Well, this is some pretty big news.
Fantasy Flight Games has just announced that they have acquired the rights to produce the Legend of the Five Rings card game from AEG. The current version of the game will end with the Evil Portents expansion. After that, Fantasy Flight will take over. One of the first changes to be made is that the releases will move to the Living Card Game model, meaning there will no longer be random booster packs of cards (this has been how FFG has released card game expansions for some time now).
The change to an LCG will require certain changes in game design. Obviously, rare cards that could be considered a bit more powerful than their common and uncommon counterparts no longer will be around. However, FFG is going to do their best to hold true to the spirit of L5R. They want this to be a place where new players can join in to the game, and not a place to alienate long-time gamers.
John Zinser, CEO of Alderac Entertaiment Group, said, “L5R is and will always be our first gaming love, but over time, we’ve changed our company focus further and further away from those roots. Our friends at Fantasy Flight Games have staff with a long history with the L5R property and its games, who are excited about the prospect of taking the brand into the future. When we recently decided it was time to end our own work on the story of Rokugan, we knew they were the best possible stewards for the world, the story, and the community we love and want to see continue to succeed and grow into its next twenty years.”
Fantasy Flight Games will be releasing their new version of Legend of the Five Rings at Gen Con 2017.