Fantasy Flight Interactive, a video game studio launched in 2017 by board game company Fantasy Flight Games, will close in February. Studio head Tim Gerritsen made the announcement in a message posted on LinkedIn, saying that he is currently working to help employees find new positions. The studio is located in Madison, Wisconsin.

"It is with great sadness that I must report that we have decided to close Fantasy Flight Interactive next month. I am proud of the team and the games we have dedicated ourselves to over the past few years," Gerritsen wrote.

"It has been an amazing journey with even more amazing people. I will do everything in my power to put the team in new positions. I will do everything in my power to get our programmers, designers, artists, QA staff, and producers into new positions. Additionally, I will be seeking new opportunities as I myself will be losing my job.

Fantasy Flight Interactive released its first and only game, The Lord of the Rings: the Living Card Game on Steam Early Access in August 2018. The full release, as The Lord of the Rings: Adventure Card Game, was released a year later, but failed to find an audience despite early expectations: according to Steam Charts, the number of simultaneous players peaked at 226 in September 2018 but quickly dropped to double-digit player counts. The full launch temporarily pushed it back into the low 100s, but the highest concurrent player count since September 2019 was only 86.

Update: Asmodee Digital said in a statement that despite Fantasy Flight Interactive's closure, The Lord of the Rings: the adventure card game will continue to be supported.

"We regret the impending closure of FFI next month and want to thank them for their hard work and fruitful collaboration over the past few years.

"The Lord of the Rings": Adventure Card Game - Definitive Edition will be released on PC (Steam) in December 2019 and on consoles (PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch, Xbox One) in It will be available in early 2020. We will continue to support the game's servers, including the co-op multiplayer mode, after FFI's closure to ensure an optimal experience for players adventuring in Middle-earth."