Eight years ago I walked through the doors of a converted warehouse on the edge of Saint Paul and made my way through a back staircase to the still unfinished second floor. I wandered around a bit before I got to a set of doors with a single sheet of paper taped to the door with the words “Leder Games” printed on it. Inside the bare office, there were four desks facing each other. I hauled in my home computer and a few books and set up camp on Patrick’s right side. Though the office didn’t inspire much confidence, I couldn’t believe my luck. I had somehow found my way into a position at one of the most exciting studios in tabletop. Within a few days, I would be at work on my first game for a general audience. That game would transform Leder Games and the lives of the folks who helped create it.
In the years since, Root’s success helped us move offices twice and allowed Leder Games to triple its staff, creating one of the most remarkable teams in the tabletop industry. Facing a similar success, any other company would have mandated a steady supply of tchotchkes and derivative expansions. However, Patrick had the confidence to let us set our sights on farther horizons. He offered every team member room to explore their ideas and supported each and every one of my own projects. The success of those games was a testament to the strength of the studio as a whole.
At the same time, these games offered a challenge for the creative direction of the company and for Patrick’s original vision for Leder Games. Over the past few months we’ve pursued several possible paths forward and have arrived at something deeply fair-minded and almost singular in the history of the tabletop industry. I suppose it shouldn’t surprise anyone that Patrick and his team would find a way to innovate even at a moment like this.
In the coming weeks Kyle and I will be forming an entirely new company called Buried Giant Studios with my brother Drew, Ted Caya, and some of our longstanding collaborators. Leder Games has agreed to sell us ownership of both Oath and Arcs, and we look forward to supporting both titles while also developing new games. In the short term, we will be handling the fulfillment of Oath: New Foundations and will be working on a new expansion to Arcs. We will have much more to say about those plans soon.
Root will remain at Leder Games. In addition, if additional illustration is needed, Kyle will be able to support the game. I’m happy to take a look at whatever new factions the team might cook up, though the world of Root has no shortage of talented designers and interesting ideas.
It has been a great pleasure to serve as the Creative Director at Leder Games and to help this team make some remarkable games. Over the years, I have been consistently amazed by their attention to detail, their professionalism, and their abiding kindness. It has been an honor to work with everyone here and to play my part in helping these games come to life.
Both Kyle and I wish the remaining team at Leder Games the best of luck. It has been an incredible privilege to be part of its story over the past eight years and we cannot wait to see what they do next.