ALIEN: THE ROLEPLAYING GAME SERIES
The partnership kicked off in December 2019 with the debut of the hit Alien RPG Core Rulebook. Becoming an instant global best-seller, the Core Rulebook broke into the top five best-selling RPGs of Fall 2019 and held the #1 spot on DriveThruRPG for the entire holiday season.
Now one of the most celebrated tabletop RPGs in the market, the Alien RPG has held its spot in the Top Five best-selling RPGs worldwide, rising up to #4 since Spring 2021. The ongoing game series has also won a variety of top industry awards including the 2020 ENNIE Gold Award for Best Game of the Year, the 2021 UK Games Expo Award and UK Games Expo People's Choice Award for Best RPG and Best RPG Adventure, the 2020 UK Games Expo People's Choice Awards for Best RPG and Best RPG Adventure, and three 2021 ENNIE Awards for Best RPG Adventure, Best Production Values, and Best Cartography.
“The Alien saga isn’t about superheroes with superior firepower,” says game director Härenstam. “It’s about placing ordinary people in extraordinary circumstances, and testing the endurance of the human spirit against inhuman atrocities and impossible odds. Such a harsh yet hopeful universe has captured our imagination for 40 years with good reason, and we’re excited to explore new stories and perspectives as players must face their demons (in a true and metaphoric sense) and brave the horrors of the unknown.”
To best capture the Alien experience, the RPG provides more than the framework for continuous, open-world campaigns. Beyond the sandbox campaign game mode, Free League has designed a “Cinematic” mode, with pre-generated scenarios that players must complete within a single session. Emulating the dramatic arc of an Alien film, these survival challenges deliver escalating stakes and fast (often brutal) gameplay where most players aren’t expected to last the night. Their first cinematic scenario, Chariot of the Gods written by sci-fi novelist Andrew E.C. Gaska (Death of the Planet of the Apes), was launched alongside the Core Rulebook in Fall 2019.
CLIENT:
20th Century Studios Consumer Products
PARTNERS:
Free League Publishing
The hit Alien RPG series continues to grow with seven foreign-language localizations and a growing slate of best-selling, award-winning game expansions.
Released in Fall 2020, the Starter Kit ($49.99), containing everything new gamers need to start playing the RPG including an abbreviated 104-page rulebook, the Chariot of the Gods cinematic module, and a variety of maps, cards, and trackers.
Also released in Fall 2020, Destroyer of Worlds ($29.99) is the second cinematic campaign from the Andrew E.C. Gaska trilogy, in which players take the roles of Colonial Marines. Becoming an instant hit, Destroyer of Worlds has earned its own share of awards including the 2021 UK Games Expo Award and UK Games Expo People’s Choice Award for Best RPG Adventure and three 2021 ENNIE Awards for Best RPG Adventure, Best Production Values, and Best Cartography.
The highly-anticipated Colonial Marines Operations Manual ($39.99) debuted in Spring 2021, delivering a massive, lavishly illustrated sourcebook with nearly 400 pages of everything you need to run open-world campaigns as Colonial Marines. You’ll learn about the history of the organization, navigate its inner workings, equip yourself with powerful weapons and vehicles, then charge out into the Frontier on five thrilling missions playable in any order.
Our latest cinematic is Heart of Darkness, a stand-alone scenario that serves as a conclusion to the Draconis Strain Saga begun in our first cinematic scenario Chariot of the Gods and continued in Destroyer of Worlds, all written by Andrew E.C Gaska. The expansion is designed for 3–5 players plus the Game Mother as a spiraling descent into soul-crushing madness. Hitting retail Summer 2022, Heart of Darkness is now available in a $29.99 boxed set, including a range of maps, cards, handouts, and pre-generated characters. The Alien RPG Core Rulebook or Starter Set is required to play.
Our next release is Building Better Worlds, an open-world campaign book for pioneers and privateers to explore and colonize the outer rim. Pre-orders opened on 4/26/23, with the sourcebook soaring into retail worldwide later this year.
More cinematic modules and expansions are already in production, with direct tie-ins to 20th Century Studios’ future plans for the franchise slated for 2024 and beyond.
Visit www.alien-rpg.com to buy the games and sign up for more news, previews, and development updates in the days to come.