Report to the Stakeholders for 2024
by Steve Jackson
Steve Jackson Games has one stockholder: me. But many people have a stake in our success. Our STAKEholders are our employees, our distributors and retailers, and, of course, the people who play our games . . . as well as the freelance artists and designers who create the finished product, the fans who demonstrate our games at conventions and retail stores, and the folks who run game conventions.
Overview
We are, as I assume the reader knows, a publisher of games. We have been in business since 1980. At the end of 2024, we had 30+ full–time staff and contractors, plus a few part–timers. Most of our line consists of card games, boardgames, dice games, and RPGs. We sell through hobby distribution, the mass market, and direct sales. Warehouse 23, our online store, has been online for more than two decades and now offers both physical products and digital downloads.
Finishing this report as I am in early April of 2025, it's hard to remember that I am writing it "as of January 1." A new national administration has come in, the economy is in disarray, and our hobby (like many other sectors) is reeling from tariffs and uncertainty. So clap your hands very hard and pretend you are reading this before life got so interesting.
2024: Executive Summary
Gross revenue was about equivalent to that of 2023. Cash flow was acceptable, but I don't feel "prosperous." This is not just us; individual game sales, industry–wide, were down at both the distribution and retail end, largely due to the glut of titles (more on this below).
We are still working the problem, but we have less runway than we did last year! Cause for optimism: it was a rebuilding year and not expected to be good for cash, but thanks to your support for Munchkin Big Box it was better than we anticipated.
In February we tried something new: a "summit meeting" to which we flew a large portion of the staff for several days of face–to–face meetings, reports, and schedule discussions. Expensive, yes. Worthwhile, maybe! We certainly felt more organized when it was done. (Time-travel hint . . . we did it again in 2025, but you don't get to read about that for another year.)
2024: The High Points
Crowdfunding
We tried a project with BackerKit, the new force on the crowdfunding campaign scene. It was massive: the Munchkin Big Box edition, with 50 new cards, a like number of "new-to-Classic" cards, and a whole lot of assorted goodies. It did very well indeed; by the time the late backing and add-ons had cleared, it was over $2 million and got written up in Forbes.
GURPS Fourth Edition turned 20 years old!
GURPS gets a report that at first blush seems unchanged from last year: the game lived entirely in digital form in 2024, with both PDFs and POD-printable files. Hardcovers have become a real struggle to produce. Other companies can do it – why has it become so hard for us? We are still looking at alternative publishing and shipping solutions.
Why did I say "seems unchanged?" Because we completed one of the more-challenging projects: making the Basic Set available via POD! You can get both books in color or black and white, as your budget and preference allows. All of the most-essential books are now available on demand (and color, when appropriate), which has been a huge boon, especially to our international GURPS fans.
Real Scheduling
Last year I made happy noises about the fact that we had a real no–kidding annual schedule. Well, we largely kept to it. Not completely; there is room for improvement. But it was worth having, and we'll do it again.
Fighting Fantasy
In October we announced that we have been granted the license to republish the classic Fighting Fantasy books in the United States. This 50-book project will span five years. Space does not allow me to reprise just why this is such a big deal for us and why Fighting Fantasy has been so important to the hobby as a whole. It sure is, though. And it's personally significant to me, since I have been a fan of the series since its inception and had the honor of being tapped to write three of the books!
Other Great Things
Munchkin Digital. The Dire Wolf game on Steam continues to do well, much to the glee of everyone involved. There will be more supplements . . . the next will be licensed, though I cannot announce what it is yet!
Groo: The Game sold through quickly enough that it had to be reprinted immediately. Love it when that happens!
UKGE. I made my first visit to the UK Games Exposition. Quite a show! I hope to return next year.
Ehhhhh . . .
In some places, we wanted a win and didn't quite get one, or success and failure were mixed.
The business office did not start 2024 with the timely and accurate reports and guidance that a business requires. Late in the year, we contracted with an outside firm to handle this for us. The win: we did something about the bizoff problem. The lose: We didn't do it soon enough.
TFT: And also like last year, The Fantasy Trip continued to please its fans without catching hold in the wider market. The TFT Bestiary finally came out, and it turned out that we printed more than demand would justify. It's sad when a long-time passion project meets a "meh" response in the market. I'm trying to take lessons from that!
STL creation and sales for 3D printing hobbyists just never took off for us. Sculpting is exacting work; organizing a project that requires dozens or hundreds of sculptures is also exacting. And it turns out that the Internet is full of very skilled hobbyists who can create fine sculptures. When all you're distributing is electrons, the bar to enter business is dramatically lowered, and the "need" for company-sized organizations is dramatically reduced! There are a few successful companies in the STL business, but the marketplace is now dominated by individuals or small groups working on low margins for the love of the hobby. We're not going to fight that trend. There are a few STL projects that we are particularly fitted to do, but we'll get around to them when we get around to them.
Failures
Only one really sad one: The website never became enough of a priority to get the attention that it needed. It remains difficult to use by today's standards, especially on mobile devices. I would like to improve this, but it will take more than just wishing very hard!
Staff
Our staff are the stakeholders who sit down at their computers every day and make this all happen. Without their skills and dedication there would be no company even in the best of times. If we make it through the next few years, it will be because we had a team that hung in there and kept going through hard work and hard times. Thank you.
State of the Industry
The number and variety of new games continues to increase. Players have incredible choice. But the retailers and distributors face a dilemma. . . their budgets are not infinite, and neither is their shelf space. The result is that many fine games are only on the shelf for a few weeks before they are replaced by something newer. That's costly and frustrating for any publisher, and it can kill a startup. Crowdfunding is a way around that problem, but it brings its own issues, and many gamers would rather buy a game they can see on the shelf than one promised for next year.
Distribution remains an issue; instead of 40+ active game distributors, there are now fewer than a half-dozen really important ones in all North America. A retailer who doesn't like their distributor's selection has fewer options than in years gone by.
In good news, the GAMA Trade Show moved to Louisville . . . a more central location than Nevada, by far . . . and celebrated with a big, organized effort that reflected very well on the hobby at large.
D&D was featured on a US Postal Service stamp issue. Are we mainstream now, or what?
Shared Goals and Partners
The game business is a network, and the healthier it is, the better for all of us. SJ Games continues to value, and rely on, its hobby–industry partners. These include:
- the hobby–game retailers, who not only sell our games, but provide gamers with space to meet each other and play;
- PSI, our fulfillment agent for most distributor sales;
- Surge, our licensing agent, as well as our many licensing partners;
- Kickstarter and BackerKit, both important parts of our operations. Crowdfunding remains a great way to launch games and accessories that don't exactly match the needs of the in–person market;
- the many overseas publishers who are translating Munchkin and other games;
- the convention organizers who showcase our work and the dedicated hobbyists who demonstrate our games;
- GPI, which manages most of our manufacturing;
- Finally, a shout–out to a very important individual "stakeholder" – John Kovalic, who has been drawing Munchkin for 25 years and puts his love for the game into every line. We appreciate you, John!
Priorities: 2024 Report Card
Here are the priorities we published in last year's Report to the Stakeholders, and here's how we think we did on each one.
First priority: Meet that schedule. Ship the things we have said we will ship – and don't get crazy about adding other things just because they would be neat. Rebuild!
We did pretty well with this one. We did get crazy and add Fighting Fantasy. I am glad.
Second priority: Feed the Munchkin. Make sure that the 2025 Munchkin schedule is as good as the 2024 one, if not better. You know that Munchkin Paranoia is coming. There's more. Oh, I so want to drop more hints. Nope, not gonna do it.
Big success, with a single sour note. There were six new Munchkin releases, capped by the stand–alone hit Munchkin Shadowrun. And, of course, there was the huge crowdfund for Munchkin Big Box. That was all excellent and according to plan. Next year's schedule looks very nice too. But we could not find staff time to keep our calendar commitment for Munchkin Paranoia and had to give up the license. I am sad.
Third priority: Get that Seekret Projekt in shape for an announcement – not even release, just an announcement – by the end of the year.
Failed again. Apologies. No further comment. As the horse said in Animal Farm, "I will work harder."
Priorities: Goals for 2025
First priority: Keep a certain as–yet–unannounced Munchkin project on schedule so you can hear about it in late 2025 and enjoy it in 2026.
Second priority: Straighten out the business office. We cannot remain a "real" business without accurate, timely reporting. Today's difficult market leaves no space for fooling around.
Third priority: In general, meet the schedule. In particular, hit those Fighting Fantasy release dates!
There you have it. Not our best year, far from our worst. Stay tuned for 2025!
Forum discussion of the Stakeholders' Reports
Other Reports: 2024 • 2023 • 2022 • 2021 • 2020 • 2019 • 2018 • 2017 • 2016 • 2015 • 2014 • 2013 • 2012 • 2011 • 2010 • 2009 • 2008 • 2007 • 2006 • 2005 • 2004 • 2003
