Hello everyone,
First, I wanted to give everyone the good news that Academy is online for pre-orders today!
http://store.arcanewonders.com/product.php?productid=17705&cat=254&page=1We're very excited about this! Academy will provide both fast game play and deep strategy Mage Wars players have become familiar with, and ultimately, bring new players to our game.
As you may know, I'm a pretty transparent person. I know that while we're thrilled with this announcement, many of you are saying "November!? Great, where's everything else like PvS and Battlegrounds?" So, I wanted to address the "Elephant in the room" and be forthcoming with everyone.
As we announced recently on our web site, Battlegrounds has been delayed due to manufacturing issues out of our control, and we're targeting October for it's release. This was unforeseen and unfortunate and while we originally believed it would not, it has impacted our production schedule for other items. We had plans and goals with Academy to full release at Gen Con, but that is obviously not the case. Thankfully, those who played Academy at Gen Con can tell you, the game was a big success so the full release should be very popular with many players.
This means that yes, PvS will most likely push to early next year. I can tell you that in addition to finalizing PvS, many of you have heard of some of the follow on products (through interviews and podcasts) that we have planned after it; yes, there are two more expansions in the work, set to release after PvS, for Arena. In parallel we are planning to release more mages through small expansions for Academy too. When it comes to Arena, PvS is THE next item in our sights. We are very confident with where PvS is heading and we think the final product will make many players happy.
For this, I can not apologize enough to you, our community. You love our game, and it's evident in your passion here on the boards and in public when I meet you at conventions. We love you, and your passion, and while I could use all the phrases you've heard before, I'm not here today to give you a "company line", I'm here to simply say, we have an awesome game in Academy coming out asap, and we're working very hard to get you what you want for both it, and Arena to be supported more.
It's our goal to make great games, not cut corners, and with the best intentions and plans at hand, no matter the outside forces that rear their heads in challenge, we want you to know that we hear you, we're listening, and we're working hard to bring you the best possible product we can.
As always, if you have any questions, let us know. Aaron and I are here for you, and we're happy to answer anything and everything we can.
I'll see you in the Arena... or at the Academy
Scott
Vice President
Business Development
