When Vampire: The Masquerade first arrived back in 1991, it came from White Wolf Publishing. But for many years, that name all but vanished as it was absorbed by the World of Darkness brand. However, last year, the Vampire: The Masquerade publisher revealed it wanted to return to its roots and reclaim the original White Wolf name. Since that big announcement, however, White Wolf has been relatively quiet about new major projects across its beloved TTRPG properties. Now, however, that’s about to change in a big way with the first big Vampire: The Masquerade release under the reclaimed White Wolf umbrella.
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Since 2018, Vampire: The Masquerade has been in its 5th edition run, aka V5. And while this new venture hasn’t yet been explicitly named as the game’s next edition, the signs strongly point in that direction. White Wolf announced it’s working on a new Vampire: The Masquerade project during a panel at Darkness Emergent LA. However, fans will get a first true, in-depth look at what’s to come at Gen Con 2026, where White Wolf is planning a full presentation about the future of World of Darkness, including playtests and more.
Vampire: The Masquerade TTRPG Will Get a Major Shakeup With Its Next Release
The next Vampire: The Masquerade project is in active development as White Wolf’s first major in-house venture since its 2025 rebrand. Though it’s still in the early stages, White Wolf wanted to let fans in on what it’s been working on. And from the sounds of it, it could mark a major shift for the TTRPG.
Creative Director Jess Lanzillo, who is leading the new project, was joined by other key White Wolf players to share the thought process behind what’s next for the horror TTRPG. And the main takeaway here is, they want to shape the future of the game based on player feedback from years of Discord, Reddit, and Tumblr chatter about the game’s 5th edition. Since it released in 2018, this era of the popular TTRPG has received a mixed reception from longtime fans. From the sound of it, White Wolf is taking this into account as it designs what comes next.
According to White Wolf’s news post about the venture, “the new project is our love letter to the 30+ years of vampires that have led us here.” The team wants to honor the connections between lore and gameplay mechanics, leaning into how the rules of a TTRPG shape its storytelling. The new game design is reportedly “focused on player agency, collaboration, and making the experience feel personal,” while also taking the franchise’s metanarrative into account. And the project is also prioritizing “a strong commitment to human-made work” for its art design, which is refreshing to hear in 2026.
From the sounds of it, this will likely be a new edition of the TTRPG, or at least a major revision along the lines of D&D‘s 2024 update to its own 5th edition ruleset. But White Wolf hasn’t yet officially given the name or any concrete details for this new venture. That will likely be revealed in late July when Vampire: The Masquerade makes its appearance at Gen Con, which takes place from July 30th to August 2nd in Indianapolis, Indiana. Here, White Wolf will “open the door” to the next phase of its horror TTRPG. Fans will have a chance to playtest the new materials and attend an Actual Play using those same playtest materials.
Are you excited to see what’s next for Vampire: The Masquerade? Leave a comment below and join the conversation now in the ComicBook Forum!
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