Board Game Giant CMON Suffers Major Loss – Should We Be Worried?

CMON's $2M Loss – Another Mythic Games Disaster, or Just a Bump in the Road?

The board game world was recently rocked—or mildly shaken, depending on your outlook—by news that CMON (Cool Mini or Not), the crowdfunding behemoth behind Zombicide, Cthulhu: Death May Die, and Massive Darkness, is reporting a $1.4 to $2.1 million loss for 2024. If you're experiencing flashbacks to the Mythic Games meltdown… well, you’re not alone. Reddit is already on fire.

But is this really the end of days for CMON? Or is this just a rough patch for a company that’s been riding high for nearly a decade?

Let’s look beyond the chicken-little panic and into the full story.

📉 The Numbers Don't Lie… But They Need Context

First, the facts. CMON’s earnings, reported to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, indicate their 2024 loss contrasts sharply with their previous years:

• 2023: $0.8M profit
• 2022-2021: ~$1.8M profit
• 2019: ~$1.88M profit
• 2018: ~$2M profit
• 2017: $3.5M profit

That’s over $7M in profit across the last several years. So yes, the 2024 loss is significant—but it doesn’t erase the track record.

Also worth noting? They took a $5M hit in 2020 and still bounced back.

💸 Less Backer Hype = Less Money

CMON’s crowdfunding numbers took a nosedive in 2024, raising just $15.9 million, a far cry from the $45 million they pulled in during 2023 and 2022. That’s not a little dip—that’s a financial freefall. While that kind of money still sounds huge to your average indie publisher, it’s a massive red flag for a company that’s built its business model on consistently massive campaigns.

And that’s not all: cash reserves shrank by nearly 50%, dropping from $3.9M to $1.9M. In plain terms? They’ve got a lot less padding if 2025 turns out just as shaky. The loss of that financial buffer limits their flexibility. It means less room for delays, less breathing room for production hiccups, and a whole lot more pressure on their current campaigns to perform big—and fast.

We’re not in Mythic Games territory yet (no lawsuits, no abandoned games), but CMON’s margin for error has definitely narrowed. With multiple large projects in progress and fan expectations sky-high, there’s not a lot of slack in the line.

🧮 Is This Just Bad Business… or Normal Business?

Companies lose money. It happens. The economy has been a hot mess. Tariffs are up, freight costs are volatile, and inflation has taken a bite out of everyone’s wallet—including board gamers. But the key question here is: is CMON’s loss a normal bump in the business cycle… or the result of bad decisions?

One potential culprit? CMON’s exclusive move to Gamefound. It’s a bold switch, especially when Kickstarter still reigns supreme in sheer traffic and reach. While Gamefound offers advantages (like built-in pledge management), it hasn't yet proven that it can generate CMON-sized numbers. The platform move may have cut them off from impulse backers and casuals who browse Kickstarter like it’s Amazon for nerds.

Still, companies pivot platforms all the time. That’s not inherently a bad move—unless it’s combined with rising costs, lower consumer confidence, and a saturated market. That’s when strategic risk turns into actual losses. We’re not saying CMON is doing it wrong, but when everything’s shifting under your feet, even a good move can trip you up.

⚠️ The Mythic Games Comparison

You know who else had too many projects at once? Mythic Games. And that didn’t end well. That’s why some fans are having uncomfortable flashbacks watching CMON juggle 18+ active projects across crowdfunding and retail pipelines.

Some of these are completed (Metal Gear Solid is wrapped), but others, like Dungeons of Shadowreach, Zombicide: White Death, or Marvel Multiverse RPG, are still in development limbo. That’s a lot of moving parts. A lot of logistics. A lot of factories, freight routes, and fulfillment nightmares waiting to happen.

The concern isn’t that CMON will implode tomorrow. It’s that they might start stacking delays like pancakes, pushing timelines back further and further while fans grow impatient and the cost of production rises. The domino effect is real: slow production means delayed shipping, means frustrated backers, means less trust in the next campaign.

We’re not at the Mythic level of “abandon ship!” yet—but the warning signs are there. If CMON spreads itself too thin, it could find itself without the staff, budget, or goodwill to finish what it started.

🧠 The FOMO Engine Might Be Breaking

For years, CMON thrived on FOMO—Fear Of Missing Out. They mastered the art of crafting hype-heavy campaigns with minis galore, stretch goals to the moon, and enough Kickstarter exclusives to make collectors weep with joy (or despair). But FOMO has a shelf life.

Even CMON’s global marketing ambassador, David Waybright, recently acknowledged the challenge: “It’s important to find new CMON fans all the time.” Translation? The old ones are tapped out.

Fans have gotten wiser. They’ve seen the boxes pile up. They’ve realized they don’t actually play most of these games. Add to that tighter wallets, global economic uncertainty, and rising skepticism about endless expansions, and it’s no wonder the hype engine is starting to sputter.

FOMO can only carry you so far. If newer campaigns don’t deliver something truly fresh—or at least, reasonably priced—longtime backers won’t bite. And if the retail side doesn’t start pulling its weight, CMON may be forced to rethink its entire model.

This isn’t a doom prophecy. But the days of raising $10 million on a glorified dice game? They might be over.

🧩 So... Are We Doomed?

Not yet. CMON has a rough year, but they’re not in freefall. Their track record, IP library, and massive fanbase still matter. But they’ll need to tighten up, find fresh hits, and adapt their model to stay relevant.

If you’re a backer currently waiting on a game: don’t panic—but keep an eye out. If you’re CMON: maybe chill on the 18-projects-at-once thing.

And if you’re Mythic Games? Just keep your name out of CMON’s mouth.

Stay tuned to Land of Geek Magazine for more board game industry drama, insights, and dice-fueled chaos!

#BoardGameNews #CMON #Crowdfunding #TabletopGaming #GamefoundDrama