It’s that time of year where company presidents look into the future, comparing what it costs to produce and create game products today versus what it did last year–and how those costs will change in the year to come. No one likes to raise prices, but doing so is a necessity. Paizo is not immune to economic factors like inflation, nor industry-wide fluctuations in cost-of-goods, labor, or shipping and logistics, and we must periodically adjust our prices to reflect rising costs. Let’s break things down.
Bounties, Quests, and Scenarios (PDF)
Bounties and Quests are standalone short digital adventures, usually designed to be played for up to 2 hours. We’ll be increasing the price of these from $4.99 to $5.99.
Society scenarios are adventures suitable for a single gaming session of around 4-5 hours. Many are part of an overarching theme for a particular year, so it’s possible to weave an entire campaign out of these scenarios one session at a time. Currently, scenarios are priced at $5.99 for “regular” scenarios and $7.99 for higher-level scenarios, which are generally longer and take longer to develop and edit. Very soon, we will standardize the price for ALL Society scenarios (regardless of level) to $8.99. Special “interactive” scenarios will increase from $14.99 to $19.99.
These price changes will be retroactive for all previously released products as of October 25th. If you have some gaps in your collection going back to the very beginning of Pathfinder Society in 2007, you may wish to backfill your collection before these new prices go into effect.
Other PDF Products
We don’t plan any other PDF price changes beyond what we announced last year.
Price Changes
We will be increasing prices on accessories, softcover, and hardcover books. The amount of this increase varies by product type, but here are some examples.
- Flip-Mats: $19.99 (+$3)
- Flip-Mat Multi-Pack: $29.99 (+$5)
- 96-page Adventure Paths: $29.99 (+$3)
- Pocket Editions will range in price from $26.99 to $34.99 based on page count.
- Hardcover prices will vary in price based on page count. That might seem obvious, but it’s a change from us keeping MSRP the same across wide page counts. Here are a couple of baseline examples.
- 128-page: $44.99
- 192-page: $59.99
- 256-page: $69.99
- 304-page plus map: $79.99
- Special Edition covers add an additional $20 to the retail price.
You’ll see the above price changes reflected in products that begin releasing in April of 2024, as well as reprints of older products.
Holding the Line on the Core
Contrary to what I’ve outlined above, we’ll keep the price of the hardcover Core books (Player Core, GM Core, Monster Core, and Player Core 2) at $59.99 through at least the first printing. We feel these books are essential first purchases for Pathfinder players and want to hold the line on price increases as long as possible to reduce the barrier of entry for new players.
Paizo and the Environment
For years, Paizo has printed our products using ecologically friendly soy-based ink rather than petroleum or other vegetable-based inks. Soy ink results in richer and more vibrant colors that require less ink on every page. We’ll definitely keep soy inks in Paizo products, but I wanted you to know about it, since it’s not something we’ve made a big deal about or discussed in the past.
What is new is that we’re changing to FSC-certified paper. This means that the paper Paizo uses will come from ecologically sourced forests that prohibit deforestation (replacing the trees they harvest with new growth), require biodiversity and old forests to be protected, protect the rights of Indigenous Peoples, and ensure that Paizo has a sustainable source of paper for many years to come. To learn about the Forest Stewardship Council or delve into the certification process visit their website.
Paizo is not switching to recycled paper, which is significantly more expensive and has a vastly different look and feel. FSC paper is a mix of new and recycled paper, and you won’t be able to tell the difference between new products and old ones without looking for the FSC label.
We’re making changes in shipping supplies as well. We’ve switched to using starch peanuts and air pockets in store shipments. We’re also phasing out the use of foam packing corners (for cardboard ones) and have switched all of consumer box packaging from U-Line to Alliance Packaging, who use an average of 50% recycled paper in their boxes. Your products will continue to be shipped as safely and securely as we can make them, only with more thought put into the environmental impact of what we do.
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