Hasbro fails to reboot Heroscape, so the game will be shelved indefinitely

Hasbro’s attempt to reboot Heroscape, the beloved miniatures wargame first published in 2004, ended in failure overnight on Wednesday. The crowdfunding campaign hosted on the company’s own HasLab platform was unable to earn enough pre-orders to bring the project to life. In a statement provided to Polygon, the Rhode Island-based gaming giant said that the project would be shelved indefinitely.

“As of the deadline for the HeroScape: Age of Annihilation, Vanguard Edition HasLab project, we are short of the goal needed to start production on this wonderful game,” Hasbro said. “As we said during the campaign if this project doesn’t meet its goal, we won’t be able to produce Age of Annihilation. That has not changed. HeroScape as a project will be shelved, and there are no current plans to attempt a resurrection at this time. The Avalon Hill team will refocus our efforts on the exciting games we currently have coming soon, such as the next HeroQuest Game System expansion, Mage of the Mirror, or the upcoming Yawning Portal D&D strategy board game.”

HasLab was launched in 2018 with a campaign for Jabba’s Sail Barge, a playset compatible with classic Kenner action figures as well as Hasbro’s own toys. The platform was also vital in bringing the classic board game HeroQuest back to life, as well as several Transformers and Marvel-themed toys. This is not the first time a HasLab campaign has failed, but it is the first time that a board game has failed on HasLab.

Today’s news adds to a difficult week for Hasbro. The publicly-traded company received a rare double downgrade of its stock by Bank of America on Monday. Researchers at the financial institution claim that it’s pushing the Magic: The Gathering brand too hard, overprinting cards and “killing its golden goose.”