Britain’s biggest board game distributor is becoming Asmodee UK

If you pick up a board game in a shop, there’s a pretty good chance that Esdevium put it there.

The British-based outlet is generally considered to be far and away the biggest fish in the pond when it comes to distributing games from publishers in the UK – in no small part thanks to its ties with global mega-publisher Asmodee, which has owned the firm since 2010 and also counts major studios such as Fantasy Flight, Catan Studio, Days of Wonder, Z-Man, Space Cowboys, Ystari and Plaid Hat as part of its umbrella.

Next year, Esdevium’s link with Asmodee will go one step further, with the announcement that it will be rechristened as Asmodee UK on January 1st.

The move is part of a wider rebranding taking place across Asmodee, with a new logo and slogan that apparently reflects the company’s refreshed philosophy: “Great Games, Amazing Stories.”

Asmodee UK will become one of more than a dozen divisions of Asmodee around the world, including North America, the Nordics, China, ‘International’ and the Digital studio responsible for bringing games to mobile and PC as apps.

Meanwhile, Fantasy Flight has opened its own digital development studio, which recently revealed its first project: a free-to-play adaptation of Lord of the Rings: The Card Game.

While Esdevium's transformation is unlikely to mean any major upheaval in the way games find their way into UK shops and into the hands of players, it's another step in Asmodee's seemingly unstoppable domination of the board game world – what might be in its sights next?