Former Arkham Horror LCG lead dev Maxine Newman joins Earthborne Rangers studio as eco card game's lead designer

The co-creator and former lead developer for the Arkham Horror living card game has reunited with the game’s ex-creative director at newfounded studio Earthborne Games, where she’ll work on its debut co-op card game Earthborne Rangers as lead designer.

Maxine ‘MJ’ Newman departed Fantasy Flight Games last week, having spent more than a decade working on the publisher’s living card games including The Lord of the Rings: The Card Game and Arkham Horror: The Card Game. She co-created and headed up the latter as lead developer for six years, creating eight campaigns before concluding her time on the game with its biggest expansion to date, The Scarlet Keys, in late 2022.

A week after her departure from Fantasy Flight, it’s been revealed that Newman has joined Earthborne Games as lead game designer. The studio was founded by Newman’s former colleague, former FFG studio head and Arkham Horror LCG creative director Andrew Navaro, in 2021.

Its eponymous debut game, Earthborne Rangers, was released last year, offering a cooperative adventure card game with a number of mechanical similarities to the likes of the Arkham Horror LCG, as players create custom decks to reflect their characters’ unique abilities, using them to explore different locations and work towards completed a series of scenarios linked into longer branching-narrative campaigns.

Earthborne’s eco-futuristic setting and the environmental duties of its Ranger characters is reflected in the eco-conscious aims of the studio itself, which has committed to prioritising environmentally-friendly materials and production processes when manufacturing the game.

Newman will initially work on existing releases for Earthborne Rangers, including upcoming campaign expansion Legacy of the Ancestors, before shifting to head up the design and development of future expansions as lead designer. A second printing of the game and its expansions are due to arrive with backers of its recent $1.8m Gamefound campaign toward the end of 2024.

“I’m overjoyed to have Maxine on board,” said Navaro. “She’s a rare talent, and arguably the best narrative card game developer on the planet. I can’t wait to see what she does with the Earthborne Rangers game system and the narrative design. We’re all in for a treat.”