If you backed Hero Realms Dungeons, Robot Quest Arena, or the Star Realms Deluxe Colonial Collection, you have been waiting a long time. Wise Wizard Games, the publisher behind the popular Star Realms and Hero Realms deck-building series, is sitting on more than $2.5 million in undelivered crowdfunding projects, and the community is growing restless.
The company laid off key staff in November 2025, including its project director and customer experience manager, citing "rising costs and unstable US tariffs." Four campaigns remain unfulfilled: Hero Realms Dungeons (which raised over $1 million and was originally due February 2024), Robot Quest Arena: Bot Battle ($1.1 million, due June 2025), Star Realms Deluxe Colonial Collection ($300,000+, due November 2024), and Draconis 8 (due November 2025).
Hero Realms Dungeons is now over two years late. The company's owners say they have been working without compensation, and a February 2026 business update indicated the near-term focus would be cutting costs and increasing revenue rather than accelerating fulfilment. Saved dollars would keep the company operating first, with outstanding campaigns addressed after.
It is a tough position for a publisher that gave the hobby Star Realms, a deck-builder that helped define the genre's accessible, portable format. The base game remains well-regarded on BoardGameGeek. But trust is harder to maintain when backers hand over money and hear little for months at a time. A recent Reddit discussion shows a divided community. Some want to support a publisher they love through a rough patch. Others argue that launching new products while old promises remain unfulfilled is hard to defend.
Wise Wizard has said it is not giving up. But for backers watching the February update prioritise cost-cutting over fulfilment, actions will need to follow words.
Sources: BoardGameWire | ICv2 | Reddit
