In a collaboration that feels as strange and imaginative as the experiences it produces, the immersive arts company Meow Wolf is stepping into the world of tabletop roleplaying. Joining forces with publisher Exalted Funeral and Genuine Entertainment, they are creating Tavers: The Meow Wolf Roleplaying Game, a new system set to launch on Kickstarter in the spring of 2026.
The new game aims to capture the reality-bending essence of Meow Wolf’s popular art installations, known for their maximalist, surreal environments where storytelling is driven by discovery and exploration. In Tavers, players take on the role of ‘Tavers’, individuals who have the power to create portals into new worlds and alternate realities. The gameplay is described as an “exquisite corpse” style of storytelling, with a focus on uncovering mysteries and wandering through the strange and unknown.
According to the press release, the game encourages players to do more than simply make skill checks. Characters have a personal connection to “a wild power of unbridled intent,” which allows them to manifest impossible ideas and reshape reality within the game.
Luke Dorman, Senior Creative Director of Visual Development at Meow Wolf, says that roleplaying games are a natural fit for the company’s ethos.
RPGs have always been a platform for self-expression and a portal for people to inhabit and explore imaginative worlds, so it’s a perfect arena for us to bridge the gap between our exhibits and everyday life. Until now, we’ve only been able to reach the people who come to us and physically step into our worlds. Now with the RPG, not only can our worlds come to you, but you also get to inhabit and shape our worlds like never before.”
Tiger Wizard, a lead designer at Exalted Funeral, told the press that the game will reflect the bizarre and inventive nature of Meow Wolf’s works.
Immortal cybernetic hamsters, underground rat punks, sentient pizza, and community radio are just the appetizers. We’re going full gonzo on this menu.”
The project, which Genuine Entertainment’s Joe LeFavi will manage, promises a unique storytelling experience. LeFavi notes,
When you step inside a Meow Wolf, you find yourself just walking around for hours. Brain melting, mouth agog… Overwhelmingly in AWE of the sensory experience swallowing you whole. The sheer imagination and collaboration necessary to make Meow Wolf possible is unfathomable, and yet that’s the sandbox we’re building for gamers and Meow Wolves alike.”
Matt Kelley, owner of Exalted Funeral, says that Meow Wolf was specifically looking for a publisher with a particular creative approach.
Meow Wolf specifically requested a publisher brazen and batshit crazy enough to break the mold, and apply their same genre-defying approach to shake up everything we know about RPGs. I’m not sure what it says about us that we were the first people they called, but we can’t argue that we’re the right kind of crazy for the job.”
Further details on the game are expected to be released ahead of the Kickstarter campaign. Interested parties can sign up for updates via the Exalted Funeral website.
