Paizo

Paizo Inc. (originally Paizo Publishing.[2][3]) is an American role-playing game publishing company based in Redmond, Washington, best known for the tabletop role-playing game Pathfinder. The company's name is derived from the Greek word παίζω paizō, which means 'I play' or 'to play'. Paizo also runs an online retail store selling role-playing games, gaming aids, board games, comic books, toys, clothing and other products, and has an Internet forum community.

For the Angolan footballer named Salomão Manuel Troco, see Paizo (footballer).
Paizo Publishing
Founded2002
Country of originUnited States
Headquarters locationRedmond, Washington
DistributionDiamond Book Distributors[1]
Key peopleLisa Stevens, Erik Mona, James Jacobs, F. Wesley Schneider, James L. Sutter, Jason Bulmahn
Publication typesRole-playing games, board games, Books
Fiction genresscience fiction, fantasy
Official websitepaizo.com

History

Paizo was formed by Lisa Stevens, Vic Wertz, and Johnny Wilson in 2002 to take over publication of the Dungeons & Dragons magazines Dragon and Dungeon, formerly published in-house by Wizards of the Coast.[4] Paizo publisher Erik Mona is the former editor-in-chief of Dragon, while former editor-in-chief of Dungeon James Jacobs now oversees the Pathfinder periodicals.

The company started producing a bimonthly magazine called Undefeated in 2003,[5] and in 2004 resurrected the venerable science fiction title Amazing Stories.[6] The two publications were placed on hiatus in 2005, and finally canceled in 2006.[7]

In early 2007, Wizards of the Coast announced it would not renew Paizo's license to publish Dragon and Dungeon, leaving a five year run from September 2002 to September 2007.[8][9][10][11]

Paizo's subsequently began the periodical Pathfinder Adventure Path, which continues the concept featured in Dungeon of monthly installments of adventures that tell a self-contained story. These Adventure Paths are set in the world of Golarion, the official Pathfinder campaign setting. Paizo announced on March 18, 2008, that they would be launching the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game.[12] Through the new product line, Paizo would modify, update, maintain, and publish the 3.5 System Reference Document (under Wizards of the Coast's Open Gaming License). The Pathfinder Roleplaying Game would also support Paizo's Pathfinder campaign setting. In March 2008 Paizo also announced that it was introducing an organized play program called "Pathfinder Society Organized Play". The program was loosely modeled on the RPGAs "Living" campaigns. Additional products in the Pathfinder line include Pathfinder modules and Pathfinder Tales novels.

In May 2016, Paizo announced a new space fantasy role-playing game, Starfinder Roleplaying Game, released in August 2017.[13][14][15][16][17][18] It is set in a possible future of the Pathfinder setting where Golarion has disappeared.

In May 2018, Paizo announced it was working on a second edition of Pathfinder to refine elements of the rule set to reflect feedback and clarification on the original system over the prior years. The preliminary ruleset was published in August 2018 as Pathfinder Playtest so that players could test out and provide feedback.[19] The final rule set was released on August 1, 2019.[20]

On June 15, 2020, Paizo announced CEO Lisa Stevens was going to step down from daily operations in preparation for her retirement.[21]

Other Paizo products include the Titanic Games line of boardgames such as Kill Doctor Lucky,[22] and the Planet Stories line of classic fantasy, science fiction and science fantasy novels.[23]

References
  1. "Publishers". diamondbookdistributors.com. 2015-01-07. Retrieved 2020-06-16.
  2. "Paizo / Press / Archive / 2013". paizo.com. 2013-01-17. Retrieved 2020-06-16.
  3. "Paizo / Press / Archive / 2014". paizo.com. 2014-03-11. Retrieved 2020-06-16.
  4. "paizo.com - Forums / PaizoCon: General Discussion: The History of Paizo". paizo.com.
  5. Magazine Publishers of America (2003). "New & Noted 2003 Magazines: January-December 2003". MPA Website:The Definitive Source of the Magazine Industry. Magazine Publishers of America. Archived from the original on 2008-02-10. Retrieved 2008-02-05.
  6. Bova, Ben (December 26, 2004). "Local action can change the world, one word at a time". Naples Daily News. Retrieved 2008-02-05.
  7. "Amazing Stories Ends Run". Sci Fi Weekly (563). March 27, 2006. Archived from the original on January 1, 2007. Retrieved 2008-02-05.
  8. "Paizo Publishing to Cease Publication of Dragon and Dungeon". Wizards of the Coast. 2007-04-19. Retrieved 2007-04-19. (press release)
  9. Magazine Publishers of America (2003). "Defunct or Suspended Magazines 2007". MPA Website:The Definitive Source of the Magazine Industry. Magazine Publishers of America. Archived from the original on 2007-06-26. Retrieved 2008-02-05.
  10. Paige Wiser (2007-07-01). "Found: A subscription for happiness in life". Chicago Sun Times. p. A18.
  11. Julie Bartel (2005-07-01). "The Good, The Bad, and the Edgy". School Library Journal. p. 35.
  12. "Paizo Publishing Announces the Pathfinder RPG". Retrieved 2008-07-10.
  13. "Announcing the Starfinder Roleplaying Game!". Paizo.com.
  14. "'Starfinder' Brings Fan Favorite Fantasy Tabletop RPG to Space". Waypoint. 2017-08-17. Retrieved 2018-07-06.
  15. "Retrieve 'Starfinder RPG.' Priority One. All Other Priorities Rescinded. - GeekDad". GeekDad. 2017-05-20. Retrieved 2018-07-06.
  16. "Starfinder hopes to do for space opera what D&D has done for fantasy". Polygon. Retrieved 2018-07-06.
  17. "Starfinder is here, and it's fantastic". Polygon. Retrieved 2018-07-06.
  18. "Syrinscape Picks Up License for Starfinder! | Gameosity". Gameosity. 2017-03-16. Retrieved 2018-07-06.
  19. Hall, Charlie (May 10, 2018). "Pathfinder, with roots in a decades-old strain of D&D, is launching a second edition". Polygon. Retrieved May 10, 2018.
  20. Gavin Sheenan (March 6, 2019). "Paizo Officially Announces Pathfinder Second Edition Release Date". BleedingCool.com. Retrieved April 29, 2019.
  21. "Paizo / Press". paizo.com. 2020-06-15. Retrieved 2020-06-16.
  22. Edwin Wong (2008-01-19). "Oddball diversions". New Straits Times Local. p. 16.
  23. John Baichtal (2008-02-05). "Geekdad - "Planet Stories" Revives the Best of Pulp Fiction". Wired News. Retrieved 2008-02-09.
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