Announced today, on the eve of Gen Con is that embattled board game publisher Petersen Games (Cthulhu Wars, Planet Apocalypse) has entered into a partnership with publishers Catalyst Games Labs (Battletech).
In this new agreement, Catalyst Games will handle all of the “publishing” duties for Petersen Games past and present titles. In effect, Petersen Games will turn into a “design house” with designer Sandy Petersen doing what he does best, design board games. Catalyst will then handle all the manufacturing, marketing, sales, etc.. for their games.
“Sandy Petersen designed the original Call of Cthulhu roleplaying game,” said Randall N. Bills, Managing Developer for Catalyst Game Labs. “As well as the seminal Age of Empire computer game series, which my sons and I have spent so many hours playing. He’s left such an incredible mark on both the tabletop and computer game industries. And I’ve loved Cthulhu Wars from the moment I played it, along with several of his latest board games. It’s an exciting opportunity to help a great game company, as well as look to the future for what we might develop together.”
Catalyst Game Labs will also assist in accelerating their fulfillment of several open Kickstarters. While all fulfillment will come from Petersen Games, Catalyst is grateful for the opportunity to ensure that every backer receives their games and rewards.
“My design strengths are games steeped in theme, asymmetric, and painstakingly balanced,” said Sandy Petersen. “This meshes well with Catalyst. Cthulhu nafl-fhtagn!”
This is, hopefully, good news for both struggling Petersen Games and also Catalyst Games, who recently announced their own dedicated board game division, which will now have a wealth of titles to offer.
I’m keeping my fingers crossed. Catalyst Games doesn’t exactly have a stellar reputation in the production, fulfillment, or customer service department among backers.