Great news everyone — Realm Runners is officially in Production 🎉

We want to first thank everyone here for your continued support, enthusiasm, and patience as we navigate these endlessly unpredictable times. It means the world to us as we get closer to getting Realm Runners on your table ❤️

You may have heard that the 145% tariff on China that completely paralyzed this project has been lessened to 30% for the next 90 days. To be clear, this still really sucks for us all. Basically what we are now dealing with is a 30% raise in costs which is nothing to celebrate. BUT it melts the ice enough for us to pave a path forward and get this game made.

While we are in production, these tariffs will still affect our timeline a bit as countless other people in our position are also moving forward with production at the same time. There is a bit of a log-jam effect going on both with manufacturing and (especially) freight. After speaking with our excellent manufacturers in China (Panda Game Manufacturing), here is a tentative look at our timeline moving forward. Keep in mind these dates can (and likely will) shift for better or for worse and we will relay any shifts as they happen:

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MASS PRODUCTION (typically takes 10-12 weeks) — production has begun! The first finished copy of Realm Runners, called the Mass Production Copy (MPC) will be shipped to us for final approval hopefully by late June or early July. This is the final checkpoint before assembly and shipping.

FINAL ASSEMBLY (typically 1-2 week) — after the MPC has been approved by us, Panda's production team will finish final assembly and prepare the products for shipping.

SHIPPING (TBD) — Once all the games are shipped form China to our USA warehouse (freight) we will begin shipping to all of you! The timeline for this will depend on the availability and cost of boats from China to USA. How the tariffs will affect freight timelines and costs are still a little blurry as of today.

📝 You can all expect BackerKit surveys once we know Realm Runners is on a boat heading our way. In the survey you will be able to confirm your shipping address and add any last minute items to your order. 

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If all goes as planned I'm hoping Realm Runners will land in our USA warehouse by early September. Of course it can be sooner or later than that, but the ecosystem is just so rattled by these tariffs that it is a bit unpredictable at the moment. If you do the math, this also puts us outside of the 90 day window for the 30% tariff. No one knows what will happen after that 90 days, but we're hoping the China tariff goes down further, not up. We will share all the ebbs and flows as they happen 📦
 

We will check back soon as more details, and a more solid timeline, emerge. And in case you missed it, check out the video below for an in-depth look at the final Realm Runners prototype.

Thanks again for your continued patience, and be on the lookout for more updates soon!

Jason Furie & Skinner ✌️