A Statement on the Future of VAST

Dear VASTronauts,

First: an apology. I wish this statement could have been made long ago, but the truth is that a great deal of excellent people have been fighting the good fight for nearly eight months and I did not want to jump the gun. That said, we now have clarity on teh future of VAST and the last thing I want is to keep you waiting.

After much discussion and despite all efforts, Geek & Sundry / Alpha has decided not to proceed with further seasons of VAST. This means that our season two finale is, for all intents and purposes, the final episode of the show on Alpha.

If you count yourself a member of the VASTronaut community, I know this is going to be a disappointment - especially because we’ve kept you in the dark for so long. So I’d like to give you a little context to explain how and why this has happened…and where we’re going from here.

Around the time season two ended, I sat down with the good folks at G&S to talk about season three, which I believed was already greenlit. What I discovered was that, due to turnover above my paygrade and analytics collected by Alpha, VAST would have to be significantly overhauled if it was going to exist at all. I was asked to significantly re-shape the structure, story, and cast of VAST to optimize new viewership or see the series not continue.

We all worked in concert for the next couple of months to create a new series, VAST: Proxima, which would have functioned in format much closer to Sagas of Sundry - pre-taped, with costumes, sets, and interactive maps. Proxima would have introduced all new characters, brought in a few old faces, and jumped forward in the VAST timeline as to act as a jumping-on point for new viewers. We had some cool, innovative ideas for how to take the two-party competition of our first season and heighten it - with input from both G&S’s team and the VAST cast and crew.

It is around this time that I assured you here on my Twitter that the series would be coming back, as I was told that it was simply a matter of putting the series on the schedule. That statement was made with the full support of LDN.

Ultimately, due to a ton of factors, it was decided two weeks ago by G&S that VAST would not be returning.

But do not despair! This cancellation means that in just a few months, the rights to VAST return to me. Many folks on the cast and crew are dedicated to finding a new way to bring you stories from this universe - and we’ll be meeting soon to discuss those next steps. In the meantime, writer Emmett Furey is launching his very own game in the VAST universe, VAST FRONTIER, which is going to give me a chance to, for the first time, interact with this universe as a player. I am truly psyched. It’s gonna be glorious madness.

In the meantime, to anyone who ever watched, tweeted, drew fan art, made cosplay, or spread the word to your friends: thank you for your continued support and dedication to VAST. From all of us to you, it has been one of the great pleasures of our lives to tell this story with you - and your energy is the main reason that’s true.

Please understand that we hold no ill will to G&S, nor are we holding out any hope of renewal - so please refrain from harassing or campaigning the folks at Legendary Digital Networks for more of our little show. If anything, thank them for putting this weirdness on the internet in the first place. Honestly, I hope you’ll spend that time celebrating what was - sharing your favorite moments, interactions, stories, or art from the few months we all spent inside the Slate.

I’ll see you in the future,
Jack