Paizo, publisher of the popular TTRPGs Pathfinder and Starfinder, has announced they they are restructuring their game offerings and laying off 12 workers.
The news came in a blog post by Paizo CEO Jim Butler, who blamed the long arm of the Diamond Bankruptcy for the moves. Paizo was one of the very last Diamond exclusive publishers, and their inventory has been tied up in the mess we’ve been reporting on for the last 18 months, held hostage by the new warehouse owners and bankruptcy officials. Butler wrote:
The result [of the bankruptcy] has been devastating. Paizo lost nearly $2 million last year, had to write off nearly half a million in additional sales covered by the bankruptcy, and book‑trade sales remain far below historical levels. While sales through Paizo.com and hobby retailers have grown over the same period, they have not been sufficient to offset these losses.
We are back in the book trade today with a new partner, but the book market has not yet recovered. We must make difficult decisions now.
Paizo’s main business – gameplay scenarios for the immensely popular Pathfinder system – has also grown to include a robust line of books and comics set in the Pathfinder world, which were distributed by Diamond.
The layoffs were negotiated with the United Paizo Workers union, which was established five years ago, and include a week of severance for each year worker, and 18 month recall rights.
Paizo will also be making changes to the frequency and distribution model for its gaming products. Previously, players could engage in Organized Play – a way for players to go to their local gaming store and engage in standardized campaigns. Butler notes that “the needs of retailers, conventions, and home groups have evolved over time, and the cost of producing scenarios has grown significantly.” They will be transitioning Organized Play to the Open RPG Creative License (ORC) and the new Pathfinder and Starfinder Infinite publishing programs which will allow individuals to produce sanctioned independent adventure scenarios. They’ll also cut back to two scenarios per month in the fall, end a program for free PDFs to volunteers and cease support for the costly Foundry VTT software that allowed online home play.
On the positive side, Butler notes that they are rebuilding their publishing program via their deal with Independent Publishers Group, and launching a direct-to-retail program through their successful online store.
“These measures will take time to bear fruit,” he concluded. “The difficult decisions we’re making now will ensure Paizo can continue to thrive in 2026 and beyond.”
While Paizo has a unique business model and history – a spin-off of D&D that proved to be more popular than the original for a while – their changes may signal that we are entering the final phase of Diamond Fallout, as companies that have been struggling to get their inventory back just throw in the towel and move on, although not without some pain. IT’s also a reminder that a lot of gaming companies were also hit by Diamond’s downfall, and several continue to be part of the various legal actions still slogging along.
