Exodus TCG 2022 Important Announcement
Greetings Drifters,
We first and foremost want to apologize for our recent silence and lack of official game announcements, and realize that an update is long overdue. We’ve been keeping up to date with our community Discord chat, emails and social media comments, and truly appreciate everyone’s support, care and continued love of the Exodus TCG. Your passion and support means the world to us. It’s not our desire nor intent to leave you in the dark and thus we have some information on the current state of the game and its future. This announcement has been planned for some time. And although it has been delayed or postponed at times for various reasons, we know it’s time to address the community’s concerns.
When the pandemic hit in 2020, we agreed as a company that for the near future we ought to pivot our time, energy and resources fully into marketing, partnership research, and potentially licensing instead of continuing work on new sets & product development. We deduced that if Existence Games continued to release new sets as is, then the company’s time and money would be tied up in publishing to the same size audience, with none left for playerbase expansion. Reallocating the aforementioned resources will better allow the brand to hone in and focus on a growth strategy post-hiatus in the future. The playerbase’s desire for more fellow players and Existence Games’ vision to publish the game to a wider audience is one and the same. We recognize that ceasing active production on the game in the interim is not without disappointment, but it is a necessary step in the larger picture.
Although Exodus’ “slimrunner” model of releasing a new set only once per year instead of once every 3 months is considered slow by TCG release schedule standards, that timeframe is actually very short-term compared to licensing, contracts and business partnership timelines. Truthfully, the average licensing or partnership agreement takes an average of 5 years for the companies/individuals involved to come to an agreement–and even then there’s often a good chance the deal will fall through without the final contracts getting signed. Not to mention, the average TCG fails in 2 years or less. With that said, we cannot give an exact timeline for when we expect to come back from the hiatus, hence the indefinite pause until further notice. One of our mottos has always been: “If we’re going to do something, it’s worth taking the time to do it right.” Therefore, we want to take the time to seek quality partnerships that will only help boost the game’s reach & success.
The hiatus is effective immediately, which will entail all of the following details:
◆ There are no plans for Set 7 or supplementary product releases at this time.
◆ Existence Games has no plans to exhibit at any conventions or trade shows at this time.
◆ Organized Play & the official Emissary program will continue to remain on pause for the duration of the hiatus.
◆ Galaxy Tides will remain OOP (Out of Print) / Sold Out, and there are no plans to reprint any products at this time; if any other sets sell out during the hiatus, they will remain sold out.
◆ Our website(s) and online store will remain live and orders will continue to be shipped out on a regular basis.
◆ A new promo card will continue to be released each month (available for free with any order in the online store), through November 2022.
◆ Players can still look forward to Black Friday & Christmas sales / packages in 2022 (there will be an end-of-the-year bundle available with all of the previous months’ promos).
◆ All official Exodus TCG social media, including our Discord server and Tabletop Simulator mod will remain live and available for players to communicate and interact on (server rules will still be enforced and message content will continue to be moderated).
◆ Email support for orders placed on our online store will still be available.
◆ Card rulings will gradually be added & updated on the official website, card database, Wiki & Discord rulings channel.
◆ All unfulfilled Worlds prizes such as “Design your Dream Card”, “Get Illustrated as a Drifter” and “Get Written Into The Storyline” do not have an expiration date, and can still be claimed and brought to life post-hiatus. This includes the community “Dream Card Contest” that was hosted in the official Exodus Discord server.
To be clear, the hiatus is indefinite, meaning we cannot currently say when Existence Games will continue active development on new products. We are announcing a hiatus rather than a cancellation of the game because we do have plans and hope to come back to publishing and making the game bigger and better than ever before sometime in the future. Existence Games is a 2-person tabletop games publishing company, and both of us here at EG are still as passionate about the game as we were from Day 1. We still stand by our statement that the Exodus TCG and Existence Games are here to stay. Exodus isn’t dead, but this is rather a pause for both the game and us as a company in order for us to pivot to a better future.
Trading card game companies usually employ an aggressive marketing & advertising strategy, which in turn often leaves them financially strapped. It also usually leaves them with a limited window of time for the game to try and explode in popularity in order to pay off heavy debts or risk bankruptcy. We are proud to say that Existence Games is a debt-free company. We have adopted a different sort of strategy over the years, which has left the game profitable and the company able to explore additional opportunities. As a direct result of our less-risk strategy, the game and its player-base has grown steadily for the past decade. We are happy to say that the Exodus Trading Card Game has sold millions of trading cards worldwide since its inception 10 years ago in 2012. Garnering thousands of players, collectors & fans around the world, we are honored & blessed to have been able to speak with fans who purchase, play & collect the game in various regions & countries such as:
- the United States
- Canada
- the United Kingdom
- Germany
- Singapore (and SEA)
- South Korea
- New Zealand
- Mexico
- and more
It brings us great joy knowing the game has helped (and will continue to) connect so many players regardless of age, background or experience. We could fill a book recounting stories of people telling us via email, private message or at in-person events how Exodus brought them closer together with friends, colleagues, family or loved ones. Hearing fan theories about the lore, player’s card design ideas, funny stories and crazy card combos during gameplay frequently brought huge smiles to our faces, and the community never failed to keep us inspired. We have so many unforgettable memories of the times we facilitated fun tournaments & booster drafts. Some of our favorite memories include the times we got to interact with fans at conventions who stopped by our booth to play a demo or challenge us with their own deck in order to win an autographed card. It was always very humbling to hear that people had traveled long distances to attend certain cons and find the Exodus TCG booth in person. We cherish every conversation we’ve had with fans and desire to continue the friendly relationship we have with our community, even through the game’s hiatus.
Last, but certainly not least, we want to thank every single player, collector, fan, store owner, shop manager, and distributor for supporting the Exodus TCG over the years. We have high hopes for Exodus’ long-term future. Whether you stick around to be a part of our community, check-in from time-to-time, return after the hiatus, or move on to other games, we deeply appreciate your support. We want you to know that your contribution to the game hasn’t gone unnoticed. Exodus has and will continue to be a lifelong passion-project for us and we look forward to stepping through the next portal into the unknown alongside our fellow Drifters!
— Exodus TCG Organized Play Team
Existence Games
