Hello, everyone. Are you enjoying the arrival of spring? It seemed like it took long enough to get here, at least, in this part of the country. Ah, but we welcome its warmth and glowing arrival.
With spring here and summer conventions and gaming around the corner, we are seeing people getting antsy about new releases from Palladium Books. I think concerns about tariffs and possible price increases also give people cause for worry. So let me provide some updates and news. Also see my Closing Thoughts and spread the word about this update so your fellow gamers don’t miss this information. Oh, and join me and Sean for a live chat on Legion of Myth this Sunday. Thank you.
UPDATE: Pricing. Keeping the price of all our products reasonable remains a priority for us at Palladium Books. We are renowned for the low price point and high quality of our RPG products and intend to continue that 40+ year tradition as long as we can. I mentioned a few months ago, before tariffs, that the low prices of our hardcover books will be going up $4-$10 each over the course of the year, but even with that increase, the cost of Palladium hardcovers remains lower than most in the RPG industry. Though you may see some other price increases in the future, we are not currently anticipating any extreme price hikes; the prices of most Palladium RPG titles are unchanged.
UPDATE: No end to physical books. The word books is part of our name for a reason, so while some game companies may lean toward doing more digital products and fewer books, Palladium will be supporting both the digital and physical book markets. Over the next few years, you should be seeing more physical books from Palladium than you’ve seen in a long time. Sean and I are brimming with ideas for exciting new books and we have plenty of announced titles we need to catch up on first.
UPDATE: High quality always. Top quality art and writing are Palladium’s hallmarks and that will not change. We have Steven Cummings, Mike Majestic, and other top artists as well as Matthew Clements and other writers working on various projects. The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles & Other Strangeness RPG Redux editions will give you a clear idea of what you can expect in the future regarding writing quality, artwork, layout, color and rules.
UPDATE: All Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles & Other Strangeness RPG Redux books and Kickstarter exclusives are at the printer. We’ve been dealing with the GPSR regulations of the EU – talk about overreaching and unfriendly for business – and other logistics regarding import, export and shipping. Updates to follow when we have more definitive information. Cannot wait to put these books in your hands.
UPDATE: Rifts® Bestiary Volume Two – coming in 2025. This is an example of why we have a policy of trying not to announce titles before they are in final layout or at the printer. Internally, we anticipated Bestiary Vol. 2 to be a spring release, but things changed. Additional writing and artwork are in the process of being completed right now.
UPDATE: Yin-Sloth Expeditions and Rifts® Antarctica. We expect both to be 2025 releases. I also hope to get to a few other titles before year end, but time will tell.
UPDATE: Long-awaited titles. You’ll see many titles (not all, some have been cancelled) you’ve been waiting for over the next few years. As we announced when Sean first joined Palladium, our plans include giving you the books you’ve been waiting for. Those plans have been delayed due to growing pains (all positive in the long run) and business and personal matters. Note: The Palladium website has a page that lists books that have been cancelled and the status of the titles that remain on the drawing board. Check it out.
A personal note: I want to humbly and sincerely apologize for being unable to work on books much these past 13 months. Besides dealing with business matters and planning, the unexpected loss of Kathy Simmons, my beloved life-partner of 20+ years, was devastating and it left me heartbroken and functioning at low capacity. Some days getting out of bed and going to work was a challenge. Being creative was not an option as I worked through my grief. That loss impacted all of us, as Kathy played a big role at Palladium. I hope you can understand.
That said, me, Sean, and the entire Palladium crew never stopped working behind the scenes to strengthen the company from the ground up. We’ve been planning and building new business relationships and putting various plans (and people) in place to make Palladium stronger and more resilient than ever before. And I’m happy to report the crew and I are all healing and feel incredibly positive about the future of Palladium. And the creative juices are flowing once again.
UPDATE: Palladium’s trajectory: You’ll begin to get a clearer picture of where Palladium Books is heading and what you can expect in the future when you see the TMNT & Other Strangeness books and Kickstarter exclusives, as well as when we reveal a few things in May and the months ahead. Just know that creating games, publishing RPG books, and you are what we love, and will be the focus of everything we do moving forward. We listen and hear you. We know what you want from us and it’s coming. I can’t say more without giving things away, but you’ll be pleased. Very pleased.
