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	Archive through August 19, 2026	25		08/19 07:13pm

Yeah, the resurgence of Battletech has been...surprising, and amazing.

I think I've mentioned elsewhere - you can literally go into your local Barnes & Noble booksellers and find it on the shelves, again, after...what...30 years?

Definitely proves that a solid design, with an enduring fan base to pass a torch, can carry something into the future.

(I mean, seriously, BT doesn't even HAVE a franchise to speak of - no movies, no live-action TV shows, etc)

By Steve Cole (Stevecole) on Wednesday, August 19, 2026 - 02:56 pm: Edit

There is another game topic where you can talk Battletech. We need to keep this topic focused.

By Xander Fulton (Dderidex) on Wednesday, August 19, 2026 - 03:40 pm: Edit

Yes and no. It's relevant, in a way.

The generations 'coming of age', now - Gen Z and Gen Alpha - have a mild dislike for the digital world and VERY STRONG DISTASTE for AI-related developments.

"That's AI" has become quite the slur for the modern kids. (Often used, as slurs are, for things very obviously *not* AI, but they just want to ridicule - but it's interesting given "that's AI" is seen as such a cutting insult)

Times are weird. Generation shift is happening, and the kids these days like physical media and tabletop board games, again.

Seeing how other game settings of similar time scale work with that...could be useful as a point of comparison for what can be done to expand, while staying within existing licensing frameworks.

(The tabletop Battletech license, as noted in the history above, is ALMOST as weirdly amazing/limiting/still-amazing as the SFU license, after all.)

By Dennis Surdu (Aegis) on Wednesday, August 19, 2026 - 05:59 pm: Edit

I think everyone here assumes that the SFB TOS license is transferrable. I am betting it is not which is why SVC said the game ends with him. Just speculating. If true it is sad to hear :-(

By Jessica Orsini (Jessica_Orsini) on Wednesday, August 19, 2026 - 07:13 pm: Edit

That is not the case, Dennis.

By Simon Duggan (Gamegater) on Wednesday, August 19, 2026 - 07:28 pm: Edit

@Dennis, Steve's post says "nobody can or is willing to take over". He also said the License is owned by the company. So yes, the license will stop with Steve when he closes ADB, unless someone purchases the Company/License from him.

By Stephen G. Parry (Mutant) on Wednesday, August 19, 2026 - 07:52 pm: Edit

@SVC, was I mistaken then, in the impression that you were working on a succession plan?

Please note that there are many of us out here, myself included, who are deeply grateful for the monumental effort and sacrifice you have invested in these games. I personally have derived huge pleasure from playing and collecting SFB through more than four decades.
You only have to measure the 3 inch thickness of the Captains Rulebook and the 5-6 inches of the combined Master Starship Books, let alone the SSD books, to marvel at how much work has gone into them. You have earned retirement dozens of times over. Even you are mortal. I just hope there can be some way to continue/preserve your legacy.

By Steve Cole (Stevecole) on Wednesday, August 19, 2026 - 08:20 pm: Edit

We are always working on a succession plan. We just don't have a workable one. All of us here want to retire so none of us are options. Efforts to sell the company haven't gone anywhere. The F&E staff is a good example of the limitations here, they're great guys who know that game as well as I do but none of them could afford to quit a day job to run the company and their part-time working produces a product every five years.

At the time of that previous question/answer, we were actively working on a deal with a buyer. Then due diligence rear it's ugly head and we discovered that one thing (not for public discussion so don't ask) that they had planned to do wasn't actually possible, so both sides shook hands and walked away as friends.

In a sudden death situation, say I get hit by a bus, Albert would try to negotiate as sale that preserves what he can of my legacy. Absent that, my lawyer would inherit the company and actively find a buyer, but he might not be so concerned about value or continuation. So the license would go on, the company would be absorbed, and the games would perhaps not continue.

By Steve Cole (Stevecole) on Wednesday, August 19, 2026 - 08:22 pm: Edit

Dennis: The license is transferable (ADB bought it from TFG) but tricky to transfer. (That transfer was possible because TFG owed a lot of royalties that ADB agreed to pay up front on condition they approved the transfer.) The only practical way at this point is for someone to buy the company, which isn't a big deal as we have no debt. A few big game companies would take it as a gift, trash all existing products, and start over, but that is not a workable plan on either point. I won't sell it for zero and I won't sell it to someone who doens't keep the current products in print.