Our beloved Philadelphia pressing plant closes down

Softwax Records, who pressed Zelda & Chill among other titles, is no more

It’s a bummer to announce our local Philadelphia based record plant Softwax Records has shut down operations and declared bankruptcy. Softwax was the first pressing plant we engaged when wee decided to strike out on our after Bandcamp was first sold. They were super supportive, had a great press quality, and in general were a perfect partner. RIP Softwax, you kicked ass.

While there’s a bit of mystery surrounding the shutdown, what we know is that a critical piece of equipment broke down and their primary investor got cold feet after navigating an otherwise tumultuous 2024 for record pressing. With shipping and material costs at all time high, my sense is the individual who was responsible for keeping Softwax’s lights on had simply had enough.

After running our vinyl record arm for the past 3 years I understand how tough it can be. Lots of money up front, long wait times, and so many points where things can go wrong. Still, with a team as dedicaed and responsive as Softwax, it’s brutal to lose them.

So what’s next for GameChops vinyl?

We are currently in the bureaucratic limbo with the city of Philadelphia for the Bankruptcy filings to hopefully recover some of our funds that were paid in advance of new pressings. As a result, the previously scheduled represses of Sonic & Chill, Zelda & Chill, and Poké & Chill are on hold. Snatch up any copies left on our store, because we don’t know when they’ll be back.

We are in talks with two new pressing plants to get our titles going again, but since we lost out on a decent amount of money and are uncertainly if or when we will recover it, we have to go slow.

Currently, Stardew & Chill is the only title with a scheduled re-pressing for Q1 2025. We will make a new post here when it’s in hand and ready to ship out.

We are also planning at least one new vinyl release for 2025, featuring our in house jazz band, The Deku Trio. Check our their latest album below. and be sure to subscribe so you don’t miss out!