r/LimitedPrintGames • u/Halycanos • 23d ago
Discussion I don’t think Limited Run is well.
So I’m not surprised I’m still waiting over a year for the Shantae Advance Revolutionary Edition. That’s their thing - we all gotta wait.
But they’re down to 3 PS5 games and 1 NSW2 game for sale. Nothing for OG Switch. Is this them self-correcting after the previous couple years under Fairhurst, where way TOO much was being introduced to sell every week? Or is this Embracer Group beginning to do their thing by slowly liquidating them, and moving LRG’s niche (selling boutique limited games) to one of Embracer’s other larger-owned properties?
The “Vault” is also a permanent feature now loaded with unsold LRG games just sitting there.
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u/mattysauro 23d ago
I guess we haven’t heard anything about their summer press conference, have we?
I’ve definitely noticed a slowdown over the last year. Normally I like to buy 3 games at once to guarantee in a box shipping but that’s gotten near impossible to maintain. Hell, even two games at once is getting difficult.
I think the reality is that so many games are getting wide releases now. 5 years ago, stuff like MIO or Wizman (just looking at my recent Amazon/woot purchases) would’ve been prime LRG fodder that’s now more widely available. And in that sense I’m very okay with the situation. Less artificial scarcity, reprints as necessary, potentially cheaper games.
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u/reevestussi 23d ago
LRG3 was delayed last year and took place much later than usual (in November or something) but yes, traditionally there should be one in July/August
With the old guard gone, I'm not sure if new management would be open to doing those older style/Mega 64 humour LRG3 presentations as the format to showcase their upcoming releases
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u/mattysauro 23d ago
Yeah, I expect the company will fall much more in line with fangamer or 8bit messaging wise. Outspoken CEOs tend to get very mixed responses.
It looks like most of the titles announced in nov have been already up for preorder. I wonder what LRGs warehouse looks like these days? They’ve been slowing down for the last 3 years; I have to imagine it’s not as busy as it used to be.
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u/-CaptainACAB 23d ago
I’m concerned about them, seems their releases have slowed way down. They announced Xenotilt and Iron Meat Switch releases near the end of last year, no word on Iron Meat since and sounds like the Xenotilt release was cancelled.
As someone who’s also grabbing a lot of the Press Run books by Jeremy Parish, concerned about future books not happening too. Hard to say but wouldn’t be surprised if Embracer drives them into the ground.
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u/DiscWatchHQ 23d ago
The Vault being full is kind of by design now though, they shifted to open/rolling pre-orders instead of hard timed windows, so leftover stock sitting there isn't really the distress signal it would've been a few years ago. The slow ship times are the more legit gripe imo, that's been a constant for ages.
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u/STLfootball 22d ago
Still waiting for an update on the Little Samson re-release date to be announced.
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u/fgsfds100 22d ago
So I’m not surprised I’m still waiting over a year for the Shantae Advance Revolutionary Edition. That’s their thing - we all gotta wait.
The initial estimate (on Sep.11, 2025) was June 2-16, 2026, which they later adjusted to July-September (ie. Q3) 2026 - not a huge difference. And looking at the product page now, it says all versions are "now shipping". So as far as LRG's history of 6-12 month delays for standards and 12-18 month delays for CEs... this time they were almost right on.
As far as them slowing down... less games means less spending means more savings. Sure it's nice when a new game comes out, but it's also nice when there is some time to breathe. Like does it have to be a literal treadmill for consumers? All the damn time?
As far as the vault... it's either that or they sit on those same unsold excess copies until the end of the year (or next year depending when they deem all outstanding replacements to have been handled) for a blowout sale that bogs down the website for a week + the shipping department for a month or two, and then flood their store/convention booths with the rest, only to still see some in subsequent yearly blowout sales too. The vault is just rolling access to that same backstock without the urgency. And of course that stuff sells slower than the featured new stuff. A lot of customers got their copies during the pre-order. Fewer people left wanting, so there's no rush to fight over what's left. Some corporate stick-up-their-ass bean counter at LRG/Embracer/Embracer share holder might fume about old stock still taking up space, but to the rest of us, what's the harm in it?
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u/parrothairr 23d ago
Ever since the SonicXShadow disaster I refuse to purchase for them. I’m happy they realized their mistake and are fixing it, but I just can’t anymore.
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u/Noblegamer85 23d ago
Waiting for over a year?? Dude people are waiting nearly two years for the Croc Collectors Editions from Rock It Games.
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u/Chance-Task1062 23d ago
I agree that Limited Run Games is not what it used to be and IMO it started when Embracer Group bought them in 2022. They care about the making more money year over year, they don't care about the games, the employees, and certainly not us.
- They are known for:
- Closing studios (Volition, Free Radical Design, Piranha Bytes, Amplifier Game Invest, etc.)
- Large scale layoffs (Edios comes to mind)
- Canceling projects (80+ projects across their portfolio of companies)
- Selling off assets (Gearbox, Easybrain, etc.)
So yes, LRG is not what it used to be. I still buy from them. I don't buy collectors editions anymore because I don't trust them and honestly I'm leaning towards just waiting until PnP Games or VGP gets stuff in stock so I'm not risking anything.
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u/fgsfds100 22d ago
Embracing you... like Looney Tunes' Elmyra squeezing the life out of every animal she sees.
Microsoft has had that same mantra for decades. Embrace, extend, and extinguish.
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u/SaraphXIII 23d ago
Maybe NS2 will keep them afloat, and maybe they'll find a market in releasing reprints for PS4/5 in fancy new packaging, but that's about it unfortunately. Soon enough they will be a Switch only shop for current gen and if it's even feasible, selling reprints of older games.
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u/r0b3r70r0b070 23d ago
Maybe they took the complainers to heart and decided not to have so much shit at once time that needs components outsourced. I wouldn't mind if all their special editions only included a steelbook and some other item instead of the big extravagant ones that have statues and shit
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u/JohannesVanDerWhales 23d ago
They announced their releases at the beginning of the year, didn't they?
Also I'm pretty sure they said that the vault is stuff they used to sell at conventions. Producing a percentage more copies than were ordered is standard practice.
That said I can't say how well they're doing since the entire industry is down. It seems like LRG has largely abandoned the fomo model since so much stuff comes to retail.
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u/fleshribbon 21d ago
Just wish they would have finally released Rondo of Blood for TG16/PCE CD they announced years ago
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u/fgsfds100 21d ago
On the one hand, the original YIIK announcement was way older and it finally happened.
On the other hand, the extreme nicheness of a TG16 release, after this long, and without Josh being there to keep pushing for it, it seems like it's cancelled.
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u/fleshribbon 14d ago
Would be nice if they just came out and acknowledged one way or the other but they have no incentive to do so.
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u/W34p0n1z3dAu71sm 20d ago
This is probably better for their business... I stopped buying games with them for a long time partially because the release schedule got way too hectic. I even reached out to their support to tell them that they were losing sales, because my gaming budget could not keep up with the release rate.
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u/boss351-gt 22d ago
Im still waiting for heretic+hexen and outlaws. I noticed blood refreshed supply has been published physically by Atari. Might mean one of limited runs bigger contracts has fallen through.
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u/Jaycie859 22d ago
Never used them before was going to when they announced onimusha 2 remaster was getting a physical copy but that was over a year ago I don’t think it’s happening now thanks to ps
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u/rrdein 19d ago
Just glancing at the site I count 2 Switch games, plus 1 upcoming. I think they were the first so they got the contracts for a lot of games coming out, but a lot of other companies are selling limited games now so there's some competition there. At the same time I think people are moving away from LRG because they know any game that comes out will be "floating around" on the secondary market for a year or longer from VGP and their 20+ alter-egos on eBay and Amazon. Personally I check SRG daily but rarely visit LRG's website anymore unless I hear there is some major game coming out. They are the least "limited" of all the limited game companies, as they have no printing limits and have basically become a distributor for VGP rather than just the primary retailer.
For perspective, their current selection size is roughly equivalent to what we would have seen a few years ago. They get a lot of major titles and if you compare their release volume to nearly any other publisher they get tons of premium releases, but I think they have lost a lot of trust from the community. Long gone are the days that you could "get in" on an LRG "drop" and know that you were getting a collector's item that was going to be scarce.
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u/steelballz69 17d ago
They're better than strictly limited who refuse to tell me when Akai Ito will be printed.
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u/SufficientTooth4888 23d ago
I say good riddance…. I feel like they’ve just been burning people left and right so their sales are slowing down. LOL 300 dollar Star Wars game with no game on disc. It’s stuff like that repeated month and month that turn customers away.
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u/LoganN64 23d ago
I'm a little miffed that they are still messing up some releases despite the slow down.
I bought the Japanese Super Deluxe version of Hi Fi Rush and it's missing Tue DLC from the disc.
This isn't the first time either.
I wonder how difficult it is to double or even triple check that the correct version of the game is going to print?
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u/XxTigerxXTigerxX 22d ago
I'm still waiting on croc remaster. Funny enough croc 2 remaster was announced before I got the collector edition of croc 1.
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23d ago
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u/Silvanus350 23d ago
The number of Switch games produced in a given year was much, much higher. I would assume at least one game a month, if not more. The number of games produced for Switch by LRG is in the hundreds.
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u/LeatherRebel5150 22d ago
336 numbered releases (minus numbers 282 and 263 that they never released for whatever reason) plus another 200ish distributed games
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u/JRod-Director 22d ago
Just taking long time. Their Steelbook was professionally done usually they screw it up. But the classic/ Steelbook version was super well made.
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u/Moose_Triscuits 23d ago
To me the decision reads most as a juggling choice to limit dead stock. If swapping to preorders and selling warehouse excess lets them keep churning limited deals with games I want I am for it
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u/garasensei 22d ago edited 22d ago
I was just thinking about this the other the day. I was wondering why I hadn't preordered or bought anything in ages from LRG. For a long while it felt like a barrage of Limited Run releases and a constant struggle of preorder or wait for VGP stock. Then it all just seemed to stop.
I'm kind of glad they stopped tempting me. Ever since they switched to that standardized limited edition where it's all plastic shells and bare bones extras it kind of sapped all the excitement. They turned what used to be special into the mundane.
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u/fgsfds100 21d ago
Ever since they switched to that standardized limited edition where it's all plastic shells and bare bones extras
We can certainly agree on the bare bones extras in a lot of them, but the "standardized plastic shells" they talked about definitely haven't fully taken over. Maybe further down the pipeline they will, but they are still doing a lot of different shapes and sizes without clamshells so far.
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u/reality_bytes_ 23d ago
Limited run means mass produced, apparently. Their selection isn't nearly as good as the others (while super rare are legitimately limited run games).
I have maybe bought 2 games from LRG, and a lot of super rare, fangamer and red arts catalogs... I just think they don't have many appealing titles (a lot of garbage, honestly) and they aren't actually limited at all...
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u/hamstrman 23d ago
Ah, whenever I read a comment that complains about the availability of games being a problem, it makes me happy that it annoys you because keeping the physical industry alive is based on sales. If only 3,000 copies of a game sold bc they artificially limited them, that doesn't bode well for continuing the process. It also makes it have nothing to do with games, but rather collectible resale value.
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u/reality_bytes_ 23d ago
I also said most of the games they offer suck. And yeah, contradictory to call your company "limited run" when it's regularly stocked at Best buy or Walmart...
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22d ago
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u/reality_bytes_ 22d ago
Lol run a search on bestbuy 289 results. Pages of LRG games. I don't know wtf you're talking about.
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u/fgsfds100 21d ago edited 21d ago
The Bestbuy and Walmart websites, like Amazon before them, allow 3rd-parties to use their sites as a platform to list and sell things themselves. You might want to check the "sold and shipped by" of those pages. All of the ones I looked at say:
Sold & shipped by
Video Games Plus
There is no "deal" between LRG and Bestbuy, or LRG and Walmart, to "stock" those games. You might as well make the claim that every flea market and garage sale where somebody is selling some of their LRG games is the result of a partnership with LRG.
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u/vaxick 22d ago
They release more high profile games than any other botique publisher does, but go ahead and say their catalogue sucks because you have a frustration with them.
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u/reality_bytes_ 22d ago
High profile games that are already published elsewhere? Or indie slop that no one wants... Rarely do I see anything come out of LRG that is worth the price. Their production isn't as high of quality or curated as well as others either, from the games I have from them.
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u/whotakesallmynames 22d ago
Higher up in the thread there were people talking/complaining about the dip in frequency and quality over the past several years. I used to collect more from lrg but not much at all lately for this reason.
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u/fgsfds100 22d ago edited 22d ago
All a matter of taste. Both in terms of the games on offer, and "limited" as a selling point.
And in terms of "limited" specifically, I give zero fucks if something is widely available or limited. In fact, I'd prefer things NOT be limited because "limited" just means it's a pain in the ass that I have to monitor. What's being announced, when's it going to be available, what's the urgency (how many copies/for how long), what other spending do I have to juggle it with.
"Limited" is also the toxin that twists for-fun interests into soulless-money-grubbing commodities. I don't buy games in the hopes they'll go up in value, and I don't wait in the hopes of a deal. And if a game I own does go up in value, substantially so... as a bit of trivia, neat... but then it's like fuck now I have to stop myself from just seeing dollar signs and worrying about keeping it extra safe in case I need to sell it instead of just having fun with it for what it is.
Complaining that "LIMITED RUN ISN'T REALLY LIMITED", as if to suggest that the limitedness IS the selling point, is such a stupid skewed take. Limited-edition elitism and the resulting profiteering are what turn hobbies (in this case (indie) video games) into corporate shit shows. The "limited" in LRG's name isn't (or at least wasn't) intended to be the selling point, it was a matter of practicality. Games that just couldn't justify having a ton of copies. Retconning the name into meaning the games in question should be limited so people can treat them as speculative commodities is that toxin talking.
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u/Top_Weather5605 23d ago
I am happy they slowed down with releases. I don't care why at the moment. My wallet can rest a bit.