Two years ago, after White Wolf struggled with Vampire: the Masquerade 5th edition, Modiphius become the developer.
About a year ago, Hunters Entertainment was made the developer of Werewolf: The Apocalypse 5th edition. That book is not yet out.
As of today, Paradox Interactive has taken back control of both titles and all World of Darkness properties.
World of Darkness Creative Lead Justin Achilli is setting the vision, Sean Greaney is the World of Darkness brand manager, and Jason Carol is the brand marketing manager. Thomas Arfert is the brand art director, Outstar is the community developer, and Karim Muammar is the brand editor and system designer.
It means that this team will decide what happens in the World of Darkness and what books they’re going to create.
However, they’re not doing it alone. Paradox is working with Renegade Game Studios who becomes the publishing partner.
Achilli told press;
Bringing IP development in-house is one of the many reasons why the World of Darkness team hired me and I’m thrilled to take on this responsibility. I’ll be working with handpicked teams to set the lore, atmosphere, and tone that players have come to expect, and working with partners like Renegade to create compelling stories within that framework,”
Even though I’m leading this process, we’ll continue to work with teams of writers and freelancers. Our goal is to ensure that book development happens with teams that include a diversity of voices.”
While World of Darkness will take over IP development of its core TTRPG books, as publisher, Renegade Game Studios will handle publishing and marketing of these products. Everything that falls outside of the core story setting, as determined by World of Darkness, will be developed and published by Renegade Game Studios.
It’s not yet clear what this means for Werewolf V5, will Hunters continue to work on the unpublished book? Hunters and Renegade have a very close relationship.
For Vampire, it means a new Vampire: The Masquerade Companion. That means the return of Tzimisce, Ravnos and Salubri clans.
- Three vampire clans: Tzimisce, Ravnos, Salubri
- Discipline powers representing each of the new clans
- Expanded rules and roleplaying information for ghouls and mortals
- Details on each clan’s view on vampire coteries
- New Merits for players characters
- Rules errata to Vampire: The Masquerade 5th Edition
The Vampire: The Masquerade Companion will be free for people with Paradox accounts.
Martyna Zych, Brand Community Developer for World of Darkness, added;
World of Darkness fans have been asking us for more Vampire: The Masquerade content since we launched the 5th edition core book in 2018. Vampire: The Masquerade Companion is our answer, adding in some of their most-requested features like clan Tzimisce and rules for Mortals”
We are listening to our players, and now that we are developing IP in-house, we are equipped to respond to their feedback and produce content like the Companion. This is just one of many products we have in the pipeline, and while we can’t reveal anything else now, I will say that it is a great time to be a World of Darkness fan.”
It’s been a busy quarter for Renegade. In September, the publisher closed a deal with Hasbro to bring titles like Power Rangers, G.I. Joe and Transformers to 5e.
Scott Gaeta, President and Publisher at Renegade Game Studios, added;
We’re thrilled to work with the World of Darkness team and create exciting content for this rich universe of supernatural horror. We look forward to supporting the existing community and welcoming in new players very soon.”
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