Pathfinder Publisher Paizo Announces Layoffs, Cuts Back on Organized Play

Paizo, the publisher behind Pathfinder and Starfinder, announced it is laying off a significant portion of its staff and restructuring its operations to reach financial viability.

The TTRPG publisher posted a blog post on its website announcing the layoffs and reorganization on Monday. 12 employees will be affected, although the company stated that it is working with the United Paizo Workers union to establish a “clear, fair process,” noting that these cuts are necessary.

“These decisions affect people we care about deeply. We are doing everything we can to support them through this transition,” Butler stated. The layoffs will go into effect in July.

Several former staff members have confirmed on social media that they will leave the company next month.

Paizo also announced that it is cutting back on its organized play programs, Starfinder Society and Pathfinder Society. The program will cut back to two scenarios a month starting in October. It also announced that it will no longer provide free PDFs of non-Society Paizo products to volunteers and will cut back on the development of Society-related Foundry programs.

“These changes are not a retreat—Paizo believes strongly in the power of Organized Play and always will,” Butler emphasized. “But the current publishing model for Society scenarios is not working, and we need to slow down, stem the financial losses from a struggling program, and evaluate where to go from here.”

The company did have two notes of hope. First, it is working with the distribution service, Independent Publishers Group, to re-establish its presence in bookstores. It is also planning to launch a direct-to-retail store, which will enable local game stores to purchase books directly from Paizo.

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How Diamond Comics’ Bankruptcy Led to Paizo’s Layoffs

Paizo’s decision to lay off staff did not come out of nowhere. It was a decision made after more than a year of efforts to stem the losses Paizo was incurring due to book distributor Diamond Comics’ bankruptcy filing.

Diamond Comics acted as a third party, helping publishers like Paizo, Green Ronin Publishing, and Roll for Combat get their books into stores. That included the company holding significant amounts of physical books and game from each company. Unfortunately, Diamond Comics filed for bankruptcy in January 2025. It then announced in June 2025 that it would liquidate all of its stored products (including TTRPG books) to pay off a $41 million debt owed to JPMorgan Chase and other lenders. Paizo and other publishers filed a lawsuit against Diamond Comics in September 2025, seeking to reclaim their books.

The Diamond Comics bankruptcy has been devastating for the company. Paizo lost $2 million in 2025 and had to write off nearly half a million in additional sales. Book-trade (aka book stores) sales have also plummeted “far below historical levels,” Butler wrote.

Paizo was also severely restricted due to a contract that made Diamond Comics the exclusive distributor for Pathfinder and Starfinder materials, since it couldn’t move to a new distributor. While the contract was terminated in early 2026, Diamond later appealed the decision. The proceedings are ongoing.

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