Prices for Arkham Horror, Cosmic Encounter and Mansions of Madness all set to increase due to rising costs
Eldritch expenses.
The retail prices for titles such as Arkham Horror: Third Edition, Cosmic Encounter and Mansions of Madness: Second Edition will be increased due to the rising costs faced by publishers and tabletop gaming companies.
Asmodee, the parent company for publishers such as Fantasy Flight Games - the studio behind the aforementioned Arkham Horror: Third Edition - and Star Wars: X-Wing makers Atomic Mass Games, has announced that several key titles from its catalogue will see an increase from their usual retail release price.
These tabletop titles include the games mentioned above - with Arkham Horror: Third Edition increasing from $69.95 (£50) to $79.99 (£58), Cosmic Encounter going from $59.95 (£43) to $69.99 (£50) and Mansions of Madness: Second Edition rising from $99.95 (£72) to $109.00 (£79) - as well as many other recognisable releases from both Fantasy Flight and Atomic Mass such as the classic horror board game Elder Sign, Marvel Champions: The Card Game and Dead of Winter.
Even more recently released titles like the Marvel-themed board game X-Men: Mutant Insurrection, which came out earlier this year, and the most recent expansion for Marvel Champions - The Mad Titan’s Shadow, a game that was launched at the end of May 2021, will be seeing an increase in price of around $5 (£3).
According to Asmodee, the price increases on its products are due to the current shipping issues and resource shortages being faced by tabletop gaming publishers and companies.
“These price changes are due to the dramatic increase in raw material and transportation costs in the last year,” said Asmodee, “these increases to costs and MSRP across Atomic Mass Games and Fantasy Flight Games ensure Asmodee USA can continue to offer excellence in service.”
The news follows the announcement made by Hasbro - the parent company of studios such as Dungeons & Dragons and Magic: The Gathering creator Wizards of the Coast - in July, that there would be price increases made to its tabletop titles “during the third quarter that should be fully realized by the fourth quarter”. Titles such as fantasy roleplaying game Dungeons & Dragons 5E and trading card game Magic: The Gathering, will be more expensive in the coming months in an effort to compensate for the increase in shipping costs.
Several tabletop gaming publishers and companies have cited issues with shipping costs and shortages of key raw materials over the last few months, including Leder Games - the studio behind the likes of Root and Oath - whose creative director, Patrick Leder, has commented on the difficulties around sourcing shipping containers - “we bid US$19,000 (£13,750) for a container and did not get one. That was the moment I knew we were going to have a problem”.
The price increases on tabletop titles from Fantasy Flight and Atomic Mass are set to take effect on October 1st, with the cost increase being dependent on the individual product.