Denny has to think of his family now - the kind of irregular income that this industry generates is fine for a single individual, but not so hot for a momma or a poppa.
I also suspect that the revenue stream has been shrinking for a while - with the releases not hitting expected flow through.
Part of the problem is that TLX never really gained traction - and the 'smaller releases, more often!' was at best a pipe dream.
I fully expected a number of small releases for TLX - the fixed format should have made it much easier than the wonderful chaos of the older sets. (I like both.)
I would have loved to see a pre-cut version of some of the TLX sets to hit the market - I think that a fair number of folks were turned off by the sheer amount of cutting that you needed to do. Gluing the parts together is not a problem, and the cutting is not that bad if you have a Craft Robo.
I know that there are folks that love TerraClips... but it never grabbed me the same was as, say Cathedrae Noctis, The Maiden, Castle Works Ultimate, or Gothic Realms. (Those are still what I consider World Works greatest sets. Interior Works: Castles & Keeps remains my most used set....)
I kind of wish that World Works would try going back to the 'wonderful chaos' before packing their tents - I think that TLX looks good on paper, but put too much work on the shoulders of the gamers.
I spend too much time already, just prepping for the game, painting miniatures, and planning things out to spend all that much time putting together three parts to make one small length of wall.
Much as I like TLX... the parts that I actually use are the ground tiles - I hardly ever bother with the walls, and instead put together permanent structures that I build with older sets and place on the TLX tiles.
(That said - I use the TLX tiles a lot.)As for who to take the reins... Lord Zse Zse or Dave Graffam come to mind - with Lord Zse Zse's work coming closest to the style of the World Works models.
The Auld Grump