The new CEO reaches out to the fans of Pathfinder Online and sends out messages of perseverance.
Yesterday, we reported on the difficult situation of the Kickstarter-funded MMORPG Pathfinder Online and the studio Goblinworks: Except for a tiny core team of 3 people, everyone else had to be let go. The former CEO left for “personal reasons.” His successor is CEO Lisa Stevens, who has now addressed the community in a letter. She said it looks bleak, but this is not the end yet.
They will complete the next update with the core team; the update is already as good as designed. They worked on it with full attendance in July and August.
She urged existing fans to maintain their subscriptions, as the money ensures that the lights do not go completely out. During this difficult phase, they are only offering one-month subscriptions.
They are negotiating with companies to see if they have any interest in an acquisition, and things are also progressing there. New partners are coming in every day, but it takes time to find the right one who can bring the game over the finish line.
Stevens says she has been in such situations before, where it looked very dark right before the big breakthrough. With Vampire: The Masquerade, they had to cancel electricity and phone service a month in advance, it was that tight. When working on Magic: The Gathering, they had to let the whole team go for 9 months. And both became fantastic games.
Goblinworks has been underdogs from the beginning, but they have made it this far and survived; now they want to see it through to the end.
