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.Nearly eight years later, the ALIEN RPG series continues to thrive as one of the most successful and celebrated tabletop RPGs in the market. The ongoing game series has sold millions of units and earned a long list of top industry awards, earning multiple awards for each and every release in its collection. Its illustrious run began in 2020 with the Core Rulebook earning the esteemed 2020 ENNIE Gold Award for Best Game of the Year, along with the 2020 UK Games Expo Awards for Best RPG and Best RPG Adventure. Its next three expansions then earned over 10 ENNIE Awards and UK Game Expo Awards in 2021, 2022, and 2024 for Best RPG Adventure, Best RPG Expansion, Best RPG Supplement, Best Cartography, and Best Production Values.
The ongoing series draws upon four decades of world-building within this beloved universe. Taking place shortly after the events of Aliens, the RPG series propels players into the vast possibilities of the Outer Rim Frontier. From the pioneering colonists and scientists to the ever-present Company reps and Colonial Marines, the game promises a diverse range of characters and gameplay experiences far beyond the staple cat-and-mouse suspense and survival horror of the franchise.
“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.
In 2025, Free League launched a new "Evolved Edition" of the ALIEN RPG series with a record-breaking Kickstarter campaign that earned over $2.5M in less than 30 days -- ranking among the top five highest-grossing RPG campaigns in Kickstarter history. The Evolved ALIEN RPG Core Rulebook and Starter Set hit retail in 2026, alongside Rapture Protocol, Free League's first Evolved Cinematic Module and official miniatures set. Fans can expect more Cinematic Modules and Evolved Editions of all existing supplements in the months ahead.
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, 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 is the second cinematic campaign from the Andrew E.C. Gaska trilogy, in which players take the roles of Colonial Marines. The Alien RPG Core Rulebook or Starter Set is required to play.
The highly-anticipated Colonial Marines Operations Manual 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.
The next title in the collection 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 includes a range of maps, cards, handouts, and pre-generated characters. The Alien RPG Core Rulebook or Starter Set is required to play.
The next meaty supplement, Building Better Worlds, offered an open-world campaign book for pioneers and privateers to explore and colonize the outer rim.
Visit www.alien-rpg.com to buy the games and sign up for more news, previews, and development updates in the days to come.