The word has come down that Guardians of Order is officially dead [right column, scroll down]. The fact that this news has come out via George R.R. Martin rather than being posted on front page of the company’s website is just another example of how GoO owner Mark MacKinnon has managed to make this whole situation worse than it needed to be with his stubborn refusal to communicate. I hope that at least some of GoO’s games find new homes, and that the customers who have unfulfilled orders are able to get either their merchandise or their money.

As for Amber, I’d be surprised if the license actually got picked up by anyone. I’ll freely admit that I don’t know how much GoO actually paid for the RPG rights, but I’m guessing that it’s out of the range of what an indie developer might want to pay, and it’s not like there’s some promise of big profits to lure in someone like Mongoose.

ETA: Mark McKinnon’s official GoO is dead announcement on rpg.net. Personally, I wouldn’t have chided GRRM, but I realize some people like to live dangerously.