Renegade Game Studios parts ways with White Wolf over World of Darkness

White Wolf and Renegade Game Studios will end their publishing partnership on 31 December 2026. Paradox Interactive confirmed that White Wolf’s in-house Stockholm studio will lead all future development and publishing for the World of Darkness tabletop roleplaying games line from 2027, starting with a new edition of Vampire: The Masquerade.

The decision abruptly (but not surprisingly) halts external licensing for the modern gothic franchise after six years of production under Renegade. In a separate corporate statement, the White Wolf team thanked Renegade for years of craft and dedication, though the licensor offered little granular detail regarding the survival of existing fifth-edition product lines beyond ongoing work on their upcoming revision.

Renegade Details Line Retirement While White Wolf Stays Silent

The split exposes a sharp contrast in transparency between licensee and publisher. Renegade Game Studios president Scott Gaeta and his Escondido, California team issued an immediate, comprehensive 12-point customer guide outlining exact transition cutoffs, while White Wolf published only a three-paragraph sign-off directing all operational inquiries to a generic contact email address.

Renegade confirmed that its final releases under the licence will arrive next month:

• Vampire: The Masquerade Courts of the Damned (October 2026)
• Werewolf: The Apocalypse Tribes of Gaia (October 2026)

Renegade will fulfil all currently announced physical books, pre-orders, and ongoing retailer commitments before the 31 December deadline. After that date, Renegade will pull all physical World of Darkness inventory from retail and permanently delist its digital catalogue from public webstore shelves.

Customers who previously bought digital rulebooks directly through Renegade will retain access to download PDFs from their private order history. However, neither company clarified whether digital files and licenses will migrate over to DriveThruRPG, Demiplane, or virtual tabletops once the calendar turns.

White Wolf Shifts Toward Centralised Tabletop Development

The strategic pivot comes as White Wolf Creative Director Jess Lanzillo centralises core rules development within Paradox’s Swedish operations. Lanzillo, who stepped into the role in mid-2025 after leading product lines at Wizards of the Coast, has pushed to overhaul legacy systems. This internal shift was underscored during the recent Vampire: The Masquerade playtest cycle, where designers scrapped the controversial Drama mechanic following direct player feedback.

Renegade addressed the amicability of the split directly in their transition documentation:

We’ve decided to conclude our partnership with White Wolf, so they will be bringing World of Darkness tabletop RPG development and publishing in-house. We’re working closely together to make that transition as smooth as possible through the end of 2026.

The FAQ pre-empts the question of whether White Wolf would reprint books developed under Renegade; the licensee stated that reprints remain entirely at White Wolf’s discretion. The Swedish studio has made no commitment to keep current 5th Edition lines in print, leaving games like Hunter: The Reckoning and Werewolf: The Apocalypse facing an uncertain commercial future as the studio pivots its attention toward the next edition of Vampire.

A Decade of Shifting Stewardship

This departure marks Paradox Interactive’s third major publishing reorganisation for the World of Darkness since acquiring White Wolf properties from CCP Games in 2015:

• 2018: Paradox curtailed direct internal publishing following editorial controversies surrounding the initial V5 core rules, transferring brand licensing and distribution management to UK-based Modiphius Entertainment.
• 2020: Paradox transferred tabletop development and worldwide publishing rights to Renegade Game Studios, establishing a six-year licensing run that saw the core releases of Hunter: The Reckoning 5th Edition and Werewolf: The Apocalypse 5th Edition.
• 2026: Paradox dissolved external tabletop licensing entirely, returning full editorial authority, production, and distribution oversight to White Wolf in Stockholm.

Renegade will continue to manage organised play, convention programmes, and customer support for all World of Darkness lines until midnight on 31 December 2026, after which all ongoing community support passes directly to White Wolf.

Quick Links

• Renegade’s statement.
• White Wolf’s statement.