The Root publisher is rebuilding after a staff exodus earlier this year that included star designer Cole Wehrle and style-defining artist Kyle Ferrin, who left to form Buried Giant Studios.
Bender and Badell, who launched the business in 2011 alongside Adam Rebottaro, have reacquired the brand and the rights for the Sentinels of the Multiverse titles alongside their other original IP such as the Sentinel Comics RPG.
Fate of the Fellowship's flurry of wins and runner-up nods continues a powerful run in the Golden Geeks for games based on JRR Tolkien's seminal novels, with Bryan Bornmueller's The Fellowship of the Ring - Trick-Taking Game and Antoine Bauza and Bruno Cathala's Duel for Middle-earth both having secured wins in last year's contest.
SETI's rapid success is striking following a year which has seen many publishers pivoting to smaller box titles over more heavyweight designs, as a response to economic factors such as US tariff volatility, as well as gamers having less money to spend due to inflation and general cost of living struggles.
The acquisition comes just over a month after Asmodee agreed to pay up to €250m for French social and party game publisher ATM Gaming, the publisher of titles including Speed Bac/Quickstop, Mouton Mouton and Pili Pili.
Universal said it is waiving all registration fees to celebrate the inaugural US Universal Summit, which will continue its predecessor's slate of game demos, panels and workshops, vendor exhibit hall and networking opportunities.
UK-based Gutter Games, which was launced in 2017, is best known for dexterity challenge party game Beat That!, and has also published adult-themed party titles including Gutterhead and Trunk of Drunk.
ioGioco said the tabletop gaming sector continues to prove "particularly vibrant", with the market in Italy seeing a 27% rise in value last year compared to 2024 according to data from research company Circana.
Roxley Games' Brass: Pittsburgh has raised $9.1m in the biggest board game crowdfund of 2026 so far - and one of the top ten tabletop gaming raises of all time. Roxley CEO Gavan Brown, who co-designed the game alongside original Brass creator Martin Wallace, spoke to BoardGameWire about soaring past his expectations for the crowdfund, avoiding the 'arms race' of deluxe editions, the advantages of Gamefound over Kickstarter and overcoming the campaign's biggest mis-step.
Childres founded Cephalofair in 2014 to self-publish his first game, Forge War, and subsequently struck huge success with his fantasy co-op campaign designs Gloomhaven and Frosthaven.
