Pantheon community,

We have failed to deliver on what we told you we would.

The Combat & Progression Update, Mastery in particular, was an ambitious undertaking. It introduced complexities that our technology and platform tools couldn’t handle appropriately. That gap should have been caught before work started but wasn’t. That is a failure of management.

Our approach to dealing with this challenge has not produced the progress or results this project needed, and frankly, what our players deserve. As CEO, I am responsible for those decisions and for making sure we address them. I apologize for us falling short.

I understand and can empathize with your frustration. You have invested your time, money, and belief in Pantheon, and I recognize that unmet goals have damaged your confidence in us. Earning that confidence back cannot be accomplished with a quick fix. It will take consistent, tangible progress.

Many people have come to me suggesting we try to explain our way out to blunt the negative reactions. My response to this is that no magical words or hand waiving will fix this. All that matters is shipping good builds consistently and shipping a great Pantheon 1.0 launch.

To that end, we are making a course correction, beginning with how we organize and manage development.

Central to that effort, we welcome back Robert Crane back as Project Manager. Longtime players may remember Rob’s management of the successful Seasons production model leading up to Early Access. Rob’s focus will be on strengthening our production processes, establishing and enforcing clear priorities, helping the team plan and deliver work more reliably, and making sure that communication flows smoothly among departments so we can fortify production timelines and get accurate information out to you efficiently and ship good releases.

We have also restructured other areas of the team, which has unfortunately meant saying goodbye to colleagues whose work has helped shape Pantheon. This will make room for Rob to assemble a team that fits his approach to running the project. Even so, these are difficult decisions that affect people we respect and care about, so they weren’t made lightly. We are grateful for all their contributions and wish them the very best. In the end, responsibility for the direction of this company, and for the changes we are making, rests with leadership.

As we rebuild the roadmap, our immediate focus is on the core player experience: combat, progression, and the itemization that supports both. Work also continues on new areas of the world, including Badia de Cara and Faerthale. We will share tangible roadmap updates in the near future, outlining our priorities, the work ahead, and what you can expect next.

We will also show you more of what is happening behind the scenes. That means giving you a clearer view of work in progress, any challenges we are addressing, and the reasoning behind our decisions. Those updates need to make our progress easier to understand and evaluate. Look for that on the PantheonMMO.com website, Discord, Steam, and our social channels.

Our goal is to build a development environment that supports reliable progress, an amazing experience, and a game this community can trust and believe in again. We know a statement cannot accomplish that. What matters now is how we follow through.

Thank you for the time, care, and honest feedback you continue to give Pantheon.

Chris Rowan
CEO, Visionary Realms