2023 is shaping up to be a big year for tabletop role-playing games. Not only will Wizards of the Coast release its final full year of Dungeons & Dragons 5E material before the release of One D&D in 2024, there are a ton of hotly anticipated new games already announced for release later this year. From licensed adaptations of popular games, movies, and TV shows to new editions of popular games to brand new projects, this year should be a feast for anyone who likes to roll dice and tell stories with friends. Let’s take a look at some of the biggest TTRPG releases of the coming year:
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Dungeons & Dragons – 2023 Releases
Dungeons & Dragons has a busy slate of releases planned for 2023. Wizards of the Coast will release five 5E books – the Keys From the Golden Vault heist anthology, the Bigby’s Presents Glory of Giants rulebook/bestiary, The Book of Many Things, which will feature subclasses, spells, and other D&D material based on the infamous Deck of Many Things, a new Planescape campaign setting boxed set, and a full-length campaign version of Lost Mine of Phandelver. Additionally, Wizards of the Coast will continue to release new playtests for One D&D, the upcoming “revised” edition of Dungeons & Dragons planned for release sometime in 2024.
Pathfinder – Second Edition – 2023 Releases
Paizo has announced several new major releases for Pathfinder in 2023, headlined by Rage of Elements, a new rulebook that will add the Kineticist class to the game and explore various elemental planes. Other major releases include Treasure Vault, a tome featuring dozens of new magical and mundane items. We also have two Lost Omens lore books announced, with books detailing the Firebrands “organization” and the dwarven citadel of Highhelm. Notably, these books will all be released in the winter, spring, and summer, so expect fall announces for Pathfinder 2E to be announced later this year.
DIE: The Roleplaying Game
DIE: The Roleplaying Game is an adaptation of DIE, a comic by Kieron Gillen and Stephanie Hans about a group of tabletop RPG players who become trapped within the world of the game they are playing in. In the roleplaying game, players will play as players who become trapped in the game, with each character having two personas – the persona of the player they are assuming and the in-game character/class they assume when they become trapped in the world. Gillen has been developing the RPG for years, with a Kickstarter raising over $500,000.
Kids on Bikes: Second Editon
Hunters Entertainment is releasing a second edition of Kids on Bikes, a game that draws inspiration from coming-of-age stories with a backdrop of weird mystery. If you’re looking for a Stranger Things RPG, Kids of Bikes is probably the game that comes closest to scratching that particular itch. The new edition comes with refined Powered character rules, scalable stakes for violence, and expanded gamemaster and collaborative storytelling tools. A Kickstarter in late 2022 was successfully funded and the game should be released this year.
Monty Python’s Cocurricular Mediaeval Reenactment Programme
Monty Python’s Cocurricular Mediaeval Reenactment Programme is an upcoming roleplaying game published by independent publisher Exalted Funeral and is an officially licensed game based primarily on Monty Python and the Holy Grail. Players of this new tabletop RPG will choose between one of 20 character “situations” (a replacement for character classes) that range from knights to oppressed peasants. Each situation has five traits, with players making checks using a dice between a d4 and a d20, depending on how silly or serious the trait is. The “Head of Light Entertainment” also gets on the fun, as they may be required to assume a new personality depending on certain rolls or situations. The game raised nearly $2 million on Kickstarter and will be released later this year.
Old Gods of Appalachia
Old Gods of Appalachia Roleplaying Game is based on the popular podcast of the same name, with players fighting haints in an alternate version of the Appalachia region of the US. With roots in folklore, witchcraft, and cosmic horror, Old Gods of Appalachia has enthralled listeners for seasons with tales of creatures from the deep parts of the Earth that were never meant to be freed. The game will use Monte Cook Games’ Cypher System and raised over $2MM. The game is due for release sometime in 2023.
Warhammer 40K Imperium Maledictum
Warhammer 40K: Imperium Maledictum is a new “street-level” RPG by Cubicle 7 set in the Warhammer 40K universe. Players will be offered the chance to join up with a powerful Patron in the Macharian Sector, who will determine the course of the campaign and what tools your party has at their disposal. The game system will use a d100 system and will be released in early 2023.
Gloomhaven: The Role Playing Game
Gloomhaven: The Roleplaying Game is a recently announced project being developed by Cephalofair Games, the maker of the smash hit Gloomhaven. The new roleplaying game will allow players to create their own characters using the races and classes seen in Gloomhaven and its upcoming sequel game Frosthaven. Interestingly, the game will use a variant of Gloomhaven’s card-based combat system and will be compatible with the game components of Gloomhaven. More information about the game will be released in April 2023 when Cephalofair launches a crowdfunding campaign on Backerkit.
The Walking Dead Universe RPG
The Walking Dead Universe RPG is a new tabletop game developed by Free League Publishing and AMC based in the world of the popular The Walking Dead franchise. The game itself will use a variant of the Year Zero system, with AMC additionally releasing a Let’s Play show for the game for release on AMC+, with characters from the franchise teased for some kind of crossover. The Walking Dead Universe RPG will be directed by Free League co-founders Tomas Härenstam and Nils Karlén, with Nils Hintze serving as lead writer and Gustaf Ekelund and Martin Grip serving as lead artists.
