Major board game publisher CMON posted "a much delayed and candid update on our status in general" to Gamefound on October 1. After losses of $7 million in the first half of 2025, the publisher assures backers that the games they crowdfunded are still in progress. However, CMON also provides "a check-in about the realities of fulfillment for us moving forward".
As well as the dramatic $7 million in losses this year, CMON also reported $2 million in losses in 2024. The publisher has laid off staff and sold many of its best board games - including Zombicide - to address its financial troubles. The publisher also paused production of new board games in April 2024, but it promised to "prioritize the timely delivery of existing projects".
CMON currently has nine crowdfunded board games that are mid-fulfillment. Additionally, it still needs to deliver five board games that were available for pre-order.
"Post company streamlining, we're working and operating at a scale that pushed our current team to its limits", CMON says. "With a fraction of employees remaining, every day has been a balancing act between managing production, logistics, customer service, and financial obligations. We have been overwhelmed by the sheer volume of day-to-day tasks."
"On top of this, rumors and panic have been spreading, understandably, with the lack of communication, which has resulted in us experiencing the highest number of refund requests in CMON's history", it adds. Slower fulfillment has apparently led to more refund requests, which CMON says gives it fewer resources to speed up fulfillment.
"This cycle has snowballed and grown into one of the toughest challenges we have ever faced", the publisher says. "We know silence is frustrating. But with movement slowed on all fronts, regular communication about stalled projects seem counter-intuitive, and we've decided to keep it limited to only update when we have actual news to share."
CMON's October 1 update then addresses eight of the 14 titles. Clash For Eternia is ready to begin mass production, while Marvel United: Witching Hour and Dark Providence are "fully packed and waiting to leave the warehouse".
Backers should note that these last two games will require additional funds due to tariff charges for delivery. "We have worked to ensure that backers are charged as little as possible, covering only a small portion of the total tariff expense", CMON says. "These tariffs, while not large in absolute numbers, represent costs per pledge that we unfortunately cannot absorb given our current financial position."
Dune: Desert War is in final assembly, and it'll apparently be "the next project in line to leave our warehouse". The Assassin's Creed Roleplaying Game is also mid-mass production.
Mordred, DCeased, and The Adventurers are all ready for mass production, but the production of their plastic components has either been paused part-way through or not begun at all. All three projects are apparently waiting to enter the "project queue", so presumably they will be produced after the previously mentioned games are ready.
The God of War board game saw the same statement posted on its Gamefound page, but there is no specific mention of its progress. CMON's remaining projects - A Song of Ice & Fire: Tactics, Cthulhu: Death May Die Forbidden Reaches, Massive Darkness: Dungeons of Shadowreach, The Dead Keep, and Super Fantasy Brawl - haven't seen this update posted to their crowdfunding pages. Some games haven't seen updates since May and June.
"While we recognize that the situation may seem disappointing, we are making steady progress on clearing our backlog and delivering our campaigns", CMON says. "The road ahead will be difficult, and we thank you for your continued patience, understanding, and trust as we navigate it. We continue to move forward and remain fully committed to fulfilling every project we promised."
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