This is not a shock. It was already announced by Asmodee earlier this year that they were going to break FFG into two parts: a company for the miniature games (see subject) and another company for board and card games.
This is more of an "about time" than a "holy crap" moment
Was it Q1 this year? I remember that interview with Asmodee USA's head that he spoke about this upcoming move.

The truth of this statement as actually being in any way a real of valid point is entirely dependent on reprints of the 2nd edition material, something I've not heard about if its happening.. If not then 2nd edition is no longer in production and is a dead game in terms of the market and calling this anything other than 3rd edition is just a sales gimmick.
People mention MoM 2nd Edition which I own just about all of (and obviously enjoy), but if I could remove the monster from the app and put there rules and AI in the box I'd do it in a heart beat.. The fact this new app goes the other way makes me wonder what feedback they've actually listened too, because its not solid critical feedback. The only reason I wish this game to do well is purely because I love the descent series (owning all the expansions for 1st and 2nd edition), if it doesn't I don't see them ever doing anything I would consider purchasing for the series in the future.. On the other hand I kind of want this to flop, they have a massive audience and could have reached out and actually got feedback to what people who love the series are looking for.. I have feeling that while many would support a optional app as they have used before this overly (in my opinion) app heavy approach is a blind leap in the wrong direction and the price point is prohibitive as well.
I'll touch on the price point in more detail, I don't consider $175 that bad a price point, I back plenty of crowd funding projects and invest 3/4 times that amount, but a game with such a app heavy investment is a risk and for a plus $100 you really want one of two things, either to be appealing to an existing fan base who don't mind investing in something they love, which I from reading the forums get the feeling they've missed the mark on the majority of (but could be wrong, as the largest group of support are always those who a silent), or you need a non divisive game system and an app isn't that, its so divisive for a huge variety of reasons... This game is priced out of the range of games you'll take a chance on, its priced towards a fan base the games direction appears wrong for and is heavily invested in something that will reduce your market audience.. If I was someone who brought stocks and shares I wouldn't take a risk on this title for those reasons. It could be amazing but will enough people take the plunge when its entry cost is twice that of there other app heavy dungeon crawler... maybe that's there market, but I wouldn't bet on that risk.

Splitting FFG into two companies (board and card games / miniature games) was already discussed earlier this year with the interview with Asmodee USA's head when he was discussing the planned reduction in game lines in response to the state of the board games industry. Runewars MG was already cancelled at that point, leaving only those SW mini games to left to move. He also announced that SW:IA was a great seller year over year and they had plans to continue reprints, so I would expect it to come back into the fold with the other Descent-likes in the board game category since it was not announced to be moving.
This is not a sky is falling moment, this was planned out over a year ago.

As I recall, Steve Horvath did say (in the "tale of IA is not done" interview) that they were viewing FFG as two separate companies: a miniatures company and a board game company.  When asked if IA was mini or board game he didn't hesitate to say board game.  Given how long the process of splitting a company this way takes, he very likely knew that this was the goal when he did that interview.

I think this is Asmodee continuing the restructure of the games companies/studios they own to each focus on a specific type of game:
Atomic Mass Games = Miniatures games (Marvel Crisis Protocol, Armada, Legion, X-Wing) Edge Studio = RPGs (Star Wars, L5R, Genesys, etc.) Fantasy Flight Games = Board and card games (Outer Rim, Rebellion, Keyforged, assorted Arkham titles, etc.) It probably makes a lot of (business) sense to group similar types of games together in the same place, although this is just speculation rather than based on any insider knowledge. 🙂 
 

They did, in the Team Covenant interview eight months ago.
https://youtu.be/E6Pu7RmbCCQ
This is about as much public information that one can expect.  Steve explained details of the planned split, including the official version of the WHY - except that he didn't mention that FFG Miniatures would be AMG, of course.  I guess that anybody who knows Asmodee's company structure could have figured this out.  The present move looks like everything is proceeding just as announced, pandemic or not.
He did talk about the Winter layoffs.  Obviously, no talk about the future in that respect.
There was emphasis on a long-term release plan which was just approved by Lucasfilm.  A firm statement of support that covered all three SW miniature games.  He explicilty mentioned Mandalorian content to appear after Season 2.  I wouldn't be concerned about the future of X-Wing too much, from the player perspective - they will want to sell more, and to be successful, it has to be attractive and affordable.
Speculation: AMG introduces new X-Wing product lines aimed at a different audience.  A solo mode is in development already.  Max was heavily hinting at campaign play in the Crabbok interview.   This might be simpler without in-house boardgame competition.  Conversely, a reboot of competitive X-Wing doesn't really make sense - 2.0 should have proven that such a move is difficult, to say the least, so why should they?

This is not a shock. It was already announced by Asmodee earlier this year that they were going to break FFG into two parts: a company for the miniature games (see subject) and another company for board and card games.
This is more of an "about time" than a "holy crap" moment
Was it Q1 this year? I remember that interview with Asmodee USA's head that he spoke about this upcoming move.

It took me forever to make the jump from 1st to 2nd edition. Basically, I had to get older, gain kids, lose friends, and reach that point of adulthood where I am no longer capable of playing 4hr boardgames with/against other like minded, competitive adults and play some 2hr coop games alongside my 10 and 13 year old. Sure, I miss those old days, and the 1st Ed Road to Legend campaigns running for months, but I just don't have time for that, anymore. 2nd Ed. Road to Legends is a different experience, but still a fun and worthy experience.
Legends also really is a different game than Journeys 2nd Ed., and that's not a bad thing. As you say, its a different audience, although there is some crossover in the venn diagram.

Oh, I plan to in awhile when things calm down and I can start playing again at the FLGS if I can track down any other local players that still want to dust off their old armies, or if they come up with some solo rules, but in the meantime, I'm playing a Rangers campaign with a group lead by the ranger Kari Wraithstalker, two Daqan Spearmen (Men-at-Arms), two Latari Deepwoods Archers (Archers) and a Daqan Wizard (Conjuror). 
Its a fun bit of solo skirmish campaign game, especially if you consider Kari's lore which is pretty much a Ranger. Tweak a few names in the scenario descriptions and you are off taking Kari on an incursion the Mistlands instead of the Shadow Deep.

Here is Kari's band fighting zombies in a village that had been wiped out that they had found they were trying to find out what happened to a missing hero. Using old Descent 1E tiles and tokens for buildings, trees, rocks, etc., since  have yet to actually build up a collection of wargame terrain since I got out of 40k a long time ago.. 
 
Edit:
After fighting off many zombies attacking the small village, rescuing a survivor and locating the body of a missing hero, they determined that there was a rare breed of bane spider whose venom was capable of reanimating those it killed. Following the tracks from the remains of the village into the near-bye forest on the edge of the Mistlands, they hunted down the nests and burned out the spider infestation. They also managed to rescue several villagers who had been cocooned and dragged into the woods by the creatures.

Hey you. Yeah, you there, feeling punished because you didn't exercise shrewd target prioritization on a crew carrying, medium-base chassis. Just stop with all of that nonsense. Sloane's been out for two years. She won something. Some out of print ships and a non second release edition expansion ship crew upgrade Did A Thing. No big deal. Sky isn't falling. You got this. FFG won't let that stuff fly for long, since there is no money to be made anymore off of them anyways.  There's plenty of stuff that that "punishes" an opposing player for playing the game. She's priced just fine for what she does, and those silly TIE Aggies are just fine too. I want you to get your dusty butt off the canvas, crack some knuckles, and get back in the game. You got this. Now go get her. 
That's right, Cloaker is back to being an optimist again. If I can get past my original trilogy gets screwed by new faction whininess, you can hunt down a **** Reaper. Now get to it. 
Peace. 

X Wing is cool and fun to play.

Syck and Xi Swarms are cool and fun to play against. 

I agree the price is very steep, its one of my own concerns about it. Other than that, as a fan of Descent: Journeys since 1st Ed. I am super excited about this new game and the (what I see as, you my not) improvements on the formula by going to a fully coop app driven experience.
 
Well, the difference is that Descent: Legends is a completely different game. MoM 2nd Ed. was not. When Descent: Journeys 3rd Ed does come out, if it does not convert any material from the first two editions then that would be a legitimate complaint.
I know people say that they "get it" when other say how "this is not Journeys, this is a new game," but then they keep offering complaints that show that they don't really grasp the concept. We didn't complain when Heroes of Terrinoth, or Legends of Dragonholt, or Runewars MG came out and didn't offer a conversion kit for Descent: Journeys material into that game.  
Because they were new games.
This is a new game.
 

From left to right: deep water, shallow water, and pavement.

Hi!
After a few research on the internet I've found inspiration to paint watery bases. Here's the result:

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Quick tuto: paint your base normally. Add 4-5 layers of shade (here I used Citadel Biel-Tan Green) covering a larger area each time, and beggining with the deepest water. Varsnish your mini (I use matt varnish). Finally brush gloss varnish on the water and on a small band sticked to the water.

I actually heard about Descent for the fist time two months ago.  Since  corona, my family and I got into boardgaming.  I saw a copy of Descent at the local gameshop and at home I immediately searched the internet.  A couple of weeks later I learned about Legends oft the Dark.  In my opinion, with my fresh point of view, I must say this game looks overwhelmingly awesome to me.  What really shocked me though, was the amount of negativity about it on all kinds of forums.  To me, it all sounds a little bit like the way my mom reacted when I was 16 years old and started playing my metal and punk tapes really loud.  I get that, when you like a game realy much, you want the publisher to keep creating content.  But for new potential buyers, like me, it is only normal that new games are going to be developed.  I really hope the best for this NEW game (whitch is not the 3rd edition to your beloved Descent 2nd).  FFG is a company.  Companies have to make money in order to stay a company.  With money the make new things.  With money they improve and support older products as well.  So I guess it would be a great idea to positively stimulate new products that create new revenue, and maybe lead to improvement and support for older products.  For me, ...  I've already preordered my copy.  I paid 140 euro.  That's about 165 dollars.  Most big kickstarter games are more expensive.  So what's the fuzz?

Oh, I plan to in awhile when things calm down and I can start playing again at the FLGS if I can track down any other local players that still want to dust off their old armies, or if they come up with some solo rules, but in the meantime, I'm playing a Rangers campaign with a group lead by the ranger Kari Wraithstalker, two Daqan Spearmen (Men-at-Arms), two Latari Deepwoods Archers (Archers) and a Daqan Wizard (Conjuror). 
Its a fun bit of solo skirmish campaign game, especially if you consider Kari's lore which is pretty much a Ranger. Tweak a few names in the scenario descriptions and you are off taking Kari on an incursion the Mistlands instead of the Shadow Deep.

Here is Kari's band fighting zombies in a village that had been wiped out that they had found they were trying to find out what happened to a missing hero. Using old Descent 1E tiles and tokens for buildings, trees, rocks, etc., since  have yet to actually build up a collection of wargame terrain since I got out of 40k a long time ago.. 
 
Edit:
After fighting off many zombies attacking the small village, rescuing a survivor and locating the body of a missing hero, they determined that there was a rare breed of bane spider whose venom was capable of reanimating those it killed. Following the tracks from the remains of the village into the near-bye forest on the edge of the Mistlands, they hunted down the nests and burned out the spider infestation. They also managed to rescue several villagers who had been cocooned and dragged into the woods by the creatures.

My brief Star Wars Sqaudrons review before I get on again ~
I’ve had the game for six days.
I’ve played a total of 49 hrs including some STRAIGHT sessions of 8, 9, 7 hrs respectively.    No shame.  NO.  SHAME.
My diet is shot.   Eating too much snacks while gaming.  Had more diet Mountain Dew at 49 than I had at 18, my fingers are blistered.  
My current game strategy is simple to follow:  3, 2, 1,  6.
3 hrs for sleep, 2 showers a day, 1 real meal with mega vitamins, 6 hrs to game.   Missed the gym three times in six days.  No Shame.  NO.  FIIIIIN. Shame.
I’ve have cursed out kids 1/3 my age in languages lost to time.   NO. SHAME. 
If I cursed you or your child out in game, I’m sorry.    You Rebel SCUM. 
 
I need to get back into the cockpit. 
 
THE EMPIRE IS VICTORIOUS ON ALL FRONTS!
 
May God have mercy on My soul. 

You are at Bargaining. Keep working through it, you'll reach Acceptance soon enough, man,
You can slip back and forth on the journey though, so just be self-aware of the spots of Anger.

No, its not.
You can have negative opinions about a game, and offer constructive criticism, but at this point you've already posted in other threads that "you hope the game fails"; you are quickly approaching being a troll.
 
If you have constructive criticisms, please offer them, but if all you are going to do is post "game is already dead" nonsense, please refrain. 

I think history shows that people can work it out...
Some of those are in fact, the compatible/same game, but many are not.
Descent: Legends and Descent: Journeys are just two game lines in the same universe that have similarities, but are different games with different target audiences. Now, there may be some growing pain here with people upset that they are not getting another Descent: Journeys with this being the first use of the "Descent" name with another game line, but it will work out. I don't think the "Terrinoth" name was getting the kind of traction that they wanted with other game releases, and this move makes sense, especially for another dungeon crawler. 

PS:
Second-hand info, but take it for what you will
https://www.boardgamegeek.com/thread/2531169/article/36165250#36165250
So... yeah. The existence of a coop Descent: Legends does not preclude a competitive Descent: Journeys from being remade, the existing edition being reprinted if they deem it to be a worthwhile from a sales/business standpoint, or existing copies from being able to be enjoyed by those that own it.

PS:
Second-hand info, but take it for what you will
https://www.boardgamegeek.com/thread/2531169/article/36165250#36165250
So... yeah. The existence of a coop Descent: Legends does not preclude a competitive Descent: Journeys from being remade, the existing edition being reprinted if they deem it to be a worthwhile from a sales/business standpoint, or existing copies from being able to be enjoyed by those that own it.

I think history shows that people can work it out...
Some of those are in fact, the compatible/same game, but many are not.
Descent: Legends and Descent: Journeys are just two game lines in the same universe that have similarities, but are different games with different target audiences. Now, there may be some growing pain here with people upset that they are not getting another Descent: Journeys with this being the first use of the "Descent" name with another game line, but it will work out. I don't think the "Terrinoth" name was getting the kind of traction that they wanted with other game releases, and this move makes sense, especially for another dungeon crawler.