit, and because of this the judge ruled in Epic’s favor.
Epic has promised to donate the fines collected from the player to the Child’s Play charity, a charity dedicated to providing toys and games to underprivileged children. This severe legal action follows Epic’s statement last year, where the company promised to aggressively pursue cheaters in Fortnite through any means possible, including legal action.
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