CMON has sold two more board game IPs in attempts to offset millions of dollars in losses. The publisher originally acquired Anastyr and Hel: The Last Saga 18 months ago from Mythic Games, who failed to deliver the titles to backers for several years. Responsibility for these long-suffering games has now been passed to French publisher Don't Panic Games.
Mythic Games first made headlines in 2023 when it asked backers of its Darkest Dungeon and 6: Siege board game to provide additional funds to receive pledges they'd already paid for. By 2024, it had four unfulfilled projects left to deliver, and two of these were sold to CMON, as the games were "excessively difficult, if not impossible, to complete with our current means". Anastyr was meant to fulfil in 2021, and Hel: the Last Sage was expected in 2023.
At the time of the acquisition, CMON was unable to estimate when the titles would be completed. The company did, however, promise existing backers a free copy of the base games they paid for. "Given the quality of the games produced by this publisher, their experience and high standards, we are not only reassured, but certain that this new version of Hel/Anastyr will live up to your expectations," Mythic Games said at the time.
CMON saw losses of $3 million in 2024, and its losses escalated to $7 million in the first half of 2025. The company has already gone through a round of layoffs and frozen all future board game production. Four of CMON's major IPs were also sold in 2025: Zombicide was sold to distribution giant Asmodee, while Tabletop Tycoon acquired Blood Rage, Rising Sun, and ANKH: Gods of Egypt.
In a Facebook post announcing its acquisition, Don't Panic Games says "we always had a special fondness for these two exceptional titles". "We were already collaborating with some of the original creators, hence the fact that we have decided to take over these highly anticipated games and make sure they come to existence."
Wargamer has reached out to Don't Panic Games to clarify what its previous collaborations with "some of the original creators" entail. It has also asked whether the publisher will honor CMON's promise to provide free base game copies of Hel and Anastyr to previous backers. We will update this story when we receive a reply.
Don't Panic Games produces a mixture of IP-based and original board games, and it has distributed several French localizations of major titles. Its most famous distribution, Hegemony, is also its most controversial. The company engaged in a public dispute with Hegemonic Project Games over translation errors and difficulties distributing errata packs, causing Hegemonic to distribute the French errata packs itself rather than through Don't Panic Games.
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