Fantasy Flight Games has purchased Legend of the Five Rings! Created in 1995 by Alderac Entertainment Group, L5R is set in the world of Rokugan, a place based roughly on feudal Japan. Over the years, it's been a card game, an Oriental Adventures setting for D&D, novels, and, of course, a roleplaying game. FFG, of course, is known for boardgames, card games, RPGs, and more, with big licenses such as Star Wars, Warhammer 40K, and many more. new products are slated for Gen Con 2017.
AEG's announcement reads:
"For twenty years, Legend of the Five Rings has held a unique place among Collectible Card Games (CCGs) and Role Playing Games (RPGs). It is not only one of the oldest around, it stands out by being driven by its story…a story that has, in turn, been driven by legions of devoted fans over the past two decades. We at AEG are thankful beyond words to all of the awesome players of our games for making these past twenty years so special.
The time comes, however, when any healthy enterprise has to take a step back and look hard and critically at itself. We’ve now reached that time in the life of the L5R Brand. The focus of AEG has progressively shifted toward other types of games over recent years, so, after some hard and detailed analysis (and, yes, some deep soul-searching), we’ve concluded that it’s time to start a new chapter in the story of L5R. Accordingly, the upcoming Evil Portents expansion for the CCG, and the “Atlas of Rokugan” for the RPG, will be the final products for L5R produced by AEG. The L5R Brand will continue under a new owner, Fantasy Flight Games (FFG). We believe that the good folks at FFG, some of whom have themselves been involved with the L5R Brand for many years, will do an excellent job of carrying the L5R Brand and the story of Rokugan on into its next twenty years. Fantasy Flight Games anticipates that its first L5R product will be a relaunch of the card game as a Living Card Game (LCG), with a debut event at Gen Con 2017.
One major implication of all this is that our staffing will be dramatically changed. Many of our current members of the L5R Brand Team will be leaving us either immediately, or in the near future. We want to express our most sincere gratitude to these awesome people, who have helped bring L5R to where it is today.
Of course, many questions will almost certainly occur to you as you read this. Foremost among them, you are probably wondering what will happen to our upcoming events, including the Fall Kotei Season and the European Championships. All of these events currently scheduled will go on as planned, as CCG events. We’ll continue collecting the results, and will add those to our list of all currently outstanding tournament and event results. All of this will be provided to FFG, who will do their best to incorporate it into L5R and its setting once they’ve relaunched the Brand.
You will also have noted that Evil Portents will be the last CCG product, and would reasonably ask, why would I want to spend money on a product that’s essentially obsolete the moment it hits store shelves? Why would any retailer even bother carrying it? Well, we’re going to be making Evil Portents available to retailers and players through a pretty remarkable deal–essentially, we’ll be virtually giving it away for free. Details of this will be forthcoming shortly.
We realize that these are probably only a few of your questions. We will be sharing more information with you about the transition of the Brand in the coming days. In the meantime, you can direct your enquiries to L5RBrandLead@alderac.com and we’ll do our best to answer them. Again, all of us at AEG want to thank all of YOU for your dedication to the L5R CCG, the RPG, and the story of Rokugan for the past twenty years. We can’t wait to see how L5R evolves under the stewardship of its new owners at Fantasy Flight Games!"
FFG's announcement reads:
"Fantasy Flight Games is proud to announce that it has entered into an agreement to purchase the Legend of the Five Rings intellectual property from Alderac Entertainment Group (AEG)!
Legend of the Five Rings is a legacy brand collectible card game (CCG) and roleplaying game (RPG) with a dedicated, passionate community and a story that spans the last two decades. Legions of players have traveled to the land of Rokugan and the Colonies, joined the noble samurai and shugenja of their favorite clan, and taken an important hand in shaping the story. Now, as Legend of the Five Rings moves over to Fantasy Flight Games, certain changes are coming to the realm of Rokugan. To learn the initial details of these upcoming changes, read below.
Honor Is Stronger than Steel
“The queen of ants cannot count her servants, but she knows that they are loyal. Though the Emperor does not know of me, still, I know of him. And it is the Emperor, and Hantei alone, that I follow. With every word and deed, I do his bidding.”
–Seppun Murayasu
The current incarnation of the Legend of the Five Rings CCG will be complete with the release of the Evil Portents expansion from AEG. After that release, the game will go on hiatus until FFG relaunches Legend of the Five Rings as a Living Card Game®, or LCG. The Legend of the Five Rings LCG is scheduled to be released in two years at Gen Con Indy 2017.
For players unfamiliar with the LCG model, a Living Card Game offers regular, non-randomized releases that include full playsets of every card. In its new form, Legend of the Five Rings will use this release format, rather than “blind” boosters that contain randomly assigned rare, uncommon, and common cards. Instead of spending their time chasing hard-to-find cards, the LCG distribution model allows players to focus on building decks by buying a single expansion that includes a full playset of every card in that expansion. For more information about Living Card Games, click here.
The transition of Legend of the Five Rings from CCG to LCG impacts far more than just distribution model. As the game is reimagined and relaunched as an LCG, we will be implementing significant design changes, but we will ensure that the spirit and emotional impact of Legend of the Five Rings remains intact. By introducing a new mechanical design, we hope to open the game for a new generation of players to join the veteran samurai who still battle for Rokugan. Across the transition to LCG, our developers will ensure that the game maintains its pervasive themes of honor, nobility, magic, intrigue, duty, and warfare and that these themes continue to drive the game and the narrative forward.
In addition to the new incarnation of the Legend of the Five Rings CCG as a LCG, we are excited to explore new possiblities for Legend of the Five Rings in the roleplaying space. At the current time, we don't have many details about this, but we will reveal more as the details become clear.
FFG and AEG on the Legend of the Five Rings Transition
Regarding the agreement to purchase Legend of the Five Rings, Steve Horvath, SVP of Communication at Fantasy Flight Games, said, “The prospect of working on Legend of the Five Rings is very exciting for us. The AEG team has done an amazing job creating a truly rich history and a universe with a deep narrative that fans have connected with for twenty years, and we are looking forward to the potential to build on that legacy moving forward.”
John Zinser, CEO of Alderac Entertaiment Group, said, “L5R is and will always be our first gaming love, but over time, we've changed our company focus further and further away from those roots. Our friends at Fantasy Flight Games have staff with a long history with the L5R property and its games, who are excited about the prospect of taking the brand into the future. When we recently decided it was time to end our own work on the story of Rokugan, we knew they were the best possible stewards for the world, the story, and the community we love and want to see continue to succeed and grow into its next twenty years.”
Enter the Emerald Empire
“Understand the Will of Heaven and you make all things possible. Ignore it, and you will accomplish nothing.”
–The Tao of Shinsei
Vast changes are coming to the land of Rokugan, leading to a new chapter in the history the Emerald Empire. Prepare for a new era to begin at Gen Con Indy 2017!W
AEG's announcement reads:
"For twenty years, Legend of the Five Rings has held a unique place among Collectible Card Games (CCGs) and Role Playing Games (RPGs). It is not only one of the oldest around, it stands out by being driven by its story…a story that has, in turn, been driven by legions of devoted fans over the past two decades. We at AEG are thankful beyond words to all of the awesome players of our games for making these past twenty years so special.
The time comes, however, when any healthy enterprise has to take a step back and look hard and critically at itself. We’ve now reached that time in the life of the L5R Brand. The focus of AEG has progressively shifted toward other types of games over recent years, so, after some hard and detailed analysis (and, yes, some deep soul-searching), we’ve concluded that it’s time to start a new chapter in the story of L5R. Accordingly, the upcoming Evil Portents expansion for the CCG, and the “Atlas of Rokugan” for the RPG, will be the final products for L5R produced by AEG. The L5R Brand will continue under a new owner, Fantasy Flight Games (FFG). We believe that the good folks at FFG, some of whom have themselves been involved with the L5R Brand for many years, will do an excellent job of carrying the L5R Brand and the story of Rokugan on into its next twenty years. Fantasy Flight Games anticipates that its first L5R product will be a relaunch of the card game as a Living Card Game (LCG), with a debut event at Gen Con 2017.
One major implication of all this is that our staffing will be dramatically changed. Many of our current members of the L5R Brand Team will be leaving us either immediately, or in the near future. We want to express our most sincere gratitude to these awesome people, who have helped bring L5R to where it is today.
Of course, many questions will almost certainly occur to you as you read this. Foremost among them, you are probably wondering what will happen to our upcoming events, including the Fall Kotei Season and the European Championships. All of these events currently scheduled will go on as planned, as CCG events. We’ll continue collecting the results, and will add those to our list of all currently outstanding tournament and event results. All of this will be provided to FFG, who will do their best to incorporate it into L5R and its setting once they’ve relaunched the Brand.
You will also have noted that Evil Portents will be the last CCG product, and would reasonably ask, why would I want to spend money on a product that’s essentially obsolete the moment it hits store shelves? Why would any retailer even bother carrying it? Well, we’re going to be making Evil Portents available to retailers and players through a pretty remarkable deal–essentially, we’ll be virtually giving it away for free. Details of this will be forthcoming shortly.
We realize that these are probably only a few of your questions. We will be sharing more information with you about the transition of the Brand in the coming days. In the meantime, you can direct your enquiries to L5RBrandLead@alderac.com and we’ll do our best to answer them. Again, all of us at AEG want to thank all of YOU for your dedication to the L5R CCG, the RPG, and the story of Rokugan for the past twenty years. We can’t wait to see how L5R evolves under the stewardship of its new owners at Fantasy Flight Games!"
FFG's announcement reads:
"Fantasy Flight Games is proud to announce that it has entered into an agreement to purchase the Legend of the Five Rings intellectual property from Alderac Entertainment Group (AEG)!
Legend of the Five Rings is a legacy brand collectible card game (CCG) and roleplaying game (RPG) with a dedicated, passionate community and a story that spans the last two decades. Legions of players have traveled to the land of Rokugan and the Colonies, joined the noble samurai and shugenja of their favorite clan, and taken an important hand in shaping the story. Now, as Legend of the Five Rings moves over to Fantasy Flight Games, certain changes are coming to the realm of Rokugan. To learn the initial details of these upcoming changes, read below.
Honor Is Stronger than Steel
“The queen of ants cannot count her servants, but she knows that they are loyal. Though the Emperor does not know of me, still, I know of him. And it is the Emperor, and Hantei alone, that I follow. With every word and deed, I do his bidding.”
–Seppun Murayasu
The current incarnation of the Legend of the Five Rings CCG will be complete with the release of the Evil Portents expansion from AEG. After that release, the game will go on hiatus until FFG relaunches Legend of the Five Rings as a Living Card Game®, or LCG. The Legend of the Five Rings LCG is scheduled to be released in two years at Gen Con Indy 2017.
For players unfamiliar with the LCG model, a Living Card Game offers regular, non-randomized releases that include full playsets of every card. In its new form, Legend of the Five Rings will use this release format, rather than “blind” boosters that contain randomly assigned rare, uncommon, and common cards. Instead of spending their time chasing hard-to-find cards, the LCG distribution model allows players to focus on building decks by buying a single expansion that includes a full playset of every card in that expansion. For more information about Living Card Games, click here.
The transition of Legend of the Five Rings from CCG to LCG impacts far more than just distribution model. As the game is reimagined and relaunched as an LCG, we will be implementing significant design changes, but we will ensure that the spirit and emotional impact of Legend of the Five Rings remains intact. By introducing a new mechanical design, we hope to open the game for a new generation of players to join the veteran samurai who still battle for Rokugan. Across the transition to LCG, our developers will ensure that the game maintains its pervasive themes of honor, nobility, magic, intrigue, duty, and warfare and that these themes continue to drive the game and the narrative forward.
In addition to the new incarnation of the Legend of the Five Rings CCG as a LCG, we are excited to explore new possiblities for Legend of the Five Rings in the roleplaying space. At the current time, we don't have many details about this, but we will reveal more as the details become clear.
FFG and AEG on the Legend of the Five Rings Transition
Regarding the agreement to purchase Legend of the Five Rings, Steve Horvath, SVP of Communication at Fantasy Flight Games, said, “The prospect of working on Legend of the Five Rings is very exciting for us. The AEG team has done an amazing job creating a truly rich history and a universe with a deep narrative that fans have connected with for twenty years, and we are looking forward to the potential to build on that legacy moving forward.”
John Zinser, CEO of Alderac Entertaiment Group, said, “L5R is and will always be our first gaming love, but over time, we've changed our company focus further and further away from those roots. Our friends at Fantasy Flight Games have staff with a long history with the L5R property and its games, who are excited about the prospect of taking the brand into the future. When we recently decided it was time to end our own work on the story of Rokugan, we knew they were the best possible stewards for the world, the story, and the community we love and want to see continue to succeed and grow into its next twenty years.”
Enter the Emerald Empire
“Understand the Will of Heaven and you make all things possible. Ignore it, and you will accomplish nothing.”
–The Tao of Shinsei
Vast changes are coming to the land of Rokugan, leading to a new chapter in the history the Emerald Empire. Prepare for a new era to begin at Gen Con Indy 2017!W
Good times!
