News Roundup: Steve Jackson Steps Down as CEO, Appoints New Execs

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First up, I must apologize for slow content this week. My other two jobs demanded my attention with additional shifts, so I did not have the time to write up all the content I had hoped to.

To make up for it, I’ve got a big story or two I’m eager to write up later this week. Stay tuned!

In the meantime, we had some big news this week. Steve Jackson stepped down from his position at Steve Jackson Games. New UAs. Plus a TTRPG designer who’s had some surprising success in recent years is partnering with an up-and-coming publisher. All that and more in this TTRPG Insider roundup!

Munchin Maker Streve Jackson Games Shuffles Leadership Team

Steve Jackson, a game design icon and the namesake of Steve Jackson Games, has stepped down as CEO after several years in the role, appointing two others to lead his company.

SJG announced on Friday that Jackson was stepping down as CEO to “focus on game design and development,” according to a blog post. In his stead, he has appointed Sabrina Gonzalez as CEO.

Gonzalez has worked at SJG since 2013, where she’s held roles as production artist and production manager. She has also served on the company’s board of directors since 2021.

“We have a ton of great people who are veterans in what they do best, and I'm eager to see what the future holds,” Gonzalez said in a press statement.

She promised a focus on continuing to grow the company, developing titles for future generations and creating more support for the company’s classic titles. “As a general goal, I'd like us to continue to grow. We weathered the pandemic and pivoted project plans to address continually changing tariffs,” Gonzalez wrote. “The goal is always to make great games that people love. I want to continue developing new titles for future generations of gamers and also support (and sometimes update) the classics that our fans continue to request."

Allison Page, a former managing editor at the company, is also stepping in to become chief operating officer at SJ Games. She previously worked as Executive Artistic Director of Killing My Lobster in San Francisco and as a Narrative Designer in video games.

“I'm a problem solver, and I'm passionate about setting clear expectations. I'm excited to untangle whatever comes my way and ensure the team has what they need,” Page emphasized.

The announcement arrives days after SJG announced that it was partnering with Lynnvander Studios to adapt the popular board game Munchkin into a 5.5e supplement. The game is expected to crowdfund in October.

Underdark Remains Focus in Latest D&D Unearthed Arcana

A second Underdark-themed Unearthed Arcana hit the D&D Beyond website this week, with a focus on expanding some of its well-established lore.

The pack added three new classes

• Freedom Domain Cleric

• Circle of Spores Druid

• Faerzress Sorcery (building on a dark form of magical radiation that has defined the Underdark in past editions.)

There are also character options for becoming a half-spider drider, a human-esque Deep Imaskeri, a tadpole-infected Illithidkin, a fish-like Kuo-Toa and even a mushroom-y Myconid.

The UA is available for testing now and opens its survey on September 17.

A play on XKCD that is surprisingly accurate.

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Diablo TTRPG creators Glass Cannon Unplugged Partners With Nimble RPG Maker

Polish-based Glass Cannon Unplugged announced on Saturday that it is partnering with Evan Diaz, the author of the alternate D&D 5e ruleset Nimble to develop a series of games.

“We’re very happy to finally share that Glass Cannon Unplugged is teaming up with Evan Diaz, creator of NIMBLE RPG, on upcoming roleplaying game projects,” Jakub Wiśniewski, CEO & co-founder at Glass Cannon Unplugged, said in a statement. “We’ve been huge fans of Evan’s approach to RPG design, especially the fast, tactical, and character-driven play behind NIMBLE, and we’re incredibly excited to have him bring his experience and perspective to our projects. We’ve already been working together behind the scenes, and while we can’t talk about the details just yet, we can finally say this much: we’re working together.”

The team was unable to talk about what future projects might be. It did also offer an update on the Diablo TTRPG, which was previewed at GenCon in the past but has received few, if any, updates since. The game remains in development, according to GCU, and is expected to launch sometime in 2027. It’s unclear if Diaz will be involved in this project or not.

Nimble is one of the lesser-known fantasy alternatives in the space that gained some traction after the OGL controversy at D&D. It claims to provide faster, simpler gameplay for Fifth Edition D&D. The game successfully raised over $1 million in March this year with its Monsters & More reprint and expansion of the game’s mechanics.

That’s all for this week! Feel free to send us tips or emails at [email protected].