‘Passion in board game profession has given way to economic reality’: Ludonaute to stop publishing new games in wake of selling off Colt Express, Living Forest IPs

Long-running French board game publisher Ludonaute is calling time on creating new games at the end of 2025, saying the hobby’s huge expansion in recent years had seen passion within the industry leech away in favour of economic decision-making.

Ludonaute, which was launched by Anne-Cécile and Cédric Lefebvre in 2009, scored multiple successes over the years with games including Spiel des Jahres-winning train robbery title Colt Express, worker placement game Lewis & Clark and Kennerspiel-winning forest spirits strategy game Living Forest.

But at the end of July this year the company revealed it had sold those three stand-out titles to Everdell publisher Tycoon Games, saying the games would benefit from a new impetus and vision, while offering their creators a “promising future”.

Ludonaute said in a new statement that, “We would have liked to pass on the other titles, but unfortunately, only successful games have the hope of a longer life.

“We have also made the decision to no longer publish new games, but not before the release this year of our last two titles that are particularly close to our hearts: Arigatō and Limit.”

Ludonaute had grown to a four-strong team over the years, with the company’s two game enthusiast founders being joined by business manager Bruno Chevalier and communication manager Manon du Plessis.

The statement from the team said, “In recent years, we have seen our profession slide from a small circle of enthusiasts to a professional economic sector where passion has given way to what we call ‘economic reality’.

“The decisions made in the name of this ‘economic realism’ are increasingly difficult to accept. What we need to learn to progress no longer really stems from a passion for gaming, but rather from fields like marketing, which do not appeal to us at all.

“It must also be said that the emotional and human commitment required to publish a game leads to a deep feeling of disappointment when success is not forthcoming. The frantic pace of releases to keep the company afloat forces us to bounce back very quickly, to move on too quickly, which can be difficult to live with.

“Furthermore, we have observed that there are too many games being produced today, and behind this
logic of overproduction lies a broader consumer society. We no longer find our way.

“We are therefore taking responsibility by deciding to no longer produce more, and, faced with the dilemma of ‘fighting within the system or getting out of it’, the response Cédric and Anne-Cécile want to provide is to take a step back.

“Cédric is also convinced that an economic contraction – sudden or gradual – is inevitable. From a personal perspective, he therefore prefers to begin to withdraw gently.”

Ludonaute is the second French board game publisher to call time on its business in the last month, with Tokaido publisher FunForge shutting down in August after 17 years of making games.

FunForge had faced years of financial struggles, which culminated in the drastic step of selling its entire line of Tokaido games to Wingspan publisher Stonemaier Games last year in a move it hoped would give the company breathing space to rebuild – and refocus – its business.

Fellow French publisher Mythic Games is also facing its end after years of high-profile financial struggles, although the company is yet to formally announce its dissolution.

The Ludonaute team said of its decision to sell its most popular titles last month, “We didn’t want to sell the company, but rather for it to gradually cease its publishing of new games.

“This company, which we created and grew, is a reflection of us. We don’t want it to fall into the hands of a large capitalist group. Symbolically, it’s a beautiful message of degrowth to say: we have decided to stop producing.

“So why did we sell Colt Express, Living Forest, and Lewis & Clark? For two main reasons. First, to ensure the continued income of the authors and illustrators who worked on these games.

“This guarantees that their creations will continue to live and generate income. Secondly, because the money from this sale allows Ludonaute to make this decision without financial stress, to give employees the opportunity to leave with greater peace of mind, and to finance a new, more personal project for Anne-Cécile and Cédric, with greater economic meaning.”

Ludonaute’s final two titles will be feudal Japan-themed card game Arigato, designed by Mélodye Ladrat and Florian Sirieix, and strategy title Limit, created by Alexandre Poyé, which sees players acting as nations facing crucial political decisions, resource management and anticipation of global crises.

The company said, “For us, gaming has always been both entertainment and a means of expression. Finishing with Arigato and Limit is to highlight these two facets.

“Arigato is the ultimate thrill, it’s the type of game Cédric prefers to develop. It was created by friends, and it embodies a desire that’s been latent since the beginning of Ludonaute.

“Arigatō is kind of the company’s latest guilty pleasure. We published it in record time, compared to other titles, a sign that this card combo game is, for us, an obvious play: addictive, interactive, a source of good times.

“Limit, for its part, has a truly political dimension, in the noblest sense of the term, meaning it talks about how relationships between people and with the planet are structured.

“It’s a game we also love for this aspect, and we are convinced that it can help us better understand the world we live in.

“It’s not moralistic: You can behave as you wish, but it does establish clear relationships between actions and results.”