Changes At Hero

[Jason S.Walters]

Hero Games has been around for 30 years with ups and downs. The economy's been pretty rough lately, as has the gaming market. With declining sales and fewer releases, Hero has reached the point where it's no longer possible to maintain a full time staff of three, so it's scaling back.


Darren and Steve will be departing December 2nd, with our thanks for a decade of hard work that gave us 108 books, and best wishes for their future endeavors, which may include producing new books under a Hero System license. We'll keep you posted on that.


Jason will remain to continue shipping books and handling day-to-day matters. Existing books will continue to be available for purchase, and the company will continue in business, just a bit more slowly. The online store remains open. Steve will continue to answer rules questions on the Hero boards as "the guy who wrote the rulebook."


We're looking into doing a Kickstarter to print Book of the Empress, since it's complete and ready to go.


For the near future Hero would appreciate your kind thoughts and your patience. Transition periods of this sort take time, and Jason has a lot of work cut out for him, so the support of our fans is much appreciated.


—Posted by Jason Walters, General Manager

[Jason S.Walters]

Okay, as you can all see I've created a new account and abandoned by old Secret Master account. So please don't send any questions there.

Go ahead and post whatever questions you may have at this thread and I will do my best to answer them. Moderators, I'll be hosting a Google+ Hangout later on this week so we can talk about what this all means.

Please be patient with me. This announcement is but one aspect of what I have to do in the near future, and I may not be able to spend as much time as I would like on the forums. But I will do my best to honestly and transparently answer every question you may have.

Jason Walters

[Steve]

That's a major surprise heading into the end of the year.

I hope Hero can keep going. I'm going to start buying anything I don't already have until I complete my collection.

[AndyStaples]

Wow. My sympathies that it has come to this, and thank you for all the great times I've had (and will continue to have) thanks to you, Darren and Steve. I'm pretty much a DOJ bunny, having only really got into Hero with 5th edition, and while I don't have every book by a long shot, my Hero collection is measured in feet of shelf-space.

I hope Darren and Steve will find something to fill their time (and their paypackets) quickly.

What will this mean for new books? Will it be licensed publications only or are there still plans to release through Hero Games after Book of the Empress?

[Hermit]

To say I'm stunned would be putting it mildly. I think for now I'll just say "Thanks" to all those who've been so kind and worked so hard to bring us so many great products.

[yamamura]

I want to say thanks too. It has been a great 10 years.

[name_tamer]

This must be a joke?

[ghost-angel]

Wow. Surprising. Good luck with everything going into the future.

[Roy_The_Ruthles]

Best of luck to HERO!

[Bloodstone]

Not sure what to say, but you have my support for Book of the Empress...

[JohnTaber]

Good thoughts and wishes to everyone involved with Hero. I think I will miss the yearly visits the most. Steve and Darren please let us know if you will be in the Bay Area so we can visit.

I too am curious as to the future of the company, IPR, and the Hero line. Hoping for some announcements in these areas soon.

[lemming]

Surprising to me as well, though understandable if I just look at how many books I've bought recently. (It's the internet, anecdotal evidence is the key!)

Bummer and I hope things turn around for everyone concerned.

[Derek Hiemforth]

Stunning for sure, but I suppose not surprising, given the state of affairs of... well, the world, basically. All the best to the whole gang. The DoJ era has been Hero's greatest IMO, and I hope there will be more Hero goodness still to come.

Though I understand if some things can't be publicly disclosed, I'm curious whether Darren & Steve retain their ownership stake in the company, and are only leaving in terms of no longer being employees as well, or if they will no longer have a share in the company either.

[torchwolf]

Well, I'm a bit surprised, but I can only say thank you for all the really extraordinary books, all of you.

Best of luck to Darren and Steve with future endeavors (and personally I hope for more books from you under whatever label).

And best of luck to Jason with the current situation, hope everything will work out.

I'll be staying a supporter.

[Susano]

Jason,
I hope to hear from you at some point about the future of IPR. Also, how will affect BlackWyrm (if at all?)

And, to those on the forum, I will continue to develop Hero material via 3rd party sources if it's at all possible.